June 03, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Hiking
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Every summer, I treat myself to the beautiful hike up Grouse Mountain in Vancouver! The trail is extremely steep and difficult, but definitely fun to challenge yourself and see how fast you can get to the top! Make sure that you are wearing proper footwear and clothing as it is a hike. I have done it both in the morning and the afternoon and I suggest being at the bottom of the mountain and starting early in the morning before the trail gets too busy! Be prepared with water, as there are no stops on the way and bring your wallet, as the only way down is by the gondola. It is beautiful on the top and definitely plan to do it on a sunny day so you can overlook Vancouver from the patio at the small restaurant at the top! They also have some neat tourist attractions at the top and they are definitely worth seeing after the strenuous hike to the top!
October 02, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Hiking
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This past weekend, I decided it was time to
stop talking about enjoying all of the amazing things you “can” do in Vancouver
and instead… make it happen! After all, this is an amazing city with
all kinds of outdoor activities available right at our doorstep. Just
check out a local’s perspective on the Tourism Vancouver website to see what I mean. (Just for the record… I want to try all of these within the next year!)
So, with that in mind, I decided there is no better way to test one’s
physical condition than to go ahead an climb a mountain…right!?!? When
you look North from downtown Vancouver, there are many amazing
mountains that fill the skyline. The biggest of these mountains is
Grouse Mountain.
September 29, 2009 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Hiking
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Most people hike the
Baden Powell trail in sections, though there are some hardcore runners who do it in a day during the infamous Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run. Me? I fall somewhere in the middle and set out to tackle it in a weekend.
The trail is 48km long and runs from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove. Three unique aspects of this trail are:
1. It’s accessible by public transit at either end, as well as in a few points in the middle.
2. It’s more of a traverse that a summit, so when you look at the skyline from Vancouver you’re likely to be looking at a section you completed.
3. If you live near Vancouver, you can go home to make dinner and sleep in your own bed in between days – awesome!
Baden Powell Trip ReportDay 1: Horseshoe Bay to Cleveland Dam, 10 hours (we took it slow and there was loads of snow)
Transport: 257 bus (Horseshoe Bay express) to trailhead at Eagle Ridge; 236 and 240 buses from Cleveland Dam back to Vancouver
Highlights:
- Seeing a deer 10 minutes into the hike
- Having the trail to ourselves for hours at a time, with no one around except for friendly ravens and whiskey-jacks
- Incredible view from Eagle Bluffs (the pic shown is proof)
- Neat old cabins in Cypress Provincial Park
Day 2: Grouse Mountain to Deep Cove (7 hours)
Transport: 240 and 232 buses to Grouse Mountain, nice friend-with-car from Deep Cove back to Vancouver (but buses would have been possible, too)
Highlights:
- Watching mountain bikers hop and balance (with hooting and hollering) their chunky bikes on the trails
- More people meant lots of friendly trail dogs giving slobbery hellos
- Seeing wiry runners training for the Knee Knacker run
- Interesting section from Lynn Canyon towards Deep Cove – never been here and was cool to check it out. Boardwalks, a mini-Grouse Grind, and beautiful forests.
Would I do the whole thing again? Heck yes. It’s a great trail that passes through forests, bluffs and wetlands – and it’s practically in my backyard. Highly recommended.
May 08, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Hiking
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The south Needle is one of three peaks known as The Needles, on the ridge that runs from Lynn Peak to Coliseum Mountain. Best accessed from Hydraulic Creek in the LSCR.
This is a a challenging day hike with a difficult and moderately exposed section on the final ridge. It is also one of the least visited and most rewarding low-altitude peaks on the North Shore. In winter, ice axe and crampons are recommended.
October 15, 2007 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Hiking
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It's a nice fall Saturday in Vancouver. I'm at home, minding my own business when my friend Chris calls. He wants to go hike the
Grouse Grind and have a beer and some Nachos on top. Sounds good, I haven't done 'the grind' in over a year and I can use the work-out. You don't hike the grind for the scenery.
We drive over to the North Shore and park the car in the free parking lot (on the right side). I expected it to be packed but there aren't many people at the starting point. I stretch a bit, check my watch and start. The hike goes up immediately. It's going well. Maybe playing soccer twice a week will help me. Maybe I should increase my speed and break my best time of 55 minutes.
It just keeps going up and up. I forgot how relentless it is. There are no flat parts. It's all stairs and rocks, positioned as stairs. My heart rate is going up rapidly. I have to look down to find the right place to put my feet. But I'm not slowing down and I'm not stopping. I need to get 'into the zone'. But I don't. Instead, I'm getting really tired. My heart is pounding fast. What was I thinking? I can drink beer and eat Nachos downtown, no need to go up this crazy hill.
Slowly, my mind is turning off. It's almost like meditating. I breathe and step in a rhythm. Up and up it goes. Once in a while a switchback. I'm passing people, that feels good. I also get passed, but by young people who look very fit. I'm in my second wind, I'm feeling good. Then there's the sign, I'm 1/4 of the way up. This is the point where you want to give up and turn around. I knew it was coming but I still can't believe I have to do the same distance 3 more times to reach the top.
I check my watch, it's been 18 minutes. I don't want to stop and I reach for my water bottle and have a zip of water. I try to forget how far I have to go still. I'm telling myself they put that sign up at the wrong place. I must be higher. I pass tourists in jeans. This is not a leisure hike; if you want a nice hike and breathtaking views, you won't get it until you reach the top. And a gondola will take you there in 5 minutes. Instead, this is the best workout Vancouver has to offer.
It feels a less steep now. I'm getting back in the zone. My mind wonders off. "You should write about this experience on the HelloBC blog". "When was the last time you called your mother?" Up and up it goes. I look back for my friends who have fallen back. I can't see them. I hear the soft zooming of the Gondola to my left. It's torturing me, it's telling me I'm nuts.
The 1/2 mark comes sooner then I expected. I check my watch. I'm 30 minutes under way. It feels like an hour. But it's a moral victory. This feeling subsides when a man at least 25 years older than me races by. I tell myself he must do this every day. There are a lot of people on this part of the trail. Mostly tourists, so they're standing on the side of the trail resting or taking pictures. They want to be able to complete the trail and buy the t-shirt. It's like climbing the Eiffel tower, you're nuts to do it, but it's one of those things you have to do. They keep cutting in front of me though and I have a hard time passing them. But I don't care. They're the ones who I owe my paycheck to. I wonder how many have visited HelloBC.
The 3/4 sign comes and goes. My heart is still pounding. It's been telling me to stop for a long time but I'm not listening. But my legs are starting to tell me the same story. They start to feel like spaghetti a dente. It's getting harder to keep my pace. I look up. In between the trees I can see patches of blue sky. But I also see people way up the trail. It's still a long way to go. I'm not thinking about anything anymore. All I do is tell myself to keep going, every single step of the way. My legs are starting to shake. Keep going, keep going.
Then, all of a sudden, there it is. The top. People are sitting in the sun on the rocks. I make my way up and see that I've completed this nightmare in exactly one hour. Not bad, all things considered. I drink some water and wait for my friends who are a little bit behind me. We walk inside to get our tickets for the ride down. Hikers get a deal to go down. Only $5. There's a TV displaying the top times for the day and the season. Somebody hiked up in 32 minutes. The top time for women over 70 is... one hour exact. I need a beer...