This is where I lost Sparkle the Drone:

We were supposed to have a relaxing weekend on the island, find Nymph Falls (above), but it ended up being VERY stressful because Sparkle got stuck in a tree and we could not save it. It all started off with us finding out that the coffee shop that I wanted to go to was closed for staff holidays. Luckily, their shops are all along the same street, and 2 blocks down, the Cumberland Grind was open:

They had some interesting flavors available. I had the turmeric latte, which was a bit on the sweet side for me because it was drenched in honey. The other 2 had no complaints about their coffees, nothing too special about what they had. There were other options that were loaded with whipped cream on top, and none of us felt like it was that type of day. 

To be honest, I would not come back here for the coffee nor the hike.

I've been very tired this week, mostly because it is extremely draining to try to stay positive and forget about losing Sparkle. All my energy is focused onto remembering that there is no point wasting even one second on being sad over a material object. I'm OK now, but I'll need a bit more rest to recover. Also, I have not gone to yoga in 2 weeks, so that's probably contributing to my grumpiness.

Go back to:
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 3

Tried to find a waterfall, got lost and didn’t really have enough gas (probably because Mercury is still retrograding hard), so we tried to save the day with a walk around a few lakes and good coffee at Galileo Coffee:

I was pleasantly surprised by the cute heart on top of my latte and the strength of their coffee beans. I knew I needed some extra energy because I was heading to the Monstercat Compound after the hike, and I was already drained. B and A both liked their coffee enough to buy some freshly roasted beans. The baked goods looked decent, but I didn’t go for it, because I’m really trying to save up. This seems like a great spot to start off any trip north along the Sea to Sky. I’ll be back.

Here are a few shots from Sparkle the Drone at Stump Lake, one of the four lakes along the trails at Alice Lake:

Easy trails, relaxing views.

Also, we’ve found a pineapple floaty. Let the floating will begin.

It’s been a while since H has been this sick, and I guess it really hit him hard for 2 days straight. He missed a shift at work, he stayed in bed for 1.5 days (where the 0.5 went towards going for dim sum across the street from him), and he is still coughing and sniffling. I guess he breathed on me or something on Friday, because I started feeling the headaches and chills on Saturday. Almost missed a powder day on Sunday, but woke up after a dose of Neocitran and 13 hours sleep to make it into P’s car for this:

It wasn’t my best day, it was certainly hard to breathe and get circulation to my legs for them to work proper-like. We went up the t-bar to do the glacier bowl on Blackcomb… I was not prepared for the low viz pow that would hit us right in the face. Not bad though. Then, moguls left right and centre, and my cardio was shot because of the flu/cold that I thought I’d slept off the night before. It just hurt so much to breathe in that –10/-15°C air… Still felt amazing, adrenaline rush.

Any day on the mountain is an awesome day. I still swear by this.

I’m looking forward to going up more often, maybe in the new year, because looking at the calendar for the rest of this month, I think things will get too busy too fast.

I just took another pack of Neocitran... Goodnight, world.

Wow, what a different city Vancouver becomes when the snow hits. Before the shit show of traffic jams, gridlock, and car accidents, R, C, and I got a chance to visit the newly opened Aer Cafe along Hastings:

Grilled cheese and latte, and a snippet of the cortado. C and I spent a full minute asking what this is… C – “what’s a coratdo?” me – “i don’t know, what IS a cortado?” C – “Not sure, it’s on the menu. What is it?” // It’s good. Just drink it.

R’s order - Avocado on toast with poach eggs and salsa.

So the grilled cheese was spectacular, with lots of stringy cheese bits and perfectly done onions and mushrooms. Very crispy. C found a small square of aluminum still stuck to her bread. R’s eggs were too raw for her liking, so they just stuck it in the microwave for her. I found the coffee a bit weak, which may be due to my insane addiction to coffee and tolerance to the little molecules. Overall, a cute little joint that I’d come back to for a quick bite. Especially as Platform 7, just one street East, does not really serve grilled cheese.

Cute little nooks everywhere for studying and reading, between 7AM to 7PM:

It was such an awesome weekend, Monday just came as a shock.

The people I live with have a huge influence on my mood, and after an argument, I can be uncommunicative for days, weeks, months… Not just with the root cause, but with EVERYBODY. It’s like the world is against me, when my home is not calm. I’m not sure how other people do it. Move out, I guess?

I’m very glad that the work crew dragged me out to this hike, needed to escape, runaway and hide in the fog for a day. Recharged and ready to go for the next week! (This doesn’t always last very long, I usually crash by mid week and am ready to runaway again).

A rest area after the switchbacks.

Lesser Lake comes first, poor thing gets a put down name.

Walk faster guys…

First views of the lake.

So calm.

Sneaky shot of somebody meditating.

Around to the other side of the lake.

Time to go home. Photo credits – PvN

Hiking boots are a huge plus, it’s getting muddy up there. Make sure to carry enough water and food, but not too much. I don't recall how crowded it was last time that I visited, which was probably about 3 years ago, at least. It's still not too bad. I think the wet ground and the switchbacks keep people away.

More on this hike here:
https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/garibaldi-lake/
https://www.livetrails.com/trails/Garibaldi-Lake-19.html
http://whistlerhiatus.com/whistlerhikes/garibaldi-lake.html

My photo style keeps switching with my mood… That soft foggy look is so moody, and the clear almost HDR look brightens up the page. Either way. Hope to squeeze in more hikes before snow season.

Spent the day at one of my favouritest places on earth – Whistler!

Pulled pork poutine at the cafeteria near the Wizard. Gourmet. $13.95. Worth it, come back for more!

That’s the end of this season for ski/snowboard. It was a rather uneventful season for us this year in terms of winter mountain sports, because we didn’t go up that often. S and V think I’m on drugs, partly because I’m changed. It’s nice that they’re worried enough to talk to me about it though. Spent some time with H after dinner with J and V, and now watching vlogs. Now that I think about it more, why am I worrying so hard? Great new products and technologies are on their way. Check out this edible disposable utensils: https://www.ketto.org/bakeys

They just need to find a way to make it more affordable.

I tried to bus to work today even though it was wet and miserable outside. I got as far as 9 blocks away, on foot, and the 99 bus never showed up, so I walked back home and drove to work.

I’ll give it one more try next week, but I am not impressed with Translink. The busses are either early or delayed, and this is making it impossible to plan ahead and be on time. People are hours late to work, bringing productivity down to and the city just stalls. How are we going to grow if people can’t get to their jobs? This is so inefficient; it’s a waste of my life to stand around waiting for a bus that never shows up and makes me late for appointments and meetings. Translink, please put our tax dollars to good use and get your shit together.

Good thing today was a soup day at work and at home:

We hiked to Skookumchuk Narrows, and passed by Brown Lake:

We went to both North Point and Roland Point. Roland Point has a closer view of the rapids and kayakers were using this spot to enter the water:

These rapids only occur at certain times, when the tides are right (there’s a tidal schedule somewhere on the Internet).

You probably can’t tell what’s in the titanium pot on the right (H bought this pot for $70. SUPER lightweight), but we had instant noodles in there. Sardines to top off the noodles.

H was covered in sweat during this hike, possibly because he wore his Patagonia down puffer jacket the whole way. It was an easy hike.

Here a few places to look for hikes along the Sunshine Coast:

http://www.sunshine-coast-trails.com/

http://penderharbour.org/Recreation/Trails/trails.html

http://www.sunshinecoast-trail.com/

http://www.sunshinecoastcanada.com/hidden-gems/sunshine-coast-trail

 

We went to pick up groceries at the IGA at Madeira Park afterwards for dinner:

Cedar Creek wine, tortellini, spinach, pepperoni sticks, and crushed up Ruffle cheese chips.

We still had not yet discovered a good coffee place. Coffee on the coast is watery and not effective. Will bring my own next time.

Not quite the middle, but we were on the side of nowhere. We still had data.

Enjoying the view at brunch, before hiking to Skookumchuck Narrows. I need a waffle maker to make bacon waffle benny’s.

We booked this place through BC Ferries, so it included the ferry ride over for $360. TripAdvisor review here.

We drove over to the Sunshine Coast to see what we could see.

What I was looking for:

• Coffee
• Craft beer
• Epic views

First stop was Gibsons, and we found the beer at Persephone Brewing Company:

H and I tried the Goddess Golden Ale, the Irish Stout, Rum Runner Red Ale, and Oktoberfest Lager over a game of checkers. I let him win, and we filled up our Stanley growler with the Goddess Golden Ale (so fresh). The place was pretty quiet, since it was a Wednesday afternoon, with one or two visitors dropping by for growler fills. All their hops are grown on site!

We ate at Molly’s Reach, where Beachcombers was filmed, shopped in some of their little shops, including the Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co, visited the tourist info center to find information on potential hikes, and continued North along Highway 101 to Smuggler’s Cove.

No photos from me as I left my phone in the car… Fail… Maybe I can borrow H’s photos later. Easy trail with stairs and sturdy bridges with railings, nice views at the end of the whole cove, but the beginning of the route over the bog is slightly eerie – lots of dead trees sticking out of the bog and quite deserted. It isn’t really hiking season, so that’s understandable. H wanted to take some of the trees that were growing along the trail as hiking sticks, but maybe if we had a bigger vehicle (this continues to be a problem throughout the trip).

Next stop: Rockwater Resort

Beautiful day for a drive and a hike, and H & I wanted to take the new Veloster up on the highway, so we decided to hit up Joffre Lake yesterday. I came here last year with L & A: http://luwesa.blogspot.ca/2014/06/joffre-lakes.html 

The lower lake was amazing (the Veloster was amazing too. I really missed it.):

Traffic heading up the Upper Levels highway was horrid, we were side tracked by the Squamish farmer’s market, and there was construction along the Duffy Lake Road, so by the time we arrived at the lake, it was already about 3:30PM. Not enough time to go up and come down before dark. We ate our snacks by the parking lot and left. Harrison brought Astronaut ice cream by Mountain House that came with his Cairn box a while back:

Tasted like real ice cream, but the texture was stickier and well… dry, ‘cause that’s essentially what it was.

We were planning to get to the parking lot at Cypress by 7AM to hike 5hrs, 11km, to St. Mark’s Summit, which is a part of the Howe Sound Crest Trail, but we ended up leaving the McDonalds by Boundary and Lougheed at around 730AM. After a hearty meal of Sausage Egg McMuffin and hashbrowns, purchased using the coupons available on their mobile app, we were ready to hike.

The view from the top was spectacular, with a few low hanging clouds. This was from the 2nd farther viewpoint after reaching the summit (takes a bit of searching to find the correct path to get here… go around!). Snacks for this hike included a 6 plums from the tree in my backyard and a 90 calorie fibre1 chocolate chip cookie, split between the 4 of us…

Things to note if doing this trail next year at this time…

-It’s wet and muddy up there at this time and it was drizzling a bit this morning. Wear hiking boots, bring a jacket.
-There were no ravens this time.
-Go earlier as this trail is becoming more popular.

More info at Vancouver Trails: http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/st-mark's-summit/

What’s an intermediate hike with a view near Vancouver that isn’t congested?

  

Last last last weekend, we did an easy local hike. A good 5 hour hike at an easy pace, lots of stairs, pretty well groomed and well marked path. H was dehydrated and cramped pretty hardcore (sucker, who told you to drink the night before?). The trail head at Lynn Canyon was packed with people and the trail end at Quarry Rock/Deep Cove was like walking around downtown. The middle of the trail had less traffic. Mostly mountain bikers in the middle of the trail. A few of them passed us while we sat down for a few snacks…

This Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze (Blueberry Acai Flax flavor) was actually quite delicious. H got it for as a sample in his Cairn box, but I think I would definitely get it again for the next camping or hiking trip.
Here’s more info on the trail at Vancouver Trails (pretty damn awesome website…): http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/baden-powell-deep-cove-to-lynn-canyon/


Note: Photos were all edited with Instagram! I like that Gingham filter.