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Snow Hike at Lynn Headwaters Regional Park
Quick facts: Middle Bro had his mind set on snowshoeing for the weekend. We debated where to go, but our repertoire of snowshoeing trails was somewhat limited. While we knew about managed (read: paid) snowshoeing options on our local mountains and at the Sea-to-Sky Gondola, the idea of battling crowded parking lots wasn’t appealing. Luckily,…
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Comparing Vancouver’s Ski Hills for Families with Young Children
As a skiing family in Vancouver, we are lucky to have three local mountains to choose from: Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain, and Mt. Seymour—all within a 30-minute drive from Downtown Vancouver. With more friends joining us on the slopes, I thought it was the perfect time to compare these mountains from the perspective of a…
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Pitt Lake Paddle
Pitt Lake is the largest tidal lake in North America, and the second largest lake in our region behind Harrison Lake. The unique tidal nature makes trip planning a little tricky, as the closest tidal station is New Westminster. Some paddlers recommend adding 1-2 hours to account for the lag between New West and Pitt…
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Squamish Estuary Paddle
It’s been 4 years since I last visited Squamish by paddleboard and explored a little bit of northen Howe Sound. This time, I came to explore the famed Squamish River Estuary with a different group of paddling friends, led again by Howard. Spit Road underwent extensive deconstruction between 2019 to 2023 to remove about 850m…
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Biking the Traboulay PoCo Trail
Traboulay PoCo Trail is a beautiful mixed use loop surrounding Port Coquitlam. Spanning 25.3km, the trail is almost entirely separate from vehicle traffic. With minimal elevation changes, there wasn’t any particularly challenging section. With an invitation from Aaron and Amy, we tackled this beautiful loop trail on a cool autumn afternoon. As this was a…
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Camping at Silver Lake Provincial Park – Hope BC
A search on Google Maps shows that “Silver Lake” is probably the most over-used names for lakes. Even “Silver Lake Provincial Park” is not unique, as there’s one with the same name in Ontario! We visited the Silver Lake Provincial Park situated just 12km southwest of Hope BC in mid September. The park is quite…
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Paddle Camping at Plumper Cove, Keats Island
From our various trips to the Sunshine Coast, I became aware of the small provincial marine park: Plumper Cove on Keats Island, just across the water from Gibsons Harbour. It features 20 campsites, pit toilets, and a pump for fresh water (but with a long-term boil water advisory) during the summer months. Camping is $16…
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Setting up rain tarps for camping
Over the last few years, we’ve gone camping a few dozen times. Among these trips, many were in the rain. As we are strictly tent campers for now, setting up rain tarps is an essential skill to ensure acceptably dry living quarters. I have documented my learning process and the evolution of my techniques in…
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Grouse Grind at Grouse Mountain Regional Park
Quick facts: Let’s face it: Grouse Grind exists as a workout trail. You won’t find peace and quiet here. No rushing streams, no beautiful lakes, no waterfalls. Instead, you will meet lots and lots of sweaty people, mostly out of breath, and all trying to hike up. There’s a sense of competition and comradery here,…
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Camping at Miracle Beach Provincial Park
To round out our 3-stop tour of Central Vancouver Island, we made a final stop at Miracle Beach Provincial Park. It’s set on a beautiful stretch of pebbly and sandy beach between Campbell River and Courtney/Comox, and it’s very popular. For a large campground with 202 campsites, the shower facilities are strikingly sparse. Until recently,…