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.

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

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

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!

Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver, BC

It's the slacker in me. I can't believe I haven't uploaded pictures to this blog in such a long time. Well, I'm finally buckling down and doing it.

A few weeks ago, my girlfriend Lindsey, my friend Richard and I decided to do a nice leisurely hike. We chose lighthouse park because it was supposed to be fairly easy. When we arrived and started our hike, we almost immediately decided to go off the beaten track. We knew it was the right decision when we first found the rocks on the shore of the Burrard Inlet. It was a beautiful day, the scenery couldn't be better so it was bouldering time for the rest of our day. So much for the easy, leisurely hike :)

From 2011-02-05 - Lighthouse Park

Gold Creek Falls, Golden Ears Provincial Park, Jan 23, 2011

Not knowing how long it would take to get to the park and with the Lower Mainland's unpredictable traffic, we left Vancouver for Golden Ears Provincial Park at about 10am to hike the Gold Creek Falls trail. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would and before we knew it, we were passing the parking lot access for Alouette Lake. We had to make a couple of stops at information boards to find the right lot, but what felt like no time, we were parked and making our way to the trail head.

From Gold Creek Falls

Buntzen Lake, Jan 15, 2011

My girlfriend, Lindsey, and I went for a short hike to Buntzen Lake. We were hoping to do the whole Buntzen Lake Loop, but we were short on time and only managed to get to the suspension bridge before deciding to turn back along Powerhouse Rd.

We parked at the south beach and noticed right away how high the water was. Apparently, BC Hydro is in the process of replacing a turbine in the power house. As a result, the amount of water passing through has declined and sits, waiting in the lake.

From Buntzen Lake, Jan 15, 2011