From Sea To Sky

For the first time in five years, I woke up this morning in Vancouver (North Vancouver, actually). A very nice place to wake up. With this being my first full day here, the plan was to relax and explore the area.

As mentioned in my previous post, my Warm Showers host Jan offered to take me to Squamish via the Sea to Sky Highway where we could take the gondola up the mountain. That remained the plan this morning, but not before we enjoyed a great breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast.

Squamish is about 55 km along the Sea To Sky Highway, about halfway to Whistler from Vancouver. And by 10:00, Jan and I were in her car heading along the coast. Thanks to the Olympics, the road to Squamish (and Whistler) has changed quite a bit since I last drove on it in 1997. And yes, we were driving to Squamish – although, biking is very much an option as we saw a LOT of cyclists along the cycle-friendly highway. I say “we” were driving but in reality I actually found myself in the driver seat as Jan thought I might enjoy driving the highway. I did. A lot. Thanks Jan!

By 11:00, Jan and I were on the gondola heading up the mountain and into the clouds. Literally. It was a cloudy morning and there were moments where the gondola cables vanished into those clouds. But before we found ourselves disappearing into the clouds we saw some spectacular views.

It’s no big secret that I love the mountains. It’s the main the reason I chose to cycle across the county in a westerly direction – finishing in B.C. just seemed like the right way to go. I love looking at mountains, hiking up them, and of course, the views from the top. At the Sea To Sky Gondola Summit there are a variety of paths and trails as well as a suspension bridge – all designed to get you closer to nature and those views. That said, today’s view wasn’t exactly what I had imagined.

Jan has free access to the gondola (and other tourism sites) and has been up here many times. As such, she sent me off to explore the area on my own. I knew we had to be back in North Vancouver before 2:00 as Jan had an appointment so I briskly set off across the suspension bridge toward the Panorama Trail and The Chief viewing platform.

The trails at the summit are very well maintained and don’t require much effort to follow. Normally I prefer more challenging hikes but, given the somewhat limited time that was available, the short easy hike to the viewing platform was ideal. Again, the views were not entirely what I had anticipated – and probably not likely to find their way into any travel brochures. That said, today’s views made for amusing photos. Actually, I think it also made for some very nice photos.

I met up up with Jan back at the Summit Lodge where we boarded the gondola and returned to the base. Despite the less than ideal viewing conditions, I thoroughly enjoyed the morning. Even with the clouds, the mountains didn’t disappoint. I actually wished I’d brought my GoPro with me as today would’ve been a great day for time lapse photography. Oh well, next time.

We returned to the house by about 1:00 where we had soup and a sandwich for lunch before Jan headed off to her appointment and Rick and I prepared for a productive afternoon of bike maintenance. Or, more accurately, bike cleaning. Actually, the plan was for me to clean my bike. It was while that was happening that Rick decided to do some work on Jan’s bike.

To say that my bike was in need of a wash is a bit of an understatement. Despite efforts to keep my bike clean during the trip, a lot of gunk had built up over the past 2.5 months. But nothing 1.5 hours of tender loving care (and a rag) couldn’t clean up. And at the end of that 1.5 hours my bike was almost like new. Ready for a new adventure. Did I mention I love my bike? Well, I do. A lot.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent chatting, watching CFL games (sadly, both games were blowouts), and enjoying a fantastic salmon dinner. The final act of the night was a short walk to a lake not far from Jan and Rick’s beautiful home. It’s hardly a stretch to say that, day or night, North Vancouver really is a beautiful place to be.