6. Castlegar, Valhalla, Kootenay Lake, Trout Lake

After the Okanagan Valley, I decided to drive south and then along the border instead of going north through Kamloops like most tourists. The hope was that it would be less crowded and I would meet more local people - and that's exactly what happened.

The first stop on my way here was Castlegar, a small town in the mountains on the Columbia River. I went on a short hike up the mountain and then explored the town with its sculpture walk.

From there, I continued to Valhalla Provincial Park. The place there, Slocan, was pretty small and there wasn't much going on. I spent the first night camping in the forest. The campsite was about a 3-hour hike away, with lots of ups and downs along the way, although most of the trail followed the lake.

After spending another night at the local campground, I continued on to Nelson.

The next stop was Ainsworth Hot Springs for a bit of relaxation. Besides the pool, there was also a cave where the hot water comes out of the rocks. It was even hotter inside the cave, but really cool.

From here, I continued driving and stumbled upon a pretty cool waterfall, where there was also a small campground right by the lake with a beach. I spent a night there. In the evening, I sat by the fire with some locals until a huge thunderstorm rolled in. It was nice to watch the lightning at first, but when I woke up in the morning, the tent was practically on top of me because of the storm and heavy rain.

The next slightly longer stop was Trout Lake - a tiny village with 30 inhabitants located by the lake in the middle of nowhere.

Here, I slept right on the beach again and also met a group of really nice people. I spent 4 days there with this group, went kayaking, played cards, or just sat in the sun or by the fire. I was then invited to Calgary - where I eventually went, even though I had originally not planned to go to Calgary.