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October 2, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > North Vancouver, Hiking North Vancouver, Hiking
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My vision of a casual trek in the woods seemed further and further away as I slogged behind my hiking buddies. The speed demon of the two (increasingly distant) figures up the steep slope had been enjoying a period of unemployment. Turns out that not working, while bad for the wallet, is great for developing thighs of steel on weekday hikes.
In between heaving for air and dodging rocks dislodged from the boys above, I took a second to look behind me and had one of those “I can’t believe I’m in BC” moments. I felt like I’d wandered into a Lord of the Rings flick, complete with misty clouds, thick conifers, freshly sprouting spring grasses, and jutting boulders.
In actuality, though, I was an area called Hanes Valley beyond Grouse Mountain. It’s an interesting, challenging and rewarding hike that takes you from well-travelled trails to complete wilderness in the space of a few hours. The full day hike ends at the peak of Grouse, which means we finished our day in the woods with lumberjacks, poutine and a blissfully effortless tram ride back down to the city.
August 21, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > North Vancouver, Hiking North Vancouver, Hiking
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We decided to climb Crown Mt. on 18.10.2009 in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. It was beautiful, hot summer day. We took Grouse Grind Trail to get to the ski area of the Grouse Mountain. It was like 1 h 15 min of workout. This trail is quite steep and very very crowded even in the middle of the week. We did not enjoyed it at all. We did this trail during winter time (when it was closed to the public) and that was much more fun and we met only few people that time. Anyway, when we reached the ski area we had to pass the Grouse Mountain Peak from the west site and hit toward Little Goat Mountain. We did not see any trail signs until we passed Grouse Mountain. From this point we easily found direction to Crown Mtn, there was sign on every crossroads. The trail to the Little Goat Mtn was partly steep but nice. We walked in the forest in the shadow. After we reached the top the trail start to go dawn. We were very surprised, because we were almost on the Crown Mtn level. The trail goes down straight to the Crown Pass. It was like 30 min steep way down with chains in few places. So when we finally get to Crown Pass we had to go up to the top of Crown Mtn. The trail was very steep, mostly in the forest, 3-4 grade climbing. We had to use our hands on the rocks for the most of the time. It took us over an hour to get there to the top. We were so tired, could feel our legs and there was no shadow on the top, but the view compensated everything. You can see North Shore Mountains 360 degrees panoramic view (Coliseum Mountain, The Lions, etc.) and Vancouver. The way back took us the almost same time except we took a skyride down from the Grouse Mtn. The whole thing took us 7 hours of workout with small breaks. We really recommend this trail, especially if you like nice, quite, unfrequented places.
Let's go explore! :]
July 27, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > North Vancouver, Hiking North Vancouver, Hiking
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Recently, I had six guests visiting from the Netherlands,
all of whom are over 60 years in age and have different levels of fitness.
Since the nature, forests, and mountains are my favourite part of living in
Vancouver, I decided to take them to the North Shore for a day to experience
this beauty. I took them to Lynn Canyon Park and we started our walk at the
Suspension Bridge. Not everyone in the group stopped halfway across the suspension
bridge to take in the view of the rushing water below us. One lady who is
afraid of heights rushed across the bridge without stopping, only looking
straight ahead. We started walking along the trails towards the Twin Falls, a
scenic waterfall that is a 15-minute walk down river from the suspension
bridge. There is a maze of hiking trails in the forest and I have experienced
many of them from previous hikes in this area. There is a much longer loop that
takes exactly the trail we were on as well as exploring the Seymour River
canyon. It is called Two Canyon Loop .
July 2, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > North Vancouver, Dining
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I’m a Yorkshire lad (pronounced York–sha) born and bred. Grew up eating scotch eggs and lard sarnies with crisps (chips) for Saturday (pronounced Sat-day) tea (evening meal).
So when I learned there was a British Butcher in town selling delights of my culinary childhood I was excited to visit.
The shop is located in North Vancouver (703 Queensbury Ave), a little off the beaten track, but is easy to find if you have a map. As soon as I walked in I noticed that it sells lots of meat products, pies as well as condiments and sweets (candy) from the mother land.
I was like a little kid who had been transported to their English youth. They sold Hula Hoops, which are crisps in the shape of a band (like a wedding band) that you put on all your fingers and then bit them off. They sell English Mustard, like no other in the world. If you like wassabi you MUST try this, it’s amazing (my mum always brings me a jar from England when visiting).
They sell 36 different varieties of sausages. It was difficult to choose but I decided to be patriotic and buy the Yorkshire variety.
Then there was why I went, I had a craving for a Scotch egg. Put simply, imagine a circular lump of cooked sausage meet with a hard boiled egg in the middle, covered in bread crumbs, this is a Scotch egg. It was absolutely amazing. Great flavour and consistency, good quality meat, and was big enough for a small meal.
The one thing you realize when you visit the shop is how great the quality is of the products. On the website they say “we have found that it is not worth cutting corners to meet the demand as our customers have come to expect a high quality product”.
The website could do with a wee polish, but the food is first rate. Go there and spend lots and eat lots and then tell me how great it was.
June 29, 2009 | Tips from Us > North Vancouver, Kayaking (Ocean) North Vancouver, Kayaking (Ocean)
I admit, there was a day last week that I just couldn't fathom spending behind the desk. Luckily, I had an exit plan in my back pocket, and took a friend up on her invitation to spend the day in North Vancouver.
Let's just say the day's experience ranged from serene to downright scary. We started with a gentle kayak from beautiful Deep Cove - quiet, calm, relaxing. But if I thought the heart rate was going to stay low for the full day I had another thought coming. By afternoon we were at the peak of Grouse Mountain ziplining at high speeds and heights through the forest. Yikes!
Amazingly, by 5pm I was safely down the mountain and home again. And when my husband asked how my day was, I could only say, "just another day at the office."
June 18, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > North Vancouver, Hiking North Vancouver, Hiking
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As a resident of Vancouver British Columbia and an avid hiker, I am always looking for new hiking places to keep myself busy during my spare time. I had heard about
Lynn Canyon Park several times but had never gone there. Last weekend I decided to venture out to the park and see what it had to offer hikers of the lower mainland.
I headed out to catch the cool air as the weather has been exceptionally warm lately. At 9am the park is just gorgeous! I couldn't believe how peaceful the park is! Any local resident in that area is blessed with an amazing backyard. I took a walk over the
suspension bridge which gave me a shiver as I crossed (Small fear of heights). Then I made my way down towards the
"Twin Falls" area. I came to another bridge and rather than crossing I walked further down river which was a lovely flat hiking trail. I kept seeing markers for the
"Baden Powell Trail" so I assumed that it was part of the same trail that crosses the North Shore Highlands. I'll have to check out the rest of it at a later date.
After a half hour or so, I decided to turn back as I had parked at the main entrance. I decided not to take my chances with the
suspension bridge again and walked across the twin falls bridge instead. This followed with a large amount of stairs and a short trail. Before I knew it I was back at the main entrance and stopped at the
Lynn Canyon Cafe before I called it a day. They had great coffee, and some lovely meals to choose from.
I would recommend
Lynn Canyon Park to anyone, local or foreigner. The best part -
It's A Free Attraction! Happy Hiking!
May 1, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > North Vancouver, Bird Watching
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I know this type of bird as a whiskey-jack, but it goes by a long list of other names: Gray Jay (its official name), Canada Jay (its past official name), meat-bird, and camp-robber (the last two are due to its cheekiness and appetite).
Whiskey-jacks are curious and bold. Many like to supplement their natural diet (insects, berries, mushrooms, carrion or small animals) with people food (trail mix and sandwiches).
On a recent snowshoe trip at Mount Seymour, this particular whiskey jack zipped over as soon as we stopped to admire the view. My only offering was a sad, old apple I found at the bottom of my backpack. You can almost see the confusion on the bird’s face – “What the heck am I supposed to do with this?!”
My favourite whiskey-jack feature – aside from the fact that they’re pretty darn cute, especially when you get a photo of one sitting on your head – is how they store their food. They have large salivary glands and use them to coat their meal in bird-spit, and then hide these saliva-laden packages in the trees. This food storage technique helps them survive winter in snowy forests.
So, next time you’re in the mountains and stop to take a breather, look around. You may gain a feathery lunchtime buddy if you’re willing to part with a little bit of trail mix