This was my third camping trip since coming to Canada. This time, I went to Golden Ears with my hiking buddy Ryutaro and his coworker Sena.
I had been excited for days leading up to the trip. It had been a while since my last camping adventure, and spending a day out in nature always feels like such a special experience. The last time I went camping was actually a year ago—also at Golden Ears. Back then, we backpacked to a campsite near the summit. That was a truly memorable trip, and ever since then, Golden Ears has felt like the place to go camping for me.
On the morning of May 3rd, around 10 a.m., Ryutaro picked me up in his red Subaru, which was already stuffed full of gear. Since he didn’t have a sleeping bag, we made a quick stop at MEC. That place always gets me excited. After a bit of back and forth, he decided on a sleeping bag rated to -9°C and a sleeping mat. Instead of the inflatable one the store clerk recommended, I suggested he get a simple foam mat—blowing those things up is such a hassle.
We headed over to T&T in Richmond to pick up groceries. I don’t know why, but we always seem to buy way too much food for camping. Sena spotted a white fish that looked like sea bream and said, “Let’s do fish, right?” So we added that to the cart.
We finally made it to the campground a little after 3 p.m. Surprisingly, this was actually my first time camping in an official Canadian campsite. I was amazed by how many individual sites were scattered throughout the vast forest. In Japan, campsites are often right next to each other, so I really felt how spacious Canada is.
Hungry from the drive, we wasted no time getting the barbecue fire going. After all, food is half the point of camping. We hadn’t even had lunch yet, and my stomach was growling loudly. I remembered a friend telling me he went camping with his European girlfriend and ended up collecting firewood all day—apparently, in some countries, it’s more about the fire itself than the food. Japanese-style camping tends to revolve around cooking and eating. I wondered if it’s just a cultural thing.
Anyway, once the fire was ready, we got the food going—starting with the fish, since it spoils fastest. Honestly, I was a little skeptical about grilling a whole raw fish over an open fire, but it turned out amazing. We devoured it. Then, using the leftover bones and head, we made a miso soup broth—it was unbelievably good. I think this might become a new camping staple.
After that, we played catch, grilled some meat, and just chilled. Later that night, we sipped whiskey by the campfire—it was the perfect way to end the day. That said, even in May, sleeping in a tent was still pretty chilly.
The next morning, we stopped by Alouette Lake for a quick look before heading home. All in all, it was an incredible camping trip.
