- British Columbia (and nearby), Cycling & Cycle Touring, Hiking & Scrambling, Hot Springs, Rockies & Kootenays, Trip Reports
West Kootenays: Adventures in the Kootenays
About two weeks ago we returned from three weeks in the Kootenays. The days before we left were a flurry of activity – we subletted our apartment, so we had to tidy and clean up, dehydrate food for the trip, pack and tie up all sorts of loose ends (such as doing our taxes three months late…). Finally we managed to leave in the early afternoon, and drove east through the Okanagan. We stopped near Osoyoos to pick purple and sweet cherries, and bright red apricots. A wonderful rainbow greeted us next, followed by lots of rain into Grand Forks where we spent the night. The next two days were…
Tricouni: A Great Day Trip
Two weeks ago we had planned to go to Tricouni, but the drizzle and grey clouds on the way made us change destinations last minute, and we ended up on Mt. Gardner on Bowen Island – we figured it would be good to keep Tricouni for a nice day. Last Sunday we drove up to Squamish and on to the Squamish valley FSR, and then up High Falls Creek FSR, steep and loose in places, but still driveable with 2WD. The last part had shallow cross ditches and we scraped a few times until we were stopped by a particularly deep one. We hiked up the logging road to the…
Squamish to Indian Arm and Back: First Dead Cougar
This trip started with a drama at the Chief parking lot as there was a lot of commotion and a few rangers around. We weren’t sure what was happening till a group of rangers showed up dragging a dead Cougar behind them. Apparently this cougar killed a dog the day before, and the solution was to kill it…We left the parking lot a bit shocked and confused from the sight of the dead cougar and started the most strenuous trip of the season. Some sections were steep, some sections were impossible to ride because of big rocks and loose gravel, and on some sections we had to ride or push…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Cycling & Cycle Touring, Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast, Trip Reports
Galiano Island: Discovering a Secret Beach
On an early morning in June we caught the ferry from Tsawassen to Galiano Island. Our plan was to ride to Dionisio Point, the northern point of the Island. The rumor was that this area was only accessible by boat, and that it was not possible to go by land, because the roads to get there are closed to the public. So, we figured that one cannot get there with a car, but if you cycle or walk it could be possible. The uncertainty if we could actually get to that beach made the trip into more of an adventure. We found the private road, cycled down a steep forest…
Centre Creek and Chilliwak Lake: When Skiing Becomes Cycling
May Long Weekend actually started as a skiing trip, or at least as the desire to do a skiing trip. We aimed for Mt. Jimmy Jimmy, but long parts of the trail were bushwhacking and carrying our skis on our backs didn’t make it any easier. It took us a while to reach snow, and even when we did it was full of holes and alder. It seemed like a less than ideal way to spend the long weekend. In the late afternoon we decided to switch plans. We went back down, which was much faster than going up, went back to the car and drove back to Vancouver. In…
Harrison Lake (East): First Live Cougar
On a sunny weekend in early May we left Vancouver with the bikes in the car, going east towards Harrison Lake. We had never been to the Harrison Lake area before, so we were excited to explore a new region. We left our car at the beginning of a logging road and hopped on our bikes. It was a scenic ride almost all the way, and the views of the lakes and mountains behind were amazing. After about six kilometers we passed an impressive waterfall on the side of the road. We rode down to a small campground right on the beach. The campground host was friendly, but when he…
Mt. Rohr: Mt. Rohr on Skis
It is always nice to go back to the same place in different seasons. When we hiked to Mt. Rohr in early September, the forest was colored by shades of green and the lakes were deep blue. We returned in early spring, this time with our skis. Everything around us was white, of course, including the lakes. Last winter was rough for backcountry skiing, and it was the first season that I actually got a bit into it. Unfortunately, most trips included low snow conditions, icy slopes and in several cases we had to carry our skis instead of using them. However, we heard that conditions in the Duffy Lake…
Silverdaisy Mtn: Winter’s Silver Lining
We headed to Manning Park for a ski touring day trip to Silverdaisy Mountain. This was a BCMC trip headed by Jos van der Burg, a dutch from Chilliwack who I had heard good things about. I picked up my three passengers (all girls) early in the morning, and we met the rest of the group in Chilliwack. I had felt the strong winds on the road already, every now and then a gust hit the car and tried to push it off the road. From there it was another hour to the trail head at Cayuse Flats, where we started skinning up the snowy Cayoose Creek FSR. A few…
Garibaldi Lake: Maya’s First Overnight Backcountry Skiing trip
Last weekend we did a two day backcountry skiing trip to Garibaldi Lake. It had been foggy for a few days in Vancouver with a forecast for continued fog. Just a bit higher than the city it was sunny with blue skies, which is what we had for the two days. When the temperature gets higher as you go up, it is called an inversion. Apparently on that weekend it was 6c in the city, and 18c on Mt.Seymour (a ski hill on the North Shore), at least 1000m higher! The road to the parking lot had not been plowed, so we parked on the side of the road and…
Mt. Albert Edward: Thanksgiving in the Mountains
On the long Thanksgiving weekend we headed to Vancouver Island to visit our friends Jan and Warrick. We took the ferry on Friday evening which left with a healthy delay which kept our friends waiting at the terminal. They live just outside of Duncan, about an hour away from the ferry terminal in Nanaimo. The next day we took a short morning tour of their 20 acre property, which has mostly lush forest on it and is adjacent to the river. They just finished building a tiny and basic cabin right on the water which they plan on sleeping in sometimes. After some deliberation, we decided on a three day…
