Canadian Whirlwind: British Columbia Part 1

My first stop in British Columbia was Field.  This is tiny town that sits inside Yoho National Park.  Field had none of the feel of Banff or Jasper in terms of being a tourist destination.  This is another historic railroad town where the water and electricity was paid and supplied by the railroad until the 1950s.  I hiked the Iceline Trail the day after I arrived which is a 20km loop and named for the several glaciers you hike below as you make your way along the edges of the Waputik Mountain Range.  The hike starts you off near Takakkaw Falls which is an incredibly powerful waterfall (check out the photos) near the trailhead then steeply climbs you above the treeline as you walk along the range.  The fast receding glaciers were pretty small (Thanks, Obama) but the miniaturization of Takakkaw Falls as you walked further and further away  was a cool sight.

For what ever reason I really struggled through this hike.  Whether it was the long hikes in Lake Louise and Jasper the previous few days or I was low on calories I don’t know but my hips were bothering me and I felt lethargic through most of this hike.  This can really lower the enjoyment level of a hike so while I don’t have fond memories of this hike, it could have been just my state of mind and body at the time.

When I got off the Iceline Trail, all I could think about was getting to a restaurant for a nice juicy burger and my plan was to drive to Glacier National Park which was about 90 minutes away  and find a restaurant.  Little did I know, unlike all the other parks I had been to so far in Canada there were no towns in Glacier National Park along the Trans Canada Highway.  While I could have stopped at any turnout or trailhead and cooked myself some soup or rice and beans, the need for a greasy cheeseburger was too great to settle for my own cooking so I pressed on another 90mins until I hit the town of Revelstoke.  (Note:  I heard the hiking in Glacier National Park is pretty great because it is pretty remote and very few people take the time to drive there)

This turned out to be a great change of plans as Revelstoke was by far my favorite town in all of Canada.  It is directly outside Mt. Revelstoke National Park and I’m sure they get there fair share of tourism (especially during the winter from its ski resort nearby) but the town felt down to Earth and “homey”.  The main street felt natural and unpretentious unlike the feelings I got in Banff and Jasper.  It wasn’t crowded and the people who gathered around for the Revelstoke Street Fest the night I arrived seemed to be locals.  I got my burger that night at Chubby Funsters across from the street fest stage and it was totally worth the extra time in the car.

The next day, I hiked to Eva Lake and Miller Lake inside Mt. Revelstoke National Park.  It was a short hike to two more glacier fed lakes.  I needed the short hike because of the hike the day before and also because I needed watch the Game of Thrones season premiere at 6PM PDT that evening.  I found a Starbucks in town, got my Wifi working and watched “television” for the first time in a long time.  I have missed World Cup Qualifying matches, all of the Gold Cup so far because of travelling but I was not missing the GoT season premiere.  What is wrong with me!? 

After the show, I found the Craft Bierhaus in town and enjoyed some local beer and their specialty mac and cheese.  I got the South Bowl Mac and Cheese and it was amazing.  Imagine beef nachos on top of a plate of macaroni.  Definitely check this place out if you are ever in Revelstoke.  Thanks, JP, for the suggestion.

The following day was a long day of driving to Squamish, an hour North of Vancouver.  I had intended to drive through the town of Whistler on my way which was supposed to be a very scenic drive but due to wildfires I was rerouted along the US/Canada border and came up around the southwest side of Vancouver up to Squamish. 

Squamish is in an outdoor destination for Vancouver where people are big into mountain biking, climbing, hiking and windsurfing.  I don’t think I was there more than 24 hours so can’t really talk about the town very much.  I completed the Chief hike in Squamish.  This is a short hike but you gain about 2000ft of elevation over a short distance  so it was pretty strenuous.  I bagged all three peaks of the Chief and got back to my car in about 5 hours.  The views at the top of the mountain were great looking down on the town of Squamish, its neighboring towns and the Howe Sound.

After the hike I drove out on the Squamish Spit to watch people windsurfing for a while before I drove South to Vancouver.

Matthew.