Iago Peak: When Everything Falls Right Into Place
There are those rare days in skiing that are a combination of both perfect sunny weather and excellent snow conditions. Last Sunday was one of those days, so we were off to the Coquihalla for some backcountry skiing. It was our third day in a row of skiing, but each day was of a different type. On Friday we skied downhill on Cypress. It was the first day of spring and probably the best skiing conditions we have had up there the whole season. On Saturday we went to Cypress again, but this time for some really nice and relaxing cross country skiing. It snowed the whole day and the…
Elfin Lakes: A Different Kind of Weekend
The Elfin Lakes Hut is often crowded, to the point where there are people sleeping on the floor, and one finds it difficult to sleep since people are constantly coming and going. All that is needed to avoid the crowds is a small timing change: instead of Saturday to Sunday, we made our weekend Sunday to Monday, and lo and behold, we had the hut almost to ourselves. Except for a surprisingly quiet group of teenagers from the older version of the scouts, who actually ended up sleeping in a roomy snow cave which they dug out the back of the hut. One of their guides slept under a shelter…
Death Valley National Park: Cycling in a Desert Wonderland
It started out as a crazy idea. We were looking for something to do over the two week Christmas break and a few factors had to be taken into consideration – sun, warmth, blue skies and preferably bicycles. I once heard about cycling in Death Valley and just threw it in the air as an option. Gili made it possible. The idea of driving 20 hours each way did not appeal to us, but then again, neither did the other options like staying in rainy and gray Vancouver, or finding a flight at the most expensive time of the year. Checking the temperatures for Death Valley area left us no…
Sloquet Hot Springs: The Thirty Something Trip
November. The month of desperation. The month in which we change our clocks backwards and let darkness set an hour earlier. The month of rain, as the Guns n’ Roses song goes. It’s also the perfect time of year to visit some local hot springs. I have to admit that when the weekend got closer I was less than enthusiastic about leaving the comfort of our cozy apartment. It seems that by November I am more than ready to adapt to the urban life style almost completely. But Pascale and Ignacio were keen on going and Gili too. So eventually I was convinced and off we went early Saturday morning. Ignacio drove, which was…
Mt. Seymour: A Few Favourites
Mt. Seymour is probably my favourite hike on the North Shore. When we parked the car, I realized I probably share this sentiment with many others, but despite the full parking lot we didn’t see that many people on the trail (where did they go?!). The thing about this trail is that it provides excellent “bang for the buck” – one ends up on a mountain top, but most of the elevation gain is done by car, and it takes only a short while to arrive at the First Pump and the glorious views of the snowy and volcanic Garibaldi Massif, Judge Howay, and Mt. Baker (sometimes). This also provided…
The Chief: Escape from the Fog
The fog engulfed us for over a week. I woke up each morning just to see a dense grey cloud outside our window, with no sign of the sun. Yes, it led to a mysterious atmosphere: I imagined stalkers lurking, waiting for their prey, and was almost run over by a few cars while riding my bike around town. However, after a few days the fog got kind of old, and we considered praying for the sun to come back. In the end, all that was necessary was a short drive out of town to Chief Stawamus, also known as The Chief. During an inversion, cold moist air hangs low…
Princeton-Keremeos Loop: Apples, Samosas and Plenty of Sunshine
Thanksgiving long weekend offered another opportunity for a short getaway. While most Canadians were busy eating turkey and pumpkin pies, we were free to do as we wished, although we did eat a very good pumpkin pie. On Friday I worked very hard on baking eight pumpkin pies. We sold seven of them through Cherry on a Bike (our small baking business), and the eighth one was left for us. We took it with us on the trip and had a little Thanksgiving spirit too. When you live in BC you have a lot to be thankful for, but the weather is not necessarily always one of them. But having…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Cycling & Cycle Touring, Metro Vancouver & North Shore, Trip Reports, Urban
Steveston: A Fall Ride Full of Treats
As fall arrives we need to think about more “close to the city” activities. The ride to Steveston is one of our favourite rides in the area, and it is especially appreciated during the shoulder seasons. The first weekend of fall this year seemed like a “stay in the city” kind of weekend, so we decided to ride to Steveston. We took the Ontario Bike Street to Marpole in south Vancouver. In Marpole we noticed many signs calling for “No Rezoning in Marpole”, it looked like a real battle. We connected with the elegant Cambie cycling (and Skytrain) bridge and crossed over to Richmond. Then a short ride down some side streets and we were on the dike trail that…
Blowdown Pass: The Perfect Combo
The forecast looked good for the weekend, so we were excited to get out for yet another September hike. There is something really great about hiking in September – usually we are more in shape, I am actually enthusiastic about hiking, there are less bugs and of course there are berries. Blowdown Pass seemed to offer a perfect combination of short access to the alpine, a picturesque lake for camping and a few excellent scrambles nearby. When we woke up on Saturday to a grey and cloudy Vancouver we were a bit confused. But the forecast still looked good for Pemberton, and actually it looked really hot. As we crossed…
South Chilcotins: A Castle, Two Grizzlies, and a Cardtable
Long weekends around Vancouver are a “problem”. They cause crowds at all the usual hiking spots. Since one of the reasons for even wanting to travel in the backcountry (for us) is avoiding crowds, we search high and low for places that will be empty even on a long weekend. A good bet is a combination of a location that almost no one has heard of, and a very long drive (see our trips up Taylor Creek and Slim Creek). Such are the South Chilcotins. Our friends Jan and Warrick arrived from Vancouver Island on Friday evening just as we rolled back from the August Critical Mass. The next day…
