The town of Whistler

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When: 2nd July - 8th July 2009
Where: Whistler & Vancouver

I would gladly add this trip into the "unplanned & chaotic" trip category.
Initially a road trip(from CA to Vancouver & back) turned into a fly-road trip at the last minute. And I am so glad it did.
Early morning flights are crazy, specially when you have to wake up at 2.30 am. Tagging a baby along, home food was a must. So were the baggages. But I would say, we were a little smarter this time than most others, courtesy- Air Travel!


2nd July
Little S is awake at the slightest sound. So, she was pretty much up with us. We had to drop the car at long term parking near OAK-the reason for such an early start for a 6:00am flight.

We were rather relieved after checking in all our baggages. Little S badly needed to catch up on sleep but did not know how in a crowded airport terminal 😞 She couldn't help but doze off at take off & had to be woken up after landing in SEA. That meant an uneventful flight journey that lasted 1hr & 30 min.

psss:I had a slight bewilderment after knowing that we flew up to 40,000ft. Isn't that a little "too high" for a domestic flight between the western states? I do not know how we are going to offset the carbon we had left so high in the atmosphere.😞


Gathering all our baggage & catching the shuttle to the nearby Thrifty rental was a scene in itself. We had booked a wildcar rental which means that you get a car(midsize up) that Thrifty choses. I had read that people often rented out mini vans on these occasions. I was sincerely hoping for one. Alas! At the counter, we were offered a PT Cruiser. We had already tried that car & were not ready for squeezing our luggage in. So, we opted for an upgrade which enabled us to drive out a new Ford Escape.
Expensive? Yeah! But I think we got a good deal. We were heading into Canada & we were going to do just that.
The drive to the border was filled with snoozes. At a point when I just could not control sleeping at the wheel, Ganesh took over. We finished the paper work at the border & spent some time near the Peace Arch state park. It was a cool & sunny day. A perfect day, if you may.


Canada is a beautiful country. But as we neared Vancouver, I could not help but compare every single sight to the US(my suburb town in CA to be specific). We passed the city as we were headed to Whistler
- the venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics
- A town that boasts of Summer skiing. The Moon guide book for BC warned about the crazy construction along Sea-to-Sky highway for the forthcoming Olympics.
Long long ago, when we had just read about Canada, I think visiting Whistler was on top of the list. In fact the place looked so beautiful(in photos) that we even wondered if we would ever witness it first hand.


It was a hot day & to be honest, I was let down. I was expecting cooler weather. It is Canada, for crying out loud!
BC is a huge Province, but the destination seemed longer, thanks to the speed limit. The mountains were majestic. The scene reminded me of Alaska.
The drive to Whistler was like this: Mountain on one side, Ocean/bay(Straight of Georgia to be specific) on the other with snow capped peaks rising from the ocean. The scene cried for cloudy weather and the temperature read nothing below 85F.
Whistler's website
More information from Wiki


Whistler was warm too. We had reservations with Summit Lodge in Whistler village. Every hotel in Whistler village charges for underground parking.
Reason: There was no parking outside. It is a small town.
After settling in, we checked out the village stroll that was just a 5 minute walk. That is where all the crowd is. We did not spend a long time there as we wanted to have an early start the next day.


3rd July
We headed to the Visitor Center that failed to give us more information than we already had. Their maps were helpful though.
The day was warm already.
We hiked the trail to Lost Lake. A fairly easy one. In the event of finding the trail, we found a free overnight parking lot(Parking lot 4) at the base of Whistler mountain. There are other free parking lots for day use too. Plenty. But they get full soon. After a "wish we had founded this lot yesterday, we could have saved some $40 in underground parking" feeling, we continued on the trail within which little S zzz'ed.
The trail goes along a creek that was blue-green in color, that Canada is known for.
Lost Lake was warm & busy. We decided to hike along the perimeter when we saw people on bikes. We thought we should've rented a bike too. Ganesh, the optimist, felt we could rent a bike for the afternoon.

So, we found ourselves coming out of Comor rentals with 2 mountain bikes & a trailer for the little one.

After a chat with Dorian at Comor, I got to know that there were ATV tours ON the mountains. The smoke that I saw on the mountain was either people mountain biking or on ATV tours.
Dorian calls Whistler his home. He snowboards in Winter & bikes during Summer, when he is not working. I call him "crazy". I also gathered that the weather was exceptionally hot today & it is generally milder in Summer. What a timing for us to be there during a heat wave!!!


We picked the valley trail towards Green Lake. We got lost like crazy as the trail passed through residential area. It took us 1 hr 30 min to get to Green Lake.
Quick thoughts on biking:
1. It is not as easy as it looks.
2. I developed a special respect to bikers on Mission peak in CA. Their thighs should burn.


Biking became fun in the next hour with the wind on our faces. The trail became shady too. We passed Meadow park. I envisioned Canada in my mind ever since I'd read "Magnetic North". It is about David Halsey's dream to trek across Canada via foot, dogsled & canoe. I'd been wanting to see a bit of this country too.
We saw people canoeing through a river in Meadow Park. The trail parallels this river roughly & at one point we got down to the river to refresh ourselves from the heat. I read a note there about a Portage trail. So, the book was right.

The new peak-to-peak Gondola was visible along most of the Valley trail. I saw a sign "Whistler Village 4.8 km" & realized how far we were. The trail to Rainbow Park was closed. So we were forced to get back to the village. The ride was amazing. The trail was up & down & I do remember walking the bike uphill at one point. I just couldn't do it riding in the 1st gear. Boy! It got tough. Ganesh was pulling the trailer as well. In the end, it was a good experience.


We returned the bikes & walked along the Village Stroll. The place was buzzing with people. There was a music performance & Little S was busy people watching. I think she was wondering how those people made the hula hoops remain on their hips. Other older kids were trying it too. It was quite a crowd gatherer.
We took the stroll all the way to the Village square. Ganesh insisted on going till the very end.
The reward: Whistler mountain Gondola. We walked a little further on the left & lo! We saw some lifts for bikes. That was pretty interesting how people put their bikes on the lifts & sat themselves on the following chairs. Never seen that before.

If that was amazing, we saw some people actually bike down the slopes. Boy! It was crazy enough to watch it on TV. To 'watch' it in person was pure adrenaline rush. There were bruises & scratches on those bikers.
That's when I concluded, "While a few crazy people like Dorian lived in Whistler, a lot more crazier people visit the town every year". I am sure you would spot a bunch at any time of the year.


We ended up spending a longer time at the base of the mountain.
On our stroll back, I think we soaked in all that Whistler had to offer to us. It is a neat little town with a lot of European style architecture. If you don't have a baby tagging along, there's tons you could do up there. I so badly wanted to zipline😞


4th July
There was a dragon boat race scheduled at Alta Lake in Rainbow park. To get in & get out might take more time than to actually see any race.
We headed N on hwy 99 & our stop was Nairn Falls Provincial Park. Ganesh took the obvious hike to a beautiful waterfall. I had to pass as little S was catching up on much needed sleep.
Next stop: Brandywine Provincial Park. We took the namesake trail to a wonderful waterfall.
Final Stop: The tall but not so impressive Shannon Falls.
It was almost evening by then.
But we still had time to get to Lynn Canyon Regional Park. We decided to pass the Capilano Suspension Bridge. The Lynn Canyon suspension bridge was so cool for being free. A surprise waterfall greeted us as we crossed the bridge. There was a sign that read "Twin falls 20 minutes". We did not bring a backpack to carry the little one. Since it was just 20 minutes, we took turns carrying her in our shoulders. I wouldn't call Twin Falls "impressive" as we could not see the falls clearly from the top of a bridge, but we definitely saw a few crazy people. We met 2 locals who jumped into the shallow 12ft water from what seemed like a 100 ft above. It is illegal, unsafe & scary, but here were two people who gave everything for that thrill. It looked really scary to see them jump from that high up, but they came out relieved, happy, wet & cold.
We met other crazy kids who managed to a huge chunk of wood to the middle of the bridge & throw it down into the creek below just to hear that 'thud'.

Having chewed enough, we headed to Holiday Inn near the airport. We preferred to commute to the downtown 10mi away rather than stay in the city.
Driving South we saw a huge mountain covered in snow. That far down south would be United States & that snow covered mountain would be Mt.Baker.


Observations:
1. Basic changes seemed the most difficult: It was almost impossible to drive without converting km to the corresponding mph. I felt lost knowing the weather in Celsius.
2. The first impression of Canada is that it is so close to the US, yet so far. I mean, the landscape 'might' be close to the US, but the people, the town, is all so different.
3. Unlike the US, speed limits are not strictly followed.
4. The obvious: Gas is pricey. Close to double.
5. Living in CA seemed less expensive.
6. I could not help but wonder how people live on islands?
7. Canada seemed well connected via rails. There were tracks everywhere, though we seldom saw a train.
8. Whistler should be magic in Winter.
9. If you are in Whistler, you should mountain bike or zipline or take the Gondola to the top of the mountain. You just should!
10. While in BC, you should not idle your cars. You have to turn it off.
11. BC seems to be actively participating in wanting a greener environment. Hotel parking in Whistler is half off or free if you drive a hybrid car!
12. The ice cream brand "COWS" that claims to be the best in Canada is OK. But the crowd sure will make you think otherwise.

Our days in Vancouver, follow soon.😊

~travelbuffs
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“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller

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Photos

Architecture & nature
Whistler mountain at the background

Peace Arch Park
US Canada border

The crazy jumpers
This one just jumped

The crazy jumpers
at the base of their fall

Comments

[Geetha]

What a place!
Dear Ganesh and Meera, The place is so beautiful and its so good to see S having a good time . Keep moving and have more fun . geetha

[Robert]

Whistler in Winter
You are correct about Whistler being magic in the Winter. I think every British Columbian, including myself, should experience Whistler in the Winter time at least once. I have been very fortunate to visit Whistler in both the Summer, and Winter times and there is something about the falling snow in the village that is pure magic.