Fernie, B.C. is the kind of place that people come to for the powderful winters but end up staying long-term for the amazing summers. Even though Day 2 of our B.C. road trip was cooler and rainier than our first day, we had just the kind of July adventure that you’d expect in this outdoorsy mountain town.

Blake helps Bennett with some rock hopping on part of the the Coal Creek Heritage Trail in Fernie, B.C.
We hiked part of the Coal Creek Heritage Trail, stopping to pick plump Saskatoon berries, ripe raspberries and tart thimble berries. Blake and the kids did some rock hopping, then we got down to the serious business of ascending through a pine forest to walk along the trail toward town. An approaching thunderstorm sent me jogging ahead to get our car from the trailhead and pick up the family just before the rain hit.
High: Dangling feet into a freezing mountain stream beneath a small waterfall.
Low: Realizing we’d gone hiking without dog poop bags (faux pas!), which meant I had to skewer Piper’s poop on a stick and toss it into the bushes. Ewww! (And also, bad pet owner!)
Outcome: We only hiked maybe four kilometres of the 9.3 km trail (and I never did see any of the 12 interpretive signs, or the old ghost town or even the old coal mine, though we were walking sloooowly), but we enjoyed taking the time to eat berries, look under rocks for salamanders and dip hot heads into a mountain waterfall.