When people ask us how we met, the short answer is in the woods, on a river. The slightly longer version is:

September 2020. Bethany was on a kayaking trip in the Cariboo and Chilcotin (interior BC) with a group of friends from Vancouver. One couple on this trip had guided with Jake years before, and since they knew he was living in the general area at the time, they sent him an invitation to meet them at the confluence of the Chilko and Taseko Rivers. Jake didn't commit, and they forgot they invited him.

On a beautiful September morning, Jake woke up at 4 am to start driving from Quesnel, eager for his favorite river. Bethany and her friends were enjoying a quiet sunny morning under the deep blue Chilcotin sky, with the couple who invited him nowhere to be seen, when Jake rallied his Subaru into the campsite.

When he pulled in, he found, as expected, a big group of paddlers. But they were not expecting him. The Chilko is very remote, accessible only by a long 4x4 road with no service - who was this random solo kayaker??

And so, that was the beginning. Sort of. No moves were made that weekend, and other than a Facebook friend request, no contact until the following summer, when Jake was passing through Vancouver. They met up for another weekend of group kayaking, this time during the infamous Heat-Dome event of 2021. Their first real date was a paddle on the Chilliwack River, where Jake took Bethany for a walk at a hidden waterfall (old guide trick) and they shared their first kiss underneath it. Bethany agreed to go on a 10-day second date in Prince George, and many adventures later, here we are!