Wednesday, 27 April 2011
April 26th – Granville Island, Deep Cove, and Horseshoe Bay
This was going to be my last nice non-rain day in Vancouver, so I headed out to get all of my outdoor pics done. I first headed out over to the bridges facing Granville Island, where I would be rewarded with some pretty nice shots. I also stopped inside the Public Market on Granville Island (a very touristy spot), and picked up some sushi for lunch which tasted pretty fresh and good.
Afterwards I headed to Deep Cove, based on a recommendation by my friend Steve. It was alright, I think it would have been nicer had I rented a kayak and paddled around. But oh well. Afterwards I drove up to Seymour Mountain, and then headed to Lions Bay but didn’t stay too long (no good spots for photo taking). I then proceeded to Horseshoe Bay and grabbed a few shots of the harbor. I then headed around the corner to Wycliffe Park and was rewarded with a pretty nice view of the surrounding mountains and oceans (I recommend this spot).
April 25th – Bike ride Pt.2 and Lynn Canyon Hike
It was rainy today, but that didn’t stop me from another bike ride. I zipped along the bike path through the coast that I didn’t get to do before. It was pretty fun, because of the rain I was the one of the few people out. The view was just as scenic as the other parts that I biked, it was filled with the boats, buildings, and little shops.
After that I headed to Lynn Canyon for a hike, and a walk over the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge. It was kind of cool. I didn’t bother to check out the Capilano suspension bridge because my friend Steve told me it was just a rip off (but instead suggested the Lynn Canyon).
Later on that night, I caught up with my old supervisor (Michelle) from the wild bird care centre in Ottawa and her boyfriend (Steve). I lost my sense of direction and took me a bit longer to finally find them in downtown. We checked out the steam whistle clock in Gastown before heading off to dinner at the Cambi Hostel restaurant. Steve explained to me that the street Hastings (just past the steam whistle) was packed with homeless people, and recommend that anyone who saw the steam whistle should stop and head back in the other direction.
At the Cambie hostel & restaurant, I had my first Mickey there, and it was pretty good so I got another one. I had a good time hanging out with Michelle and Steve, which we quickly caught up on what was going on in our lives. They were super cool and treated me to dinner and the Mickey’s. I’m glad that they enjoy life in Van City - which is hard not to.
I still can’t get over how beautiful the waterfront of Vancouver is, and no other city I ever visited comes close to it (including San Diego or L.A.). It’s hard to beat getting a beautiful view of the harbor, the sea, the mountains, beaches, and downtown life everyday. But I’m an Ottawa boy, and will always be an Ottawa boy.
After that I headed to Lynn Canyon for a hike, and a walk over the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge. It was kind of cool. I didn’t bother to check out the Capilano suspension bridge because my friend Steve told me it was just a rip off (but instead suggested the Lynn Canyon).
Later on that night, I caught up with my old supervisor (Michelle) from the wild bird care centre in Ottawa and her boyfriend (Steve). I lost my sense of direction and took me a bit longer to finally find them in downtown. We checked out the steam whistle clock in Gastown before heading off to dinner at the Cambi Hostel restaurant. Steve explained to me that the street Hastings (just past the steam whistle) was packed with homeless people, and recommend that anyone who saw the steam whistle should stop and head back in the other direction.
At the Cambie hostel & restaurant, I had my first Mickey there, and it was pretty good so I got another one. I had a good time hanging out with Michelle and Steve, which we quickly caught up on what was going on in our lives. They were super cool and treated me to dinner and the Mickey’s. I’m glad that they enjoy life in Van City - which is hard not to.
I still can’t get over how beautiful the waterfront of Vancouver is, and no other city I ever visited comes close to it (including San Diego or L.A.). It’s hard to beat getting a beautiful view of the harbor, the sea, the mountains, beaches, and downtown life everyday. But I’m an Ottawa boy, and will always be an Ottawa boy.
Sunday, 24 April 2011
April 24th – Museum of Anthropology and rest day
I took it easy today and just checkout out the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. They had some pretty cool stuff there. I ain’t much of a museum person, but I thought it was kind of cool.
April 23rd – Bike ride in Van City
I finally busted out the bike, which seemed to have been sitting in the back of my car disassembled forever. I headed for Stanley Park, which was ridiculously packed with people. I had forgotten it was the Easter long weekend, so that sort of explained it (and it was nice weather). The view along the bike path of the coast and Stanley Park was beautiful. The view of the mountains with snow, the sea, the glass buildings of downtown, the harbor filled with boats and seaplanes, and plenty of beaches with people lounging around. It’s no wonder why people do what they can to move here. Just so long it’s not past Gastown lol. According to my friend Steve, past Gastown is just filled with drugs.
After the bike ride, I checked out Cypress Mountain and was surprised to still see so much snow on top that people were still skiing (it was +15 in the city). I also took the Gondola on Grouse Mountain, but I got there late and didn’t get the chance to snowshoe to the lookout point. Oh well.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention my hostel (in the downtown location). It was a bit dingy, and I was sort of expecting something more modern and nicer, but oh well. Also I should mention that if you ever stay in any dorm rooms, ear plugs are a must! There would be lots of sleepless nights if I didn’t have those puppies.
Saturday, 23 April 2011
April 22nd – Drive to Vancouver
Driving from Whistler towards Vancouver, I could finally understand why they called it the Sea to Sky Highway. Just past Squamish, the view of the sea, mountains, and islands was pretty breathtaking. I like to return to Lions Bay hopefully to take a picture of it. However I did stop at Porteau Cove, which was a pretty neat place to stop and look around. I saw a group of scuba divers checking out the cove, and kids poking crabs with sticks on the shore.
After Porteau Cove, I visted the Capilano Fish Hatchery place. It was alright.
Friday, 22 April 2011
April 20th – 21st – Whistler (resting)
Nothing really to report here. I just took it easy and let my body recover from the downhill skiing. I walked around Whistler Village and picked up some gifts and groceries. I found Whistler too touristy for my taste, and didn’t bother to take any pictures. Why didn’t I take any pictures of Black Comb or Whistler mountain you might ask? Honestly they didn’t seem like anything special, after seeing the mountains in the Rockies, Black Comb or Whistler didn’t seem close as majestic.
April 19th – Skiing in Whistler
Before I talk about how my skiing went, I’ll start with the funnier things. I had forgotten about the whole pot smoking culture around snowboarding/skiing, until I got on my second lift up Black Comb. There was a group of young kids, one Asian guy who looked pretty baked with a constant smile on his face, and they were eating muffins made with good ole pot. I didn’t talk to them, but they were trying to figure out how to get rid of the rest of the muffins they had.
The second encounter was the one of the most memorable times I had in Whistler. I had gotten on the Whistler Gondola with 3 young guys from New Zealand, and one lady over her 40s from L.A. The first thing I get in, she asks me “do you smoke pot”. I tell her no, not that I have anything against pot. So she pulls out a joint and starts passing it around to the other guys (whom I assume just met her as well when they got on the first lift stop, I had gotten on the second one).
This lady was super hilarious because she just kept spilling out these wacky stories. Like how in her younger days a guy went down on her in the snow on the base of the mountain in the cover of trees. All the rest of us were like “What?” and stared cracking up big time. She goes on and tells us, that she dated this surgeon once who was really good with his hands and shaved his initials on her bush. Again we all kept busting out laughing. She explains to us that when she gets high she becomes an “entertainer” according to her friends. Also, back in L.A. she owns her own business of taking clients out
and having a good time that they would “cry when they left L.A.”. I didn’t ask her what exactly that meant, but I guess it probably had something to do with pot lol. She thought I was super cool, because according to her, the wrinkles on face indicated that I like to laugh a lot – which I’ll give her credit there. I think she came from a rich family because she has kept coming up here since her teens and getting high and going skiing from what she tells me.
Now to tell you how my ski went. It has been over 10 years since I’ve gone downhill skiing. The last time was probably when I was 16, when I went skiing with family in Tremblant. At that time I sort of self-taught myself how to do parallel skiing (which I doubt I learned the proper technique). Anyways, I thought it would be easy for me to pick it up because the very least I know how to snowplow (and I do that a lot in xc skiing of down hills). So I went up Black Comb mountain and did two very scary short runs on the beginner routes. At the very beginning on the steep parts I thought to myself shit I’m going to hit a tree. Doing my snow plow turns sucked ass and my knees (I have bad knees by the way) were sore from applying pressure - making me more unbalanced. After the two short runs I was about to call it quits (and I paid over $150 for the lift ticket and rentals).
But I decided I should at least try one short run on the Whistler mountain. So up I went up the Whistler Gondola, and I ended up going to the top. It was high and some slopes looked pretty steep. ”Oh shit” I thought. So I decided to go in the Lodge first and grab lunch to postpone it. Feeling better I was like “what the hell, lets do this”. So I made my way to “Upper Whiskey” for the easy route. After two minutes, I just trying out parallel skiing, and it all came back to me. Soon I was carving my way down the mountain and finally enjoying the skiing. Thank god I remembered how to do it, because if I didn’t I’d probably run into 10 trees on my down. My knees still felt real sore but not as bad.
Overall my first big run down Whistler went well, I decided to go up and take the Peak 2 Peak gondola that takes you to the top of Black Comb mountain from the top of Whistler mountain. I did one big run on it and then went back to Whistler for one last big run. My knees felt sore so I called it quits at 3 pm (the skiing closed at 4:30 pm anyway). After that day and the next my legs were so wiped, I had to take naps in the afternoon because I was so tired.
The second encounter was the one of the most memorable times I had in Whistler. I had gotten on the Whistler Gondola with 3 young guys from New Zealand, and one lady over her 40s from L.A. The first thing I get in, she asks me “do you smoke pot”. I tell her no, not that I have anything against pot. So she pulls out a joint and starts passing it around to the other guys (whom I assume just met her as well when they got on the first lift stop, I had gotten on the second one).
This lady was super hilarious because she just kept spilling out these wacky stories. Like how in her younger days a guy went down on her in the snow on the base of the mountain in the cover of trees. All the rest of us were like “What?” and stared cracking up big time. She goes on and tells us, that she dated this surgeon once who was really good with his hands and shaved his initials on her bush. Again we all kept busting out laughing. She explains to us that when she gets high she becomes an “entertainer” according to her friends. Also, back in L.A. she owns her own business of taking clients out
and having a good time that they would “cry when they left L.A.”. I didn’t ask her what exactly that meant, but I guess it probably had something to do with pot lol. She thought I was super cool, because according to her, the wrinkles on face indicated that I like to laugh a lot – which I’ll give her credit there. I think she came from a rich family because she has kept coming up here since her teens and getting high and going skiing from what she tells me.
Now to tell you how my ski went. It has been over 10 years since I’ve gone downhill skiing. The last time was probably when I was 16, when I went skiing with family in Tremblant. At that time I sort of self-taught myself how to do parallel skiing (which I doubt I learned the proper technique). Anyways, I thought it would be easy for me to pick it up because the very least I know how to snowplow (and I do that a lot in xc skiing of down hills). So I went up Black Comb mountain and did two very scary short runs on the beginner routes. At the very beginning on the steep parts I thought to myself shit I’m going to hit a tree. Doing my snow plow turns sucked ass and my knees (I have bad knees by the way) were sore from applying pressure - making me more unbalanced. After the two short runs I was about to call it quits (and I paid over $150 for the lift ticket and rentals).
But I decided I should at least try one short run on the Whistler mountain. So up I went up the Whistler Gondola, and I ended up going to the top. It was high and some slopes looked pretty steep. ”Oh shit” I thought. So I decided to go in the Lodge first and grab lunch to postpone it. Feeling better I was like “what the hell, lets do this”. So I made my way to “Upper Whiskey” for the easy route. After two minutes, I just trying out parallel skiing, and it all came back to me. Soon I was carving my way down the mountain and finally enjoying the skiing. Thank god I remembered how to do it, because if I didn’t I’d probably run into 10 trees on my down. My knees still felt real sore but not as bad.
Overall my first big run down Whistler went well, I decided to go up and take the Peak 2 Peak gondola that takes you to the top of Black Comb mountain from the top of Whistler mountain. I did one big run on it and then went back to Whistler for one last big run. My knees felt sore so I called it quits at 3 pm (the skiing closed at 4:30 pm anyway). After that day and the next my legs were so wiped, I had to take naps in the afternoon because I was so tired.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
April 18th – Drive to Whistler
At first I thought maybe the drive would be nothing special, but man I was wrong. Just past Kamloops it was pretty scenic, and I would highly recommend this route to Whistler. The terrain and vegetation changed dramatically. The hills had some cool red in its soil, combined with a grass/low shrub vegetation that gave the place a desert feeling. You have to see the picture yourself to get what I’m saying. The city of Kamloops itself seemed ok (nothing special), I had stopped there for lunch at a fast food Mexican restaurant in downtown area (Lansdowne Village).
As I kept driving further west (approaching Whistler), the scenery changed back to familiar conifer trees and super mountainous terrain. This made the driving again pretty thrilling because I was making super sharp turns and going up and down big inclines.
April 17 – Drive to Shuswap Lake
The drive was pretty cool, the road takes you through winding paths alongside the mountains. These roads kind of treacherous because you were winding around and going up and down steep inclines. All the cars passing me were either trucks or SUVs. One section had a lot of potholes and going down the mountain at 100km was a bit of an adrenaline rush. Had it really been winter time, I think my car would of slid into a ditch 100 times. Thank god it wasn’t winter though. It was also quite scenic to drive on Hwy 1 from Lake Louise to Shuswap Lake, a much different scenery than driving through the Rockies, in that the mountains and terrain looked different. When I reached Shuswap Lake, it seemed like I was driving along it forever – it is one big ass lake. My hostel is situated on the shore of the Lake.
If you want to stay at pretty cool place, then by far this hostel had beaten the others big time in character. There are four trains cars connected (all on railroads), three of them have been converted into a fully functional dorm rooms. Mine had a tiny toilet, kitchen/lounge area, 3 bunk beds, and 2 observational deck chairs up top. And there is more, they have two pet Lamas in the courtyard. Combine this with the lake view and the hills - it was kind of cool. Also this is the cheapest hostel so far, only $17 a night in the dorm room – and I was the only person there.
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Rockies Summary trip (April 6h – April 16th)
It seemed like my trip in the Rockies had gone by quick. I hit Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper, all great places. I had done 7 days of xc skiing, 2 days of snowshoeing, 1 mini hike, and hrs exploring the towns. I have great memories of each place, the most being skiing across Lake Louise (the lake itself) was awesome because of the view. Second would be meeting everyone at the hostels, but especially Bill because he was an old 58 year old dude that could still kick ass on alpine touring (a sport that is too extreme for me, I’ll stick to MMA lol). I hope to stay in good shape, so that I can continue on playing in the outdoors like him. Not to mention he had some pretty hilarious and interesting stories from his past that I doubt I will ever match. But then again I have no desire to live in a city of poverty and violence, or a city that is rich beyond stupid.
But to simply sum things up, you got to see the Rockies yourself and have fun over here to know what I’m really talking about.
But to simply sum things up, you got to see the Rockies yourself and have fun over here to know what I’m really talking about.
April 16th - Back to Lake Louise
I got up and headed back to Lake Louise late morning. The drive was a bit shorter, since I didn’t stop that much to take pictures. Me and Thomas (I was giving him a ride back to Lake Louise) talked a bit more, but I think we ran out of stuff to talk about. I dropped him off at Lake Louise and wished him all the best, it was fun having some company on the drive. Thomas then proceeded to hitch hike back to Banff (about 25 km away I think).
After checking in I decided to go for my last xc ski of my trip at a new trail (pipestone) that I put off doing. I was pretty sure I was the only one skiing that day because it snowed and no fresh tracks were visible. Also I was the only car in the parking lot. The un-groomed trail made skiing super slow, like it took me 4 hrs (including some stops for pictures) to finish the loop. Surprisingly I didn’t feel as exhausted as I thought but I was still tired nonetheless.
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