Hiking in the Summer

"This is not a walk in the park."  That's what I see on signs most of the time when I go for hikes.

I'm not an experienced hiker but I started hiking this summer and I find to be an adventurous and fun thing to do especially when you're with friends!  It all started off with Grouse Grind, where I was probably just a inch close to fainting halfway on the hike (literally!).  The funny thing is, even though the hike was brutal for me, I still ended up getting an annual pass for it!  It just seemed like a good idea at that time since it would give me some motivation to exercise more... plus all my friends that day bought one so it made me want to get one as well just to join in with the crowd. =P





Getting the annual pass got me to do grouse grind for the second time with another group of friends.  During the hike, one of my friends (a more experienced hiker) suggested hiking at Stawamus Chief for my next hike.  I had no idea what he was talking about at first, but when I got home and googled up on the Chief, I was stunned by the photos of it!   Stawamus chief is an 11km hike with an elevation gain of 600m.  I went to hike there with my friends one week after my second grouse grind, and I have to say... grouse grind was nothing compared to the Chief!  Unlike grouse grind where the hike was just full of uneven stairs, the Chief involved all sorts of things like ladders, chains, steep hills, as well as scaling up the mountain.  But I have to say, the view was all worth it when you reach the top of the mountain and look back down at the city.








The Chief includes three peaks but we only got to the first and second peaks since it was getting late and we wanted to make sure we can get off the mountain before the sky darkens out.







After hiking at the Chief, the experienced hiker friend of mine again suggested another hiking place!  This time he suggested Garibaldi Lake, an 18km hike with an elevation gain of 820m.  And guess what?  I was up for it!  Two weeks after doing the Chief, we went for Garibaldi Lake and Taylor Meadows (a field within Garibaldi that adds an extra 4km to our hike, making it a 22km hike).  Garibaldi was less intense than Chief in the sense that it only involved uphill/downhill hiking.  However, it was not easy.  The uphill hiking was VERY tiring and it seemed like it was never ending!  My legs were extremely tired by the time I finally reached the top of the mountain.  But again, the view was totally worth it!!  Garibaldi Lake was beautiful with water so clear that you can actually see what's at the bottom of it!  The water is glacier water though, so it's ice cold all year round. 









I googled up all the details about the lake before I went for the hike, and decided I really wanted to swim out to one of the rock islands in the middle of the lake.  However, I haven't swam for at least 10 years and swimming in the lake did not seem like a good idea especially when it's glacier water.  And so I came up with the idea of paddling up to the island in an inflatable boat!  ...But bringing a boat on a 22km hike?!  I talked with my friends and it seemed ridiculous at first.  But in the end, we decided to do it.  Thanks to one of my friends who helped me carry the inflatable boat up on the hike, I was able to be probably one of the first few people to paddle at Garibaldi lake! =)





Yes, my friend tried to teach us how to paddle a boat when we couldn't seem to get the boat to move for the first couple of minutes. XD

Here's the rock island which we paddled to:




Of course, my post would NOT be complete without a photo of an amigurumi doll ~  I actually brought one of my completed projects along with me on the 22km hike at Garibaldi lake! hehe =)





It's a Superman with a head made up of bread (called Anpanman in Japan). I crocheted it using very thin mohair yarn, and used felt for the eyes, eyebrows, cheeks, belt, face logo, and the cape (although you can't really see the cape in this photo).





I got caught on camera while taking photos of Anpanman! =3

A random woman who saw us with the inflatable boat and my amigurumi doll actually looked at us and said "You guys bring the most significant things to a hike!" just when we were about to leave the lake and head back down the mountain. XD

For more photos of my hiking adventures this summer, visit my Summer2010 Hiking set on Flickr!

Hiking in the Summer

"This is not a walk in the park."  That's what I see on signs most of the time when I go for hikes.

I'm not an experienced hiker but I started hiking this summer and I find to be an adventurous and fun thing to do especially when you're with friends!  It all started off with Grouse Grind, where I was probably just a inch close to fainting halfway on the hike (literally!).  The funny thing is, even though the hike was brutal for me, I still ended up getting an annual pass for it!  It just seemed like a good idea at that time since it would give me some motivation to exercise more... plus all my friends that day bought one so it made me want to get one as well just to join in with the crowd. =P





Getting the annual pass got me to do grouse grind for the second time with another group of friends.  During the hike, one of my friends (a more experienced hiker) suggested hiking at Stawamus Chief for my next hike.  I had no idea what he was talking about at first, but when I got home and googled up on the Chief, I was stunned by the photos of it!   Stawamus chief is an 11km hike with an elevation gain of 600m.  I went to hike there with my friends one week after my second grouse grind, and I have to say... grouse grind was nothing compared to the Chief!  Unlike grouse grind where the hike was just full of uneven stairs, the Chief involved all sorts of things like ladders, chains, steep hills, as well as scaling up the mountain.  But I have to say, the view was all worth it when you reach the top of the mountain and look back down at the city.








The Chief includes three peaks but we only got to the first and second peaks since it was getting late and we wanted to make sure we can get off the mountain before the sky darkens out.







After hiking at the Chief, the experienced hiker friend of mine again suggested another hiking place!  This time he suggested Garibaldi Lake, an 18km hike with an elevation gain of 820m.  And guess what?  I was up for it!  Two weeks after doing the Chief, we went for Garibaldi Lake and Taylor Meadows (a field within Garibaldi that adds an extra 4km to our hike, making it a 22km hike).  Garibaldi was less intense than Chief in the sense that it only involved uphill/downhill hiking.  However, it was not easy.  The uphill hiking was VERY tiring and it seemed like it was never ending!  My legs were extremely tired by the time I finally reached the top of the mountain.  But again, the view was totally worth it!!  Garibaldi Lake was beautiful with water so clear that you can actually see what's at the bottom of it!  The water is glacier water though, so it's ice cold all year round. 









I googled up all the details about the lake before I went for the hike, and decided I really wanted to swim out to one of the rock islands in the middle of the lake.  However, I haven't swam for at least 10 years and swimming in the lake did not seem like a good idea especially when it's glacier water.  And so I came up with the idea of paddling up to the island in an inflatable boat!  ...But bringing a boat on a 22km hike?!  I talked with my friends and it seemed ridiculous at first.  But in the end, we decided to do it.  Thanks to one of my friends who helped me carry the inflatable boat up on the hike, I was able to be probably one of the first few people to paddle at Garibaldi lake! =)





Yes, my friend tried to teach us how to paddle a boat when we couldn't seem to get the boat to move for the first couple of minutes. XD

Here's the rock island which we paddled to:




Of course, my post would NOT be complete without a photo of an amigurumi doll ~  I actually brought one of my completed projects along with me on the 22km hike at Garibaldi lake! hehe =)





It's a Superman with a head made up of bread (called Anpanman in Japan). I crocheted it using very thin mohair yarn, and used felt for the eyes, eyebrows, cheeks, belt, face logo, and the cape (although you can't really see the cape in this photo).





I got caught on camera while taking photos of Anpanman! =3

A random woman who saw us with the inflatable boat and my amigurumi doll actually looked at us and said "You guys bring the most significant things to a hike!" just when we were about to leave the lake and head back down the mountain. XD

For more photos of my hiking adventures this summer, visit my Summer2010 Hiking set on Flickr!