Whistler to Spence's bridge

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Well what a journey we had today. We travelled 266 km through the most amazing scenery, with so many 'look at that' moments that we became almost blaize about our surroundings.

We left our apartment in Whistler after breakfast to complete our travels on the Sea to Sky highway. Almost immediately we were surrounded by jaw-dropping views, with snow-topped mountains and tree lined valleys. Our first stop was at Nairn Falls, where a walk of 1.5 km along the side of the beautiful fast flowing Green River ( and it was a blue-green colour) led us to the waterfall. Each and every waterfall we have visited so far has been amazing and this one was no exception.

We then carried along the road, with evermore increasingly dramatic views as we climbed and climbed on a switch back road. We passed two lady cyclists enduring self-inflicted torture as they struggled up the road - why would you do that!! Our next stop was at Joffre Lakes, but our time schedule meant we only had time to walk to the lowest lake. It was really cold here, with a little snow still left on the route, but the lake itself was not frozen and was a beautiful green colour.

On we went and although we had now left the Sea to Sky highway, the scenery and views had by no means diminished and we were still enjoying many 'look at that' moments.
We stopped for lunch at Duffey Lake, enjoying the picnic we had prepared before leaving Whistler. We then decided to take our option 2 route, which added 40km to our journey, but meant we could visit Hat Creek Ranch.

Due to our many photo opportunity stops we were a little late reaching the ranch, but we still really enjoyed our visit. This ranch was established in 1861 as a stopping house for the many prospectors heading north after the discovery of gold on British Columbia. It is positioned on the original Cariboo Wagon road and is presented as it would have been in 1901. Our visit included a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, a visit to a working blacksmiths and a look around a Native Interpretation Site.

We eventually reached our stop for the night, the Inn at Spence's bridge. This too was a stopping place for the gold prospectors and was built in 1862 and is the oldest inn in British Columbia. It is on the trans-Canada corridor with the CP railway track on one side of the Inn and the CN railway track on the other side over the river. The trains, including the Rocky Mountaineer, share the tracks so they all go one way on each side. Since sitting here writing this blog two freight trains have passed our window, one 126 carriages long, the next 164. Apparently they can be up to 3Km long. Should be an interesting night - there are ear plugs provided in the bathroom!

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