In the last few years, I have started to do short solo backpacking trips around Vancouver. There are so many great spots in the local mountains to hike and camp and recharge.
I had always wanted to hike to Rampart Ponds - it's a new backcountry campsite a couple of days walk from the nearest trailhead. Finally in September, I got a nice window of warm fall weather and packed up and headed out to the park. The first day is pretty easy with a short hike into the Elfin Lakes campsites. I got there early in the heat of mid-day and even had time for a very cold dip in one of the Elfin lakes. I lazed away the afternoon in the sun reading my book and taking in the views. I had an early dinner and with the short days of September, I was in my sleeping bag by 8 pm. A few hours later, I was awoken by lots of noise and commotion from a late arriving group. It sounded like they were having trouble setting up their tent in the dark - there was much muttering in German but also some laughing.
The next morning I was up early for the walk up to Rampart Ponds. I only met the late arrivals for a few minutes before I headed up the trail. They were 2 young very gorgeous German girls backpacking around Canada for the summer. When I talked with them, I found out that they too were headed to Rampart Ponds today. I set off alone. I made good progress hiking and it looked like I would get to the Ponds just in the early afternoon. I decided to have a long lunch and a bit of a siesta in the warm fall sun lying on a warm flat rock outcrop. I was awoken by the sound of the two girls approaching and talking. As they rounded the corner, I said "hello" and unfortunately startled them a bit.
They took their packs off and sat on the rock outcrop with me. They got out their lunches and started eating. They confessed they had been on high alert and were very worried about Canadian bears after hearing one too many bear stories. I tried to reassure them that with some smarts about how you hike and set camp you can make it so bears aren't much of a problem - they were not buying this, they still looked concerned.
After a while, I shouldered my pack and set off down the trail calling back, "I will see you at the campsite". It was turning into a hot afternoon as I huffed my way up the final hill to the Ponds. I was setting up my tent, when the girls came around the corner. They asked if they could set their tent up near mine to feel safer. I told them I was fine with that.
In a very unembarrassed European way, they dropped their packs, peeled off their clothes and headed straight into the cold alpine lake. It was amazing to see these two very lilith blonde girls with stunning bodies and beautiful pert breasts heading into the lake. Probably to not offend my North American sensibilities they left their bra and panties on. There was much screaming and quick splashing before they quickly re-emerged from the ice cold lake. Their bra and panties were now soaked and transparently stuck to their beautiful lilith bodies. The water must have been very cold as their nipples stuck proudly out through their bras. They sat in their bra and panties in the sun drying off for the next few hours.
We cooked dinner together a long ways away from our tents and then we all put our food and cooking gear in the bear lockers. With the short September day's, I headed to my tent soon after the sun went down and the temperature started to drop. I heard the girls head to bed a few minutes later.
I was awoken sometime later by someone frantically pulling at my tent door. It was the girls, they were frantic as a bear had come into camp and the bear found a forgotten chocolate bar in the top of one of their packs. The trouble was the pack was in their tent with them at the time. Luckily they exited the tent on one side (the door side) as the bear entered through the other side (not the door side). I guessed the bear was probably long gone with its booty by now. I got up, grabbed my air horn and bear spray, and my headlamp. The first thing I noticed was the girls were just in their panties. They looked a bit embarrassed and told me they normally sleep in the nude but out here slept in their panties. I refocused on the task at hand, first determining that the bear wasn't in camp anymore and then began to survey the damage to their stuff. The bear had totally wrecked their tent - slashing one whole side of their tent and then chewed and slobbered on their clothes and packs, chewed on one of their sleeping bags, and chewed a hole in one of their sleeping pads.
I suggested the best we could probably was squeeze into my tent till the morning. They grabbed their remaining sleeping bag and working sleeping pad and came over to my tent. My tent is affectionately called a coffin tent. It is very small and very light and with some effort you can normally cram two people in the tent. Three was going to be interesting.
We arranged the remaining sleeping pads and opened up both sleeping bags to put over us. The best arrangement we could come up with to fit was tightly spooning each other. They were still pretty shaken and wanted to be either side of me. We tried to settle in but there was constant movement trying to find somewhere to put your arms and hands.
The girls said something to each other in German.
