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Rory

@life.ofrory

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sunshine coast
life and adventures
the moments between the flicks for those who wanna see the adventures in their raw form:)
@roryphoto_

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Emma Lake, August 30th - September 1st.

What an incredible adventure this one was. Emma Lake has been on my list for over 6 years, and it feels so surreal to have finally been to this insane place to check it off the list.

Danica and I started hiking on August 30th, and while the trail starts off easy, it turns into a nonstop uphill grind that feels neverending. Admittedly, I made a pretty big mistake going into this - I deeply underestimated this trail and the amount of time we’d need to get to the top. This resulted in us hiking well into the night, in rain and fog, and bailing on the idea of getting to the lake on the first night so we camped above the smaller Scrub Lake. We were both soaking wet and gassed from the muddy, slippery, cold and steep trail that had been kicking our asses for the last 6 hours but luckily we had a decent sleep.

This could’ve ended worse than it did and it was a reminder for me to never, ever underestimate the mountains, no matter how much experience I gain. Good to have a reality check every once in a while, ego doesn’t matter out there. But anyways, the next morning we dragged ourselves out of bed and finally made it to the lake, which was even more beautiful than we expected. The views were immaculate, the water was clear and bright blue, and the air smelled more crisp and fresh than anything I’ve ever experienced. Makes sense considering that Emma Lake is deep in the backcountry of the Coast Mountains, a very remote spot.

We walked the lakeshore, found quartz, ate oatmeal and snacks, laid in the sun, watched an incredible sunset with some tasty pasta, and got to enjoy a cozy night in the cabin, which was a welcome change from the cold night spent in the tent previously. The next morning I got up for sunrise and sat looking out at the mountains, watching golden dappled light dance across the peaks, listening to the birds. And the hike down was tough on the knees and feet, to say the least.

And lastly, I am SO proud of Danica for doing this hike. It was a hard one, even for me, and she did phenomenal. I am very grateful to have someone so supportive who I love so much come with me on these adventures. I love you! ❤️ 🏔️ taken in Emma Lake by @life.ofrory

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a month ago

Tin Hat Mountain with my love @danica._.rapp

This was Danica’s first ever backpacking trip! And it was unforgettable. We packed up the truck after work and headed off to the trailhead, which we ended up reaching not long before sunset.

The hike up was straightforward, but had some steep parts, and Danica did super well considering she’d never gone hiking with a heavy backpack on before. Once we got to the top, the rush of the drive out there and hike up mostly in the post sunset darkness was worth it. The vibrant, firey orange-red of the sunset glowed on the horizon, silhouetting the distant peaks of Vancouver Island as the stars began to show themselves on the opposite side of the sky.

We dropped our bags and quickly headed for the summit before the last of the light vanished. It was windy, but mild. There were no sounds but the faint whooshing of the wind whipping through the valley below us. Upon heading back down I set up our tent and started on dinner, which was a freezedried chicken curry, a more expensive meal than I usually bring with me but more than worth it.

I then set up my camera in a good spot to shoot the Perseids, set up the interval shooting and went to the tent to watch the meteor shower with Danica. We were lucky enough to get perfectly clear, dark skies. No clouds and a new moon allowed us to see so, so many meteors shooting overhead as we drifted off.

The hike back down the next morning was uneventful, but I am still so happy we made this little trip happen and I’m so grateful to have shared it with my girlfriend. So proud of you and I can’t wait for our next backpacking trip, hopefully to cross Emma Lake off our list!

The peaks surrounding the Eldrid River Valley from the peak of Tin Hat.

A very vibrant sunset glow over Vancouver Island.

Danica enjoying the stars and view from the summit of Tin Hat.

The Milky Way from our tent

On the hike up, feeling good 🤙

A smoky sunrise the next morning

Home for the night

Recreating a photo from the first time Danica hiked tin hat in 2021

Inside the hut

my jetboil, our dinner, and a makeshift windbreak using my sleeping pad

more smoky views. Very pretty, but my coughing and sore thr taken in Sunshine Coast Trail by @life.ofrory

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2 months ago

film from the last couple of weeks spent camping and exploring.

Decided to pick up one of the Fujifilm quick shots for the first time in a very very long time to document some adventures around the coast with Danica.

Funnily enough those little cameras have a special place in my heart, as my grandpa used to take one with him everywhere. From BC to California I have so many memories of him using one of those little green Fujifilms to take lots of photos of all the stuff we’d get up to. And now, I’m able to buy one myself to document my own adventures and experiences.

I’ve wanted to try shooting film for a while now and this has certainly reinforced that I need to buy my own proper film camera someday soon as I love the process, and I love the colours and real, genuine feel film has compared to digital.

Summer is getting closer and closer and Danica and I have been spending SO much time outside and I couldn’t be happier! Unfortunately my back injury does still affect me at times but I am making the best of life regardless. Physio has been helping make some major progress towards permanent recovery and I plan on going on some proper backpacking trips this summer as well as hopefully one decent roadtrip.

As always enjoy the photos, until next time. 🫶 by @life.ofrory

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4 months ago

Recent times from up and down the coast + a bit of Vancouver with my girl.

Got to spend some amazing time with Danica recently and I wanted to share some of the beautiful sights! Which obviously includes a lot of her.

From watching a forest fire in Egmont to hanging out at a bird sanctuary in Vancouver to 4x4ing the backroads of Powell River and sitting by the ocean, we certainly made the best of our time with this trip. The time I’ve been spending with Danica recently has been the most fun I’ve had in ages and I’ve felt the absolute happiest I have in a good long while.

Thank you for showing me more new places, going anywhere with me, and for being such a supportive, positive light in my life. Hopefully this summer will be full of adventures, lots of fun, and lots of unforgettable moments. I can’t wait to keep sharing what we do next and the places we go! 🫶

The future is feeling very bright. taken in Sunshine Coast, Beautiful BC by @life.ofrory

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5 months ago

Some stuff from a sunny and very fun trip to Powell River to see my beautiful girlfriend Danica.

I was able to spend 5 days up there before we came back to the south end of the coast to explore some more and we absolutely made the best of the time we had.

Hikes, waterfalls, a camping trip, exploring an abandoned water treatment plant, lots of drives and sitting at viewpoints, watching movies and stargazing, for a late April trip it certainly felt a lot more like summer, and I can’t complain. We caught some of the best weather we could’ve asked for and Danica showed me some very special, beautiful places.

I’ve not spent much time in Powell River, but now I will definitely be up there a lot more often, I have a lot more to see and I have the best tour guide on the whole coast to show me around :) I couldn’t be more grateful to have such an awesome, adventurous and kind woman to share these memories with, and I can’t wait for what the future has in store for us. With many months of warm and sunny weather on its way, there’s gonna be a lot to do, and a lot to see. Can’t wait to share the coming adventures with you all as always.

Haven’t been posting a lot on this account but I’m gonna try to make some more posts to catch up on everything I’ve been up to! taken in Sunshine Coast, Beautiful BC by @life.ofrory

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5 months ago

Panorama Ridge, August 12-13th.

So so stoked I was finally able to get up here after years of wanting to give it a shot. Well worth the wait and entirely worth the effort.

Such a great experience with a great crew that I’m glad I was able to share this with! We set off in the early afternoon of the 12th and started making our way up the switchbacks in absolutely sweltering heat. No escape from it anywhere, despite the shade. The wind was warm, the air was thick with heat.

The boys set off ahead of me, eager to get to Pano before sunset. I was glad to stay behind to chill at my own pace, still being pretty unfit and in pain from my injury (trekking poles were a massive help) I was pretty slow. I finally made it to Taylor Meadows, and from there, the trail to where I ended up sleeping and where the ridge is, is fairly easy, but long.

Through meadows, sub-alpine forest, alongside creeks lined with countless wildflowers, and huge expanses of vibrant green alpine grasses and flowers backdropped by rocky, volcanic terrain. Honestly, this being my first time in the alpine of Garabaldi - it didn’t feel real.

I set up for the night behind a rock, just over an hour short of the ridge top. The sun was rapidly setting, the air chilling, and I really liked the composition I’d found for my meteor shower photo. So I stayed there. After a mostly sleepless but not super uncomfortable night, I got up around 5 AM, packed up, and made my way up the ridge for sunrise, reuniting with the homies at the top.

We spent a couple more hours up there together, chatting with people we’d met along the way, taking photos, and admiring the most insane view I’ve seen in southwest BC. The trip down was uneventful, but resulted in knee pain, back pain, and some bad blisters. As always. Still, like I always say: it’s still worth it.

Already can’t wait to go back! taken in Garibaldi Provincial Park by @life.ofrory

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a year ago

Some views from our one week roadtrip through BC and Alberta.

Nearly 3000 kilometres of total driving, two provinces, 8 days, a lot of freeze dried meals, pit toilets, and one really bad summer cold later, we made it back home to the coast.

Looking back, this was a fun trip. Didn’t feel like it at the time though. Between a tight budget and next to no space in our car (everything we owned was in there, since we were moving) Claire and I had a tough time despite how beautiful it was. Most of what we saw was from the road, not many hikes were done but we got to experience some of the best landscapes Canada has to offer, even if we saw most of it from short trails packed with tourists or through a windshield.

Turns out, living in a tent for 8 days while constantly on the move kinda sucks. Got worse when a heatwave hit us and I got super sick during our stay at Dry Gulch Prov. Park outside Radium Hotsprings. This was originally going to be two weeks, but due to money, heat, my cold, and every campsite in the Rockies being booked, we cut it short. Not everything works out, but it’s just good to have gone out on a big adventure before we got back home and resumed life as normal!

Hoping for more adventures, roadtrips, and plenty of hikes this summer. taken in On The Road by @life.ofrory

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a year ago

the last few months have been a rollercoaster. and the ski season is already winding down.

Not much snowboarding was done, at least not for me. I spent half of the season sitting around doing nothing aside from the odd short walk and physiotherapy.

On december 8th, I was probably very nearly paralyzed in a snowmobile accident while at work. I’ll save you the details, but I got very lucky coming out the other end with two herniated discs and pretty severe nerve damage. It’s been more than 3 months since then, and I’m still in pain nearly daily, my balance is completely fucked, and I’m the weakest physically I’ve been in years.

Regardless of this massive setback that I’ll be dealing with for months yet, I’ve enjoyed my time here. I’ve seen so many beautiful things, and come to love the cold, and winter in ways I never did before. I’ve met amazing people, shared laughs and stories over drinks or around a fire, and had experiences I won’t forget.

So here we are in March. I can finally snowboard again, very cautiously, but it’s progress. I can walk a lot now, and I’m feeling myself come back. Mentally, it’s taken a toll. I lost out on a lot because of this, but at 19 I’ve got a whole lotta time to make up for those lost experiences.

Feeling grateful to still be here, to still be able to use my body, and I’m looking forward to the future. Thank you to everyone who’s helped me through this recovery ❤️ Enjoy the pretty photos. Until next time. taken in Smithers, British Columbia by @life.ofrory

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2 years ago

summer of funny shit and fun adventures, would include it all but I don’t think any of y’all want a 10 minute video taken in British Columbia by @life.ofrory

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2 years ago

how the last few months has been lookin.

this summer has been full of many adventures, and an equal amount of mishaps. Regardless, I’m still happy to be here, grateful to be alive and grateful to be sharing these amazing experiences with the people I love. Cant say I’m where I wanna be at in life yet, but where I am now is pretty cool. Sometimes I find it’s so easy to lose yourself in the troubles of today, when all you gotta do is take a scroll back through your camera roll. Kinda why I take so many photos.

Lowkey forgot about this account, so enjoy the 20 slides of random shit from May through to now. Summers not over yet, hopefully a lot more fun to come. by @life.ofrory

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2 years ago

A very spontaneous weekend winter camping trip.

Honestly, this was super fun. I haven’t done backpacking in the middle of winter before this and while yeah it was somewhat miserable and a totally scuffed experience it was a memorable time that I don’t regret at all.

We started the hike SUPER late. Like, sun already hitting the horizon kinda late. This was really last minute, so we hit the trail at a good fast pace to try to use what little light we had left in the sky to help us find our camp spot.

Pretty soon though, we had to switch to hiking by headlamp. The forest got incredibly dark really fast, and the only light source was my headlamp and a flashlight Josh was holding. We passed by a big pile of what I’m 95% sure was Cougar shit, which got us a little paranoid. It looked old but still, not something you wanna see while hiking at night.

After a while longer of hiking up some fairly steep trail, we got to the camp spot. Immediately upon arriving we started trying to gather material for a fire. Josh and I cut limbs off dead trees and I built the fire pit while he made some kindling and feathersticks to, hopefully, get the wood burning.

But, as you’ve probably guessed that didn’t work. The wood looked dry but was too wet to catch. So after all that work, we just set up the tent and had dinner. Which was horrible. I had this absolutely disgusting instant KD thing in a plastic cup that was arguably the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. Artificial cheese with lukewarm water and mushy semi-cold pasta is not anything I’ll ever eat again.

So then we ended up getting in our sleeping bags around 9:30, but just ended up talking until 12. Then we fell asleep. If you wanna call that sleep. It was cold, uncomfortable, and there were multiple packs of coyotes all around yapping and barking up a storm, along with a dog on a farm a fair ways below us that did not stop barking for more than 5 minutes ALL NIGHT LONG. So we sorta slept until 7, and tried to get up for sunrise only to discover it was fogged in.

Luckily for us we actually got the fire going this morning, so we warmed up beside a perfect fire, packed up, and hiked out.

Fun time. Would do again. taken in Sunshine Coast BC Canada by @life.ofrory

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3 years ago

gooood morning Vancouver ☀️

Spent the last day of the year on the roofs of Vancouver, high above the bustling city streets slowly filling up more and more for the new years celebrations to come.

Im not a big city person. Never really have been. But there’s something undoubtedly peaceful about being above the city like this. The distant sound of music, voices, sirens, and the wind blowing around the skyscrapers makes you feel free. Not as free as the mountains do, but it’s a feeling of absolute freedom nonetheless.

Maybe it’s the sense of knowing you’re not supposed to be there, maybe it’s being so high above everyone else going about their daily lives, without knowing you’re above. Maybe it’s the feeling of seeing a place so full of individuals with their own lives from a unique perspective.

Whatever it is, it’s fun. And I am probably gonna be doing some more rooftop exploration in the future.

Have a good start to your year y’all 🤟 by @life.ofrory

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3 years ago