• Hiking & Scrambling,  Kayaking and Canoeing,  Sea to Sky,  Trip Reports,  Trips with Kids

    Echo Lake: It’s a Kind of Magic

    This hiking trip started with a canoe trip across the Squamish River. At least, for most of us – one of us chose to swim across, braving the frigid water. This was a rare weekend on which Neil and I had the opportunity of doing a more strenuous trip. I had been eyeing a hike to Echo Lake for a while, but wasn’t sure of the logistics. Going with friends who know the way made this easy. Either way, hiking trips that start with a canoe trip have always captivated me. The canoe trip adds an element of excitement and adventure, and drives the crowds away. Crossing the Squamish River…

  • Downhill Skiing,  Sea to Sky,  Trip Reports,  Trips with Kids

    Whistler: Spanky’s Ladder

    I can’t believe it’s the ski season of the year after, and I’m catching up with blog posts from last winter! Anyway, like the year before, we headed to Whistler over the Easter long weekend, this time for six days. It’s hard to beat the views there on a sunny day! The views from Seventh Heaven are some of the best Here are some highlights / observations: Our lodging this year was in the centre of Whistler Village. Since it wasn’t close enough to walk, we caught the (free!) shuttle daily. This worked out really well, except that the return shuttles were very oddly spaced out, sometimes leading to long…

  • Downhill Skiing,  Sea to Sky,  Trip Reports,  Trips with Kids

    Whistler: Seventh Heaven Skiing

    The last time we skied Whistler was probably around ten years ago. In those days we still didn’t have kids and going up there for the day was a realistic option. Also, the price, or the price that we managed to get, was much more reasonable than Whistler prices these days. With our two kids, heading to Whistler for less than three days seems unreasonable. So for many years we just blocked Whistler from our skiing vocabulary, although it is by far the closest, most accessible ski resort for us aside from the North Shore mountains. Up, Up, Up We enjoy taking our skiing vacations somewhat late in the season…

  • Camping,  Duffey Lake Road,  Hiking & Scrambling,  Sea to Sky,  Trip Reports,  Trips with Kids

    Joffre Lakes: Glaciers and Lakes Up Close

    British Columbia is mostly covered with beautiful mountains and lakes. But still, there are few places nearby that have easy access to the mountains, with a well maintained trail and rewarding views. Joffre Lakes is a rare example, and as a result it tends to be extremely busy. This year BC Parks introduced a day pass system for this trail. Without getting into the question of whether it’s good or bad, it does limit the number of people. Not that the trail was empty or anything. Even in early October there were still lots of people out, but since we haven’t been there since I was pregnant with Neil seven years ago…

  • Hiking & Scrambling,  Kayaking and Canoeing,  Sea to Sky,  Trip Reports,  Trips with Kids

    Callaghan Lake: The Broken Sandal

    I was looking for neat places to go with our canoe. We decided on Callaghan Lake, intending to camp at the supposedly nice camping spot on the opposite end of the lake. I even recruited a friend and his two kids. However, when we arrived to Callaghan Lake, and looked at the park map, we discovered that camping at the other end isn’t allowed. It turned out I had looked at some blog posts and a guidebook, but hadn’t thought to check the park website… We were also warned about it being grizzly territory. Luckily there is a free campground right where we were going to put in, and there…

  • Backcountry Skiing,  Sea to Sky,  Trip Reports,  Trips with Kids

    Red Heather: A Backcountry Skier is Born (Again)

    As children growing up in Israel, we barely ever saw snow. Snow was this novel thing that you would see in movies or drive for hours to touch, briefly, and then forget about for another couple of years. No wonder then that when Maya and I arrived to Canada in 2006, we didn’t know how to ski. At all. We picked it up quickly though, and it was super exciting. After a couple of years we got into backcountry skiing and spent many weekends in the mountains, making memories. Nevertheless, my last backcountry ski trip was in 2015, a few weeks before our first son, Neil, was born… We do…

  • Cycling & Cycle Touring,  Metro Vancouver & North Shore,  Sea to Sky,  Trips with Kids,  Urban

    Bike Parks in Vancouver and Nearby

    Our kids love going to our local bike park (Vanier Park) so in the fall we decided to explore a a few more bike parks in metro Vancouver (and Squamish). Both kids love this activity and never seem to get enough of it. We love it too, it’s fun, free and gets the kids to be active and tired (which is our goal at the end of the day). There is also an element of risk taking and risk management that is so important for kids. If possible we also try to combine it with a longer bike ride, so that we get some exercise too.  We have a (now)…

  • Hiking & Scrambling,  Sea to Sky,  Trip Reports,  Trips with Kids

    Blanca Lake: Before the Smoke Rolled In

    Blanca Lake has been at the back of my mind for some years now. A remote area “near Squamish”, accessible via a short hike, beautiful lakes, surrounded by glaciers, off the beaten track? Sign me up! There was just one thing I didn’t quite realize. Although the hike is short, the drive is long… We did leave the highway near Squamish, but that wasn’t even the halfway point due to all the logging roads involved. The drive took us almost three hours, and we didn’t even make it to the trailhead! The final stretch was steep and loose, and there were water bars which caused us to leave our car…

  • Cycling & Cycle Touring,  Sea to Sky,  Trip Reports,  Trips with Kids

    Whistler and Pemberton: Smokin’

    We had cycled the Pemberton Slow Food Cycle Sunday twice before, and were looking forward to doing it again this year. With a three year old on the back seat, the drive from Vancouver just seems getting longer and longer, so we decided to make a weekend out of it. We met up with two other families with kids, in Whistler by the Meadow Park Sports Center. From there we cycled the 4 km’s or so to Alta Lake, and spent most of the rest of the day there, on the grass, swimming, and lounging. We borrowed a stand up paddle board from a friend of a friend. It was…

  • Hiking & Scrambling,  Sea to Sky,  Trip Reports,  Trips with Kids

    Brew Lake: The Most Refreshing Lake in the World

    A few months ago Gili got an email from a friend asking if we would like to join a family hike to Blowdown Pass at the end of July. Gili replied that we would love to as long as the weather cooperates. When he wrote that we thought of rain possibly ruining our plans, not of extreme heat. A few days before the planned trip emails started flying around, reconsidering the plan. Temperatures in Pemberton were around 34C and the hike to Blowdown is exposed to the sun, on a logging road, and with the long drive no one sounded too keen. So a new plan emerged – hiking to…