"How about a getaway to a remote fishing cabin, accessible only by float plane and without running water or electricity?"

I don't know how you'd respond to those words, but being a vegetarian and a computer gnu I ignored them and hoped they'd go away.

"So, how about it?", he asked. He was serious. I took a deep breath, told him he meant the world to me and to forget it. We talked, he was sweet, I bought a lot of magazines and we hopped on a plane that took us over the Sunshine Coast and up to Anahim Lake in the Chilcotins. I must admit I was getting a little excited, the day was clear and the view showed off the richness of our beautiful province. Lush forests, stunning mountains covered in white snow, a shining blue, blue ocean - West Coast British Columbia.

We arrived at a lodge (where they had running water and electricity) checked in, threw our gear in the tiniest plane imaginable and headed off for our remote cabin in Tweedsmuir Park. The float plane flew over a pine forest that was doing it's best to grow, and then up into the mountains. Wow. It was spectacular. I threw away my reluctance and started snapping pictures of everything. The area is so unusual. There are plateaus with gentle lakes nestled between mountains and on the other side of the mountain is a sheer drop that seems to go on forever. The most vivid example we saw of this was Hunlen Falls. Not too much further than the falls was the lake that was to be our home for the week. We flew over perfectly calm water and landed smoothly by a sandy beach. I was definitely smiling by this time.

That afternoon we took off in one of the boats provided and cruised the lake. Shetler Lake is part of a chain of lakes and we were able to access them all by hiking trails. The lakes were clear, cold and extremely shallow with big rocks just under the water in the funniest parts, like the middle of the lake. And fish! They were everywhere! Jumping all over. We spent our days in boats - I would row and he would fish, hiking trails to the other lakes, taking dips in the cold, fresh water and throwing away our watches. And, something happened to my partner - he became a kid again. I've never seen him so relaxed. He was happy, totally immersed in the art of catching rainbow trout and constantly on the lookout for Mr Big. He was so excited. When he'd hook a fish, I would watch him. We were both smiling a lot now.

Our days seemed endless, reading and fishing on the lakes, making camp fires at night and doing something I thought I'd never do - just being. We talked and talked, and laughed like kids let loose for their first time. We were afraid of the bear, who was probably just as afraid of us, got scolded by chipmunks and counted our bug bites every night. We got our boots completely muddied hiking through bogs to Hidden and Secret Lakes, visited Frank and crew up at Crazy Bear Lake, checked out their local waterfalls, napped on the warm, sandy beach of Shetler Lake and had the best time on the lake with no name. When the plane was a little late in picking us up I was hoping they had forgotten about us. They hadn't. We flew back to the lodge, back to Vancouver and headed for home. It all seems very surreal after being alone for just a week. I meet my friends and they ask me how the trip went. My face relaxes, I smile and say "It was wonderful." And I'm wrong, it was more than wonderful but I don't know how to tell them.