- British Columbia (and nearby), Chilliwack and Nearby, Hiking & Scrambling, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Slollicum Peak: A Dangerous Supernatural Creature
What’s a Slollicum? I’m not really sure, but according to Bivouac, it’s a “dangerous supernatural creature of local mythology”. As much as we tried, we didn’t spot this undoubtedly interesting creature, although we saw some other fascinating life forms. After meeting at the trailhead, we promptly began hiking up the wrong logging road. After too long, we realized the road we were on wasn’t going up, so it was unlikely to be the correct one. We later made two more logging road mistakes, which we are happy to blame on unclear instructions and bugs clouding our judgement. A few people suggested ditching the trip and going down for a swim…
Flower Ridge: or Cloud Ridge in This Case
On an early Sunday morning we found ourselves on the ferry to Vancouver Island again. This time no bikes, but rather backpacks, hiking poles and boots. We found an isolated corner on the ferry, rolled out our sleeping pads and slept so hard that one of the workers had to shout at us: “time to wake up!” when we were almost in Nanaimo. Jan and Warrick picked us up and we still had a few more hours of driving till we reached the trailhead for Flower Ridge. By the time we finished lunch and were ready to start hiking it was around 2:30pm, not exactly an alpine start. The trail was mostly in…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Hiking & Scrambling, Hurley & Lillooet Valley, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Harrison Hut Trail Work: Making a Change in the World
Can we make a change in the world? It seems so hopeless, how can one person move a mountain. I remember arguing with an office mate of mine, who chose not to vote since his one little vote would not make a difference. Yes, sure, a quick look at the history books shows that some smart leaders have effected change (such as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela), but they couldn’t have done it without a group of determined individuals to help them out. Given enough resources, such a group can indeed move a mountain, or, as happened on this trip, build a trail and a road. The Harrison Hut, which…
Mt. Rainier: Another Smooth Trip
Some trips go completely smoothly. This one seemed to be off to a bad start. We met at 6am below our building, and Ariel asked Brent off handedly if he had brought his passport. After a mad dash back to UBC, and picking up Conrad, we were on our way again. At the US border we had the pleasure of meeting two nasty guards and breathed in relief an hour later when they let us go. Then at the trailhead, we were just about to start hiking when we tried to pick up Brent’s backpack and could barely lift it. After nixing a bunch of unnecessary items, and eating a…
Port Renfrew Loop: Discovering the Backroads of Vancouver Island
I honestly didn’t think we would do another cycling trip so soon after returning from five months of cycling in Central America. But blisters from the previous weekend’s hiking trip prevented me from wearing my hiking boots for a while. So this is how we found ourselves cycling not so early on Saturday morning towards the ferry after finding (free) parking in Tsawwassen. When we arrived to the terminal we were told that the 10am ferry was full, even for foot passengers! After sticking around for a bit it turned out that we could actually board the ferry. While the ferry was packed by enthusiastic tourists who were taking pictures…
Twin Lakes: Crystal, Elliot and A Problem Marmot
I am drawn to places that are hard to get to, and visited by few. Yes, it’s harder to find information about these places, they require more effort and sometimes planning, but they offer solitude and an authentic experience. I like to think that there’s a “marginal effort principle” at work: if you put in just a bit more effort than most people, you get a substantially higher reward. This is applicable to many fields, including, for example, blackberry picking. You want to pick ripe, plump berries that are oozing with juice, right? Reach slightly higher, scratch your arms and legs in an effort to go deeper into the thorny…
Last Few Days in Vancouver and Hasta la Vista
For more than six years we lived in our lovely apartment in the family housing on UBC Campus. We fell in love with the place the moment we passed through the doors. We quickly made it ours and felt right at home. But we always knew the day would come when we would have to move out. Last week this day indeed came. We had a few very busy weeks in Vancouver, starting with Gili’s graduation and visitors staying with us on and off for over a month. It was lots of fun and smartly we started selling our furniture early. Also the end date of my job at UBC…
Wreck Beach: A Different Kind of Trip
UBC is the only university I know of that has a nude beach. Imagine yourself, on a mid summer day, clambering down the wooden stairs to Wreck Beach, through pristine forest, coming out to a scene in the spirit of the free love atmosphere of the 60’s. There are volleyball nudes, beer hugging nudes, sunbathing nudes, ice cream selling nudes and even magic mushroom and pot selling nudes. They come in all types. If you return at the end of summer, Wreck Beach transforms completely. A wilder, undeveloped and more pristine beach: the nudists disappear, and the beach is reclaimed by quacking seagulls. On a beautiful sunny fall day, the…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Hiking & Scrambling, Sea to Sky, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Hanging Lake Trail: The Gratification of Trail Clearing
British Columbia contains some of the wildest wilderness on Earth, and yet very few trails run through it. For us, outdoor fanatics, there is constant tension between wanting more trails to access the back country contrasted with wanting less trails to keep the wilderness as it is. Those few trails are generally maintained by volunteers, at least the ones outside of parks, and BC Parks suffers from an ongoing lack of funds that hampers their work. Other than lobbying the provincial and federal government for more funding for new trails and the maintenance of the existing ones, what are we to do? Go trail clearing ourselves, of course! Scott Nelson…
Tenquille Lake: Summer Grand Finale
This has been an amazing summer. It started kind of slow with a very wet June, but July and August were pure sun. We’ve been lucky enough that this sunny weather continued on into September. On the first official day of fall, Gili and I headed for a three day trip to Tenquille Lake, as a finale of this wonderful summer. In the next couple of weeks we’ll be visiting our families in Israel, and by the time we’ll be back it’s probably going to be full-on fall. The drive was quite long, past Pemberton and then on to the Birkenhead Lake road. As we were driving the logging road…
