Sunday, March 20, 2011

What's got two thumbs and a new tent?

This guy!

Still grinning from my factory sale find! North Face was having a factory sale and I've chosen the North Face Rock 22 as my tent of choice for backpacking. As luck would have it, I got the last one! All the merchandise at this factory sale was discounted by 50%. My $220 tent cost me only $110. Brand new!

The reviews for this particular tent were mostly quite positive. There are a few negative reviews, but as with most things, this is normal. I weighed the perceived pros and cons and I feel I've made a good choice.


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Canada Urged to Protect Water in Boreal Forests

I just finished reading an interesting article in the Vancouver Sun describing how Canada's federal, provincial and aboriginal leaders are being urged to step up protection of the boreal forest, which a new report describes as the world's largest store of freshwater.


Read the full article here.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Sickness

I've been sick with Bronchitis for the past few days, but it's given me plenty of time to surf the Internet drooling over gear that I will eventually be stocking up on. I'll be doing a GIWAWIWI review on a pack and sleeping bag soon enough. For now, behold! My first camping adventure of the season will be in two weeks from now.

Camping on bowen island!


View Mt. Gardner in a larger map


We are planning for either the March 25th & 26th or April 1st & 2nd, whichever weekend has the most promising weather. We will be hiking Mount Gardner and then camping somewhere on Lake Killarney (Crippen Regional Park). I'll have a write up on the trek and will most certainly have GIWAWIWI updates in the coming days.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Snowshoeing Mt. Seymour, PT 1: Pump Peak

Sunday, March 6 was a gorgeous day as forecasted and I had only been snowshoeing once this season. I called up my sister, her boyfriend and my friend Richard to see if we could organize a last minute snowshoe adventure to the top of Mount Seymour's first peak, "Pump Peak". It took very little convincing before we were on our way to the rental section at MEC in North Vancouver. Equipped with snowshoes and Cliff bars, we headed for Mount Seymour to ascend some peak!

From 2011-03-06 - Mt. Seymour 1: Snowshoe to Pump Peak

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

GIWAWIWI: Westcomb Cruiser LT Hoody

Please consider this the very first edition of "Gear I Want and Why I Want It" or, "GIWAWIWI" for short. As I feel GIWAWIWI doesn't require any further explanation, I may as well jump right into it.

This is the Westcomb Cruiser LT Hoody and I want it.


From Gear I Want and Why I Want It

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Snowshoeing Dog Mountain

We had been meaning to check out Dog Mountain for some time but the weather just wouldn't cooperate. When the sun was shining and the air was clear, we rented some snowshoes from Mountain Equipment Coop and made our way up Seymour Mountain. It had to be one of the clearest days I had seen in a while. The edges of the mountains were so distinct and visible from Vancouver I couldn't wait to see the view Dog Mountain had waiting for us.

No one in the group had gone snowshoeing before. Just as soon as we were all equipped in our boots, I got a stranger to take our photo. The adventure had begun!

From 2011-02-18 - Snowshoe to Dog Mountain

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Oh yeah, an update: Lynn Peak!

So a couple of weeks ago, Richard and I did a hike up to Lynn Peak. It was a pretty tough hike. It wasn't so much the vertical as it was the loose rock which made it challenging. The other thing we noticed were the fake peaks. Every so often we'd see blue sky peaking through the trees and we'd think "hey, here it is! We made it!". But no, it was just a clearing on our way to the top.

We did finally make it to the peak, but it was so foggy we couldn't see anything but a white misty glaze. It was really disappointing. We'll return one day when the weather is nicer.

The first 100m or so down as a little sketchy. We didn't have any grips for our boots and we were above the snow line so it was a tricky as the snow was polished and slippery. Several times we had to slide down on our backsides to avoid slipping and butting heads with a rock.

A much nicer (and quieter) hike than the BCMC or Grouse Grind. Can't wait to see that view in the summer. Next time, I'll post with pictures!