Blogs from Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, North America

Saturday 15th June 2019 Yesterday we left Kamloops and headed for the hills once more: actually, they are of course mountains! From Kamloops to Vancouver, the fastest and most direct route is on either the Trans-Canadian Highway, or Highway 5. We actually haven’t been on the Trans-Canadian for quite a while, not since we left Lake Louise and ventured forth up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. The most scenic route however, is Highway 97 to Cache Creek and then Highway 99 to Lillooet, then over the mountain passes to Pemberton, Whistler and on to Squamish (where we are now) and finally following the coast down to Vancouver. What a drive! Fabulous! Yesterday’s drive took us to Turikwa Lake, following the Thompson River valley to Duffy Lake then down to the confluence of the Thompson and the ... read more

Sunday 2 July - Squamish Today we were headed to the Outdoor adventure capital of British Columbia, which is less than an hour away from Vancouver. It sounded exciting, but first we were going to enjoy a bit more of Vancouver by eating and dancing in Kitsilano. Mummy went to Dance Divine and danced so much that she injured her hip again. I played and slept under the dappled light of maple trees with daddy. We then went into a huge room where the walls were decorated with beautiful carpets and salt blocks. It was an Afghan restaurant called "East is East". Apparently it has the worlds best chai! Mummy liked it cause she asked for another one! All I can tell you is that it tastes wierd in mummy's milk. This is Romke and Minke's ... read more

Le seul objectif que je m'étais officiellement fixé en partant pour ce voyage était la West Coast Trail. Mais entrer dans les Rocheuses, passer Canmore, et la hauteur des Bugaboos et de Skaha, pour débarquer à 60km de Squamish... Ce serait mentir que de dire que je n'espérais pas grimper. Beaucoup. Et faut dire que je devais la dégager un peu, cette odeur de magnésie imbibée de sang et de sueur, enrobant des phéromones de peur et d'extase, nimbée d'un mélange unique d'arômes alpines et salines et portée par un vent suave qui ne se respire que bien au-dessus du sol... Ça doit, parce qu'en finissant une journée de marche et de découverte dans Vancouver en me rendant chez MEC (bah quoi... c'est quand même d'ici que ça vient, c'est un peu comme entrer dans un ... read more

Squamish ist der Name eines Indianerstammes, der einst in der Gegend nördlich von Vancouver lebte. Für uns steht der Name für allerdings für größere Outdoor-Freuden, Boulder, Sportklettern, Wandern. Eine Stunde von Vancouver und eine knappe Stunde südlich vom Skiort Whistler entfernt finden am Wochenende auch viele Städter den Weg über den Sea-to-Sky-Highway 99 hier hoch. Dieser wurde für die Winterspiel 2010 in Vancouver/Whistler erweitert. Direkt neben diesem Highway steht majestätisch der Chief Mountain, eine Granitwand, die den Ort Squamish überblickt. Zu dessen Fuße liegen hunderte Felsblöcke und somit hunderte Gründe, warum wir hier sind. Die letzten drei Wochen vergingen - mal wieder - wie im Flug. Für acht kanadische Dollar stellen wir unser Zelt auf den Chief Campground und laufen maximal zehn Minuten durch den Wald zu den Felsblöcken, die mit Boulderproblemen übersäht sind. ... read more

Hello all! It has been a busy weekend and week so far for me and I have plenty to write about in this blog! After passing my CASI on Saturday it was all go to try and get my job and staff accommodation sorted out in time for me to avoid being homeless on Tuesday night! To sort out my job and then accommodation I had to get a Social Insurance Number (SIN) which meant going to a little town about an hour out of Whistler called Squamish. I got a coach to Squamish on which I met a girl who was doing a degree about sustainable development and specialising in 'rural stoves'! Yeah, weird! It is amazing the people you meet here and how chatty everyone is! It really helps when you are in a ... read more