We had a couple of weeks back home in Vancouver and the timing could not have been better! We had a surprise Visit from Alex and we had a fun weekend in Squamish planned with our friends Nicole and Anthony.
A Visit from Alex
Earlier in the week I got a surprise! Alex reached out to see if she could come stay with us while she was in Vancouver for the week, checking out law firms for her articling next year. While it was a bit last minute, we were excited to have her come visit so we could get caught up. The last time we had seen her was in 2017 (we had to go back and look it up) when she was out for an undergrad university rowing competition. I’m embarrassed to admit how long it’s been since I’ve had the chance to visit with Carolynne and Graham (Alex’s parents) and need to rectify that situation soon.
I was able to pick Alex up at the airport when she arrived (the timing was good, surprisingly!), and got her settled at our place. While Justine and I were both working that week, we tried to carve out as much time as possible to visit. Alex was busy during the day most days with her visits to the various law firms, so that all worked out.
We took her on a couple of tours to show her the city, as it was really her first time visiting the city on her own.
We had a visit out to the beaches at Spanish Banks to watch the sun set.
This looks like trouble…
We had a couple of nice nights sitting on the roof, enjoying the fire and the view out over the city.
Justine’s dahlia’s have been spectacular this summer - non-stop blooms.
There has been a fair bit of smoke around, making for some pretty nice sunsets.
The week flew by. It was great to catch up and spend a lot of time with Alex. On Friday, Nick, ALex’s boyfriend joined us. Justine and I were heading up to Squamish for the weekend, and the two of them were off to have some hiking/backpacking/camping adventures in the local parks. They did amazingly well, and crammed a crazy amount into the weekend.
Squamish Mountain Biking Weekend
We had planned to spend the weekend in Squamish with our friends Nicole and Anthony. It had been a couple of years since we had done any real mountain biking, and we had both missed it. Living in Squamish, Nicole and Anthony do a fair bit, so it was great to have some locals to guide us on the trails.
We drove up Saturday morning, leaving Vancouver at a reasonable time. The plan was to do a ride, then head to the Squamish Beer Festival for the late afternoon. Then that evening, we had been invited to Anthony’s friend Joe’s place for a BBQ and housewarming party at his new place. It was going to be a busy day!
Alice Lake, The Corners and Roller Coaster
We got up to Squamish mid-morning and met up at N&A’s place. We were able to leave right from their place and the start of the trail was actually only a few minutes away. The first section of the trail was quite nice - tight and windy through the forest. It’s been a while since we’ve ridden, and I could tell my skills were rusty.
The trail eventually opened up a bit and we headed up Alice Lake Provincial Park. As it happened, our friends Stuart and Jo and their family were camping at Alice Lake that weekend. We took a short detour to check out their campsite and have a short visit. Then we headed back out.
After riding through the park there was a section of tough climbing. We used to do this trail fairly frequently in the past, and I had forgotten how tough this stretch is! The good news was after that, it was pretty much all downhill! We flew through the berms and into Roller Coaster, which was a super fun, slightly more technical section that spit us out quite close to N&A’s house. It was a great ride and good to get back out.
The map of our ride - it was ab out 30 km and it was great to get back out on the trails!
Squamish Beer Festival
Conveniently, the Squamish Beer Festival was on Saturday afternoon! We had done one in Whistler a couple of years ago and they are always a lot of fun. After getting cleaned up, we drove with our bikes down to Joe’s place (friend of N&A), where we left Anthony’s truck. We were headed back there after the Beer Festival, and we thought it best if we rode over, rather than driving.
They had a good set-up for leaving bikes, which was smart.
Our teeny tiny tasting glasses.
There was a pretty good turn out for the event. Apparently it was much bigger than the previous year. Everyone seemed ot be in good spirits!
The whole beer festival crew - it was a fun time!
We were at the Beer Festival until about 5:30. There were lots of interesting beer - some new, some old - and lots of good food at the various food trucks that came out. It was a good time. We didn’t go crazy, and were in good shape for the ride back to Joe’s. Justine and I left with Joe to go and help him with the prep for the party. Everyone filtered in not long after and helped to get things organized.
It ended up being a fun night. The food was great and we met a bunch of new people that all seemed great. It wasn’t too late a night - I think we headed home around 10 or 10:30 and called it a night.
Half Nelson
Sunday morning we slept in a bit and then had a nice breakfast outside in the backyard. Their back yard has an amazing view out over the local mountains, and it was an excellent way to start the day. We eventually got our act together and got organized for a second ride.
For today’s ride, we had to drive out to the trailhead. N&A had convinced us ot ride Half Nelson, one of the most famous trails in the area. I’ve heard about it forever, but had never ridden it. The parking area was very busy, with tons of people coming and going. The ride up was tough - it’s a long haul, and I gained an appreciation for electric mountain bikes.
About half way up - the views were pretty nice.
At the start of the descent of Half Nelson. I think I need to get some knee and elbow pads.
The map of the ride. The path to the left was the ride up; the one to the right was the fun way back down.
The trail was pretty amazing. It was tough, but if you maintained a reasonable speed it was manageable for me. There were a few bridges, lots of berms and many many launch points, if that’s your thing. It’s not for me, but I can see how better riders love this trail, and you can catch lots of air if you want to.
Sadly, the ride down was really fast compared to the ride up, but it was totally worth it! I’m glad they pushed us to ride a bit outside my comfort zone and we will definitely go back and do it again.
Cat Lake Recreation Area
After stopping at N&A’s place to drop our bikes, grab some swimming gear and make lunch to take with us, we headed out on our next little adventure.
Just north of Squamish there’s a recreation area called Cat Lake. I’ve driven by the forest service road a million times on the way up to Whistler, but had never been into the site. It’s a small lake with three swimming areas, and it’s a very short hike down to the lake. It was a beautiful day, and not surprisingly it was fairly busy.
We managed to steal a bit of space on one of the docks, and enjoyed our lunch and a well-earned beer. It was warm and sunny sitting on the dock, which eventually coaxed my into diving in and going for a swim. The water was cold, but refreshing. I stayed in for a while, and went back in a few times. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
Cat Lake is not large, but it was beautiful and the water was clear (and cold).
Hanging out on the dock, having some lunch.
The walk tot he lake was much shorter than I expected. I had started my watch, so instead we can see the bit of swimming we did.
After enjoying the afternoon, it was time to head home. We swung by N&A’s place to grab all of our stuff, get the truck packed back up and head for home. Sadly, the drive home was a nightmare! What should have been no more than an hour ended up being 2 1/2. It was brutal. Part of it was volume, where the traffic from Squamish funnels down to a single lane, but then once we got through that, there were issues on both bridges.
Eventually we made it back.
Alex and Nick met us at our place later on Sunday evening (it was close to 8:00). We had a nice dinner and spent a last night visiting. It was really great having them with us, and I think we made a pretty good pitch for Alex to consider Vancouver for this next stage of her career. We’ll see where that goes.
It was great to spend some time in Vancouver and we had some great visits with lots of different friends.