- Hiking & Scrambling, Kayaking and Canoeing, Metro Vancouver & North Shore, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids
Widgeon Creek: Trying Something New
The first time I took out our new canoe, I flipped it. The two kids who were on it with me, Neil and a friend, were shrieking with excitement. Or was it the shock of the cold water? Either way, they just kept on shouting and laughing for at least a half hour afterwards. I admit to wondering previously – how would we get back into the canoe if we capsized? I might have even made a mental note to look this up and practice it. There was no time for that, I had to make some snap decisions – how to get the kids back into the canoe? After…
Viewpoint Beach: The Same Trip Again?
After doing a trip to a certain place, how do you feel about doing that same trip again? On the one hand, there are so many other places to go, that it might seem like a waste to revisit a spot you’ve been to. On the other hand, as Heraclitus apparently once put it, so beautifully: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” So, it’s not really the same trip again, is it? and the debate goes on… We don’t usually plan much in advance, but nevertheless we had planned a camping trip to the Okanagan…
Hiking the Juan de Fuca Trail with Two Kids in Tow (Video)
Hiking the Juan de Fuca trail with our two kids was mostly type two fun. Meaning that hiking the trail didn’t really feel fun, or at least some sections of it. In fact at times it felt more like a survival trip, but in retrospect it was a lot of fun. It was a tough journey for us and the kids – especially for our five year old who hiked it all by himself, but we all came out of it stronger and proud of what we achieved. We all tend to appreciate or want certain things when we don’t have them any more, or can’t have them for a…
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…
Cathedral Park: The Fairy Tale Lives On
If there was one trip I knew for sure I wanted us to do this summer, it was going to Cathedral Park. I remembered it being a magical experience with fairy tale landscapes when we were there four years ago. I also remember that we didn’t end up doing all the hikes we wanted to do and that there was so much more to see. With a five year old and an almost two year old, catching the ride up there seemed ideal. Alas, every time we called to try to arrange our ride up we were told a different reason why we shouldn’t come up. For early July we…
Juan de Fuca Trail: The Mystical Trail
My backpack was VERY heavy. So heavy that lifting it required an orchestrated series of moves, which ended with an impossible to suppress grunt. So heavy that I chose not to weigh it so I wouldn’t know how heavy it was. Such is life for a family of four on a five (or six) day hiking trip along the Juan de Fuca Trail. Luckily our first day was short, and ended at the appropriately named Mystic Beach. Our mystical campsite, right on the beach, had wide views (of course), and a swing hanging from a precariously positioned down-sloping log, a waterfall going straight into the ocean, only accessible at low…
Viewpoint Beach: The Perfect Early Season Hike
We hadn’t left the city in three months and as much as we had started to get used to our new very local lifestyle we were also starting to get some cabin fever. COVID-19 restrictions were starting to slowly lift and BC Parks and campgrounds had reopened. We refused to take part in the BC Parks crazy camping extravaganza reservation system which crashed as soon as it opened and some very frustrated people were on their computers at 7am trying to book sites. So as usual we just decided we’d play it by ear and see where the wind blows with our summer plans. The first weekend in June was…
Tetrahedron: A Trail of Blueberries and a Blanket of Stars
As the Labour Day long weekend was approaching there was a feeling in the air that summer was coming to an end. Although the days were still warm and sunny we could feel that there might be a shift soon. The forecast for the weekend was generally good especially towards the end of it. I was absolutely exhausted since we had just finished a very busy season of Kids on Wheels and all I wanted to do was to catch up on some sleep. But since September is always a gamble with the weather in this area we decided to do a two day trip leaving on the Monday of…
Mt. Rainier National Park: Wilderness Behind the Urban Monster
Why? It seems to be the number one question recently when we set off on a trip by car. This time even more so, since crossing the border to the US, especially on a long weekend is brutal. Naively we thought that if we’d cross on Sunday, meaning the middle of the long weekend, the wait wouldn’t be long. We ended up waiting for an hour and a half… The only silver lining in the situation was that the kids miraculously slept through most of the wait. If they would have been awake I’m pretty sure we would have turned around. That would have been unfortunate since that first day…
Darkside Lake: The Dark Side of the Duffey
Gili probably had this hike on his bucket list for quite some time and finally it was an appropriate weekend to go. But only as we started driving I realized how far we’d have to drive to get to the trailhead. I guess Gili kept that fact hidden behind “it’s a short easy hike”. We also didn’t get an early start even though for the first time our backpacks were packed and ready to go a day ahead of time. Driving out of Vancouver was brutal and the Sea to Sky had numerous accidents along the way including one involving a bike unfortunately. As we were getting close to Whistler…
