On July 26th, Kayla and I chased the good weather “down south” to Atlin. The small town in British Columbia is one of the most beautiful places in the region, and is home to one of our favourite places. Kershaw’s Cafe is located in a historic building which has been beautifully kept. It includes some of the best coffee in the region (with a roast by Atlin Mountain Coffee), and freshly-baked French-style pastries. If that isn’t enough, the view is spectacular!
With full bellies after a quiche and pain au chocolate, we headed over to Monarch Mountain for a hike. Monarch Mountain is one of the steeper hikes we’ve been on, but boy was it worth it! You are treated with views almost instantly.
The trail is well maintained and decently travelled. We were there on a nice day and cam across a good number of people on the trail, but it never felt full or crowded. We had probably 20 minutes alone at the top of the trail (a false summit). There are gorgeous views of Monarch Mountain itself, plus Atlin Lake. The first picture shows St. Theresa Island. It blows my mind that the mountains are an island in Atlin Lake!
Here we look down over the beach. The town of Atlin is off frame on the right.
It’s becoming a tradition to take a picture of ourselves near the top of the hike. We have always been bad about taking pictures of ourselves, and so this is a method of making sure we at least occasionally do so.
After a hot and sweaty hike, we felt that the beach was calling to us. I spent probably a half hour in the cold water of Atlin Lake – and loved (almost) every minute of it!
