SEEKING THE FALLS – DELLA FALLS & LOVE LAKE

For the past few summers, since my twins became old enough to carry their own stuff in their backpacks, we’ve gone on some amazing family backpacking trips, and this year was no different.

Della Falls (with a day hike to Love Lake) was our destination, and I couldn’t have been more excited. My excitement was three-fold. First of of all, the thundering power of Della Falls is incredible to witness (although we had a little bit of a surprise on this front. More about that later). Secondly, an upcoming romance novel is set at Della Falls (also more about that later). And finally, fourteen years ago, I had my honeymoon at Della Falls.

This is the story of our adventure.

STEP 1: GET THERE

Getting to Della Falls isn’t as easy as a quick car ride and a short hike. There is actually no vehicle access to the falls. The only way to get there is by foot with all your gear on your back.

But first you have to get across Great Central Lake. And while it isn’t Great Lakes big, it isn’t a small lake. At 45 km (30 mi), it poses a bit of a challenge. Fourteen years ago, we canoed it. It took five hours from the forestry campground located about halfway up the lake. Not wanting to spend that long in a canoe with two ten-year-olds (I don’t know if you have ever canoed, but it can be psychologically challenging when you can see the entire way down the lake), we decided to hire a water taxi.

It was expensive, but it only took forty-five minutes, so well worth it.

Once the water taxi dropped us off, it was backpacks on and time to attack the 15 km (9 mi) trail. It started off gently. The route was originally a road for mining exploration, and the grade is gentle. But then things get a little rougher and steeper.

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Della Falls is located in Strathcona Provincial Park, but the remoteness of the trail makes it tricky for the Provincial Park staff to access it. This means there isn’t a fee for overnighting. Which was kind of amazing after paying for the water taxi. But it does mean that trail maintenance is also more sketchy than on other trails.

And I won’t even speak about the pit toilets.

In many locations it would’ve been impossible to know where the trail went if it wasn’t for the bits of flagging tape marking the way. Sometimes the trail was hard to find because the foliage was dense (not as many people make this hike for some obvious reasons), and other times, it was because the trail went over rocks and boulders. Yes, there are boulders that have to be navigated with heavy packs!

This trail isn’t for the faint of heart.

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Step 2: have fun

The challenges of this trail might make it sound like the entire time was a slog, but I promise you it is well worth a little sweat and the challenging terrain. Especially if you take the time to stop near some of the gorgeous creeks. We played on the rocks near the campsite at Margaret Creek. And there might have been some swimming in underwear later on in Drinkwater Creek.

But I think everyone on the trip would agree that the cable car was the most fun. It was a new addition from fourteen years ago. Saving us a trip across a rickety bridge and a climb.

And the view from the cable car was incredible. The pictures absolutely don’t do it justice. It was tough on the arm muscles to haul ourselves across (I am not sure how a solo hiker would do it), but my twins and I had so much fun that we rode it twice on the way in! Thank you to my husband and friend for hauling us across twice without complaint.

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Step 3: view della falls

I hinted earlier that the hot, dry summer might not have been favourable for Della Falls, but before I reveal the comparison between Della Falls viewed at the beginning of July in 2007 and viewed at the end of August in 2021, I should remind you that we hiked on some pretty steep and tricky terrain with heavy packs on our backs for seven hours.

And the entire purpose of this expedition was to see Della Falls. Sure, we love camping, but we really wanted to see the falls. A friend even came with us, because this was a bucket list trip for her.

Let me set the scene. We arrive at the tenting area (which is about 800 m or 874 yards from Della Falls itself) after our arduous hike, quickly set up camp because rain is threatening, then head off to view the main attraction.

I started to get suspicious when I couldn’t really hear the crashing water. I remembered being able to hear it clearly much earlier, but my memory isn’t always so great, and I chalked that up to me forgetting how it really was.

Then we scrambled up the last bit of rock and there it was. Or more to the point there it wasn’t. The water was so low that Della Falls was barely there. I kid you not. My mouth was open in shock.

Check the below photos to see the difference between Della Falls at its finest and what we encountered.

I guess when the water taxi captain said the falls wasn’t at its finest at this time of year, he wasn’t kidding 😬.

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Step 4: visit love lake

The second day at Della Falls was pretty rainy, so we stayed huddled under our tarps, but the third day promised to be beautiful, and we put our hiking boots back on and hit the trail to Love Lake. This time with just our daypacks.

Aside from the approximately 830 m (2723 ft) of elevation gain in 4 km (2.5 mi), I was really looking forward to this hike. Fun fact. Coming down was so much harder on my legs than going up.

On our honeymoon, we planned to make this hike, but we arrived to find so much unexpected snow (hey, it was July on Vancouver Island) that we couldn’t make the hike. In fact, there was so much rain that we hiked out a day early and went to a resort with hot springs. I guess it was a good thing we didn’t take the water taxi that time or we would’ve been stuck in the rain.

It was time for me to see this lake.

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My legs were screaming by the time we made it to the top—thank goodness for switchbacks or I would still be climbing—but it was so worth it. Love Lake might just be the most beautiful lake I have ever seen.

The photos don’t have any kind of filter on them. That is the real colour of the water. It was unbelievable.

We had lunch lakeside and planned to go for a good swim, but the clouds came in and the wind had a bit of a bite to it, so we just dunked ourselves a few times. It felt so good. And it wasn’t as cold as I was expecting.

connecting it back to the books

Returning to Della Falls wasn’t just about sharing this amazing place with my family and revisiting the site of my honeymoon. It was also about research. One of my upcoming romance novels takes place here, and I needed to go back and absorb the energy of the place to really be able to capture it.

Plus, since we weren’t able to make the hike to Love Lake the first time around, and it plays a critical role in the story, I needed to go. Because, while I have spent hours looking at pictures on the internet, it isn’t the same as really being there.

I don’t want to give away too much, because this particular novel is only in the outline stage (and the book before it is only in draft 1), but Love Lake might be the sight of some falling in love for the main characters in West Coast Romance Book 5. So stay tuned for that.

If you’re not already on my mailing list, and would like to be so that you can get updates about books (and a few bonuses too), you can sign up at this link: JOIN THE ROMANCE.

final thoughts

Della Falls might have been a bit of a disappointment, but that doesn’t mean the entire trip was a wash. In fact, it added something to it. Something to laugh about later. It was a great reminder that perspective is important.

I used to write a blog about chronic pain, and that was one of my main messages. You can focus on the negative, or you can find something positive to focus on instead. We had an amazing trip. Saw a beautiful lake. And made memories that will last a lifetime.

And really, this just means that we need to go back again…

Happy wanderings,

This adventure took place 24-28 August 2021