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Published: August 11th 2006
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Mr Inukchuk
Watch out for more of this guy in 2010 when Whistler/Vancouver host the winter olympics We’re now checked into our honeymoon hotel in Juneau, and really we should have better things to do than log on and write the blog, but lots to tell, so we’ll try to keep up to date. Next entry will probably be after the deed is done, so if anyone out there knows of any good reason why we two should not be joined in matrimony, email now, or forever hold your peace!
We left you in Whistler… Whistler is best known as a top winter sports destination, but it also makes a pretty decent summer sports destination too. They had the brilliant idea of running a couple of the chair lifts to get you to the top of the mountain so you can hike about the ridge, bike down or just hang out for the great views. We had thought that free-wheeling a bike down a mountainside would be great fun, until we saw the near-vertical slopes, and the body armour employed by those mental enough to try it! We stuck to hiking. If you read my Ecuador blog you’ll know that in the wrong conditions I have the potential to be quite a stroppy uphill walker, so Al
took his life in his hands when he led us along a ‘black’ hiking trail, and off the edge of the map, ‘just to see what was over there’. It was a good call; the path took us up along a ridge between two snow-capped mountain ranges. The views were stunning, the air clear and sharp. We ate lunch dangling our feet over the edge of a cliff before heading down through forests, past (and into - see pic) lakes and meadows of mountain flowers. (Everyone - ‘The hills are alive...’!)
On Sunday we left Whistler, and headed south to the little town of Squamish, very excited because it was the day of the ‘Squamish Loggers Days International Logging Sports Competition’ - the Lumberjack Olympics! How cool is that - seeing real lumberjacks in Canada!! We’d expected a roped off corner of a sports field and announcements about lost children, but they take their logging sports seriously in Squamish. A dedicated arena had been built, with putting green perfect grass, stations for each discipline, including a pond, twenty full size tree trunks and two giant 90ft trunks at the centre, Our friends Smithy and Karen drove up to meet
Al is not a chicken!
How to make a man dive into an ice-cold mountain lake! Luckily you can't make out that his oversized penguin boxer shorts deserted him on entry! us from Seattle and we took our places on the benches as the games began.
There were many (many, many….) individual competitions, I never knew that there were so many different ways to chop up wood! Among our favourites were: standing on a block of wood, swinging an axe at it and not chopping your feet off; running as fast as you can along a 30ft pole then chainsawing the end of the pole off; climbing the 90ft tree trunks with a cable and spiky boots, sawing a block off the top, then free falling back down; and running on a log in the pond while another guy tries to trip you up; all good stuff!
After all that excitement we headed south again, back to Vancouver, had dinner in Sequoia, a great restaurant in Stanley Park, said farewell (for now) to Smithy and Karen and checked into our hotel. Al… over to you…
Awaking in North Vancouver was a strange experience, We were obviously in a hotel, in the middle of a bustling cosmopolitan city, yet I felt as if I’d spent the evening swinging merrily from tree to tree, axe in hand, dreaming that I
Gladiators Ready!!!
Mountain warriors preparing to ride Whistler downhill ski slopes. This guy is so hard he's taking a spare bike on his back! was one of the check-shirted lumberjacks we’d seen the day before. Michael Palin has a lot to answer for; I’ve been whistling the lumberjack song all morning.
The weather changed as quickly as the scenery that afternoon as we flew North to Prince Rupert. We landed in a cool, overcast, sleepy fishing town in British Colombia, the entrance to Alaska’s Inside Passage waterway. The flight’s highlight was a wizened old Geordie flight attendant, he added an uncommon touch of humour to the usual “This is your lap belt” routine, and gave us free drinks too. We checked into a real 1970’s hotel, really, everything was authentic enough to suggest the place hadn’t changed in 30 years. We spent the evening in ‘Breakers’ pub, Alaskan beer seems ok by American standards.
Our 24 hour ferry trip to Juneau departed at midday; we dropped our stuff in the cabin and immediately went to the observation deck to look for whales. A naturalist, Laurie, talked about whales, while we, of course, looked over her shoulder for whales. They didn’t show that evening, or as promised at 5am, which was rough as we’d got up early. Finally at 7am we sighted a
huge group of Humpbacks, easily 30+ of the giants spread over about 5 miles; Small pods of them ‘bubble-hunted’ as we cruised past, while others seemed happy to wave their tails, or simply indulge in ‘blowing off’ for the tourists. Shortly thereafter we spotted groups of Dall’s porpoises, coloured balck and white, they looked just like dolphins with a ‘Killer Whale’ paint-job; We also saw some seals chasing salmon - ah nature spotting complete… but still no sign of bears, wolves or moose.
Juneau’s main trade is from passing cruise liners, 4 of which were docked downtown as we arrived. Hire cars were hard to come by, but ‘Rentawreck’ sorted us out with a good old 1970’s pimpmobile; it’s so hard to find red leather trim with red brushed velvet and walnut veneer. We cruised the town in style, stopping at a tiny stream to watch dozens of salmon struggle in the shallow water. It was hard, as an ex-ghillie, to resist the urge to jump in there and ‘rescue’ them… for the barbeque.
OK guys, we've got a wedding to get on with! Don't forget - raise those glasses for us on Saturday night! Weather's looking a
Those crazy Canadians!
Yes, there is a guy doing a headstand on top of a 90ft tree trunk. They shot him in the end. bit dodgy, so you may have to raise them again on Sunday if we get postponed by 24 hours! Whatever - CHEERS!!!
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Ailsa again!
non-member comment
It still looks amazing!
I recognise some of the places you've been but I obviously missed some of the best bits on my travels in the area a few years ago. Like the look of the mountain biking, but not the mountain biker (he obviously flips his head open, removes his brain and then heads off downhill! Not pretty - him I mean!) Have a fantastic day tomorrow - even if it's stormy it will make it all the more atmospheric! A ps I must be the only person with time on their hands to make comments! Caty and Snakey say hi!