This is the state of affairs: tight chest, rapid breathing, bright red face. Have I just run a 5k? No. In fact, I’m only five minutes into a relatively easy early-morning hike. The reason I’m presenting the fitness levels of a sloth is the altitude. I’m en route to the Top of the World viewpoint, which can be found at a mighty 2,080 metres (6,800 feet) above sea level – one of the highest points on Tod Mountain.

The village in Sun Peaks, Canada’s second largest ski area, is cradled in the valley below by three prominent peaks: Sundance Mountain, Mount Morrissey and my choice of terrain, Tod Mountain.

ALPINE AWE

It’s not difficult to imagine the surrounding slopes awash with skiers in winter, but it is a challenge to envisage Sun Peaks looking any more beautiful than it does right now. I’m visiting in July to see what the resort has to offer guests outside of ski season, so my trip coincides with the bloom of British Columbia’s wildflowers; and what a treat that is. Lipstick-red Indian paintbrush, mauve mountain aster and Arctic lupine cover Tod like a thick, sweet-smelling blanket. Ground squirrels and marmots dash and dive between the flora and, as I enter a dense patch of pine trees, a chipmunk appears on the branch beside me, gives me a quizzical look and then moves on. Clearly he has somewhere to be – and so have I.

I take the Sunburst Express chairlift back down the mountain to Sun Peaks Stables, where I’m paired up with a stunning grey steed named Tootabelle. Together we take a mixture of hiking and skiing trails along the slopes, passing trickling tributaries and tree stumps stripped back by black bears in search of bugs and berries.

LAKE DISTRICT

The hack feels refreshingly rustic, so sets me up well for an evening with the Northwest Voyageur Company. McGillivray Lake is the site the operator uses to show travellers what life was like for fur traders in Canada during the 18th century. Only accessible via a dirt track and with no mobile phone service, it feels like there isn’t another soul for miles – the only sign of human existence is a wooden hut and an axe left behind by campers. It’s inside this hut that I experience my first taste of bannock bread with tomato and black bean soup, the first course in a menu inspired by the fur traders’ diet, designed to satiate and sustain. To follow is slow-cooked pork belly rubbed with maple whisky BBQ sauce, salmon and roasted root vegetables, and a quadruple berry compote with shortbread cookie, which goes down a treat after an hour’s canoeing on the lake.

While a sunset canoe trip is a brilliant way to experience British Columbia, nothing beats the closeness you can get from stand-up paddle-boarding, as I discover during my time on Heffley Lake with Paddle Surfit. On the shoreline, I get a glimpse into Canada’s true wilderness, where eagles nest in the trees and a dilapidated summer camp has been taken over by nature. On the lake’s surface, families of turtles perch on floating logs to bathe in the warm sunshine. I move in for a closer look and, after the ripples from my board reach them, each turtle plops one by one into the depths of the lake. An odd cry leads me into the next bay, where I find two loons floating alongside each other, their black-and-white spotted bodies and dark collars standing out against the iridescent green water. In between their piercing calls, the silence is palpable.