The Sea to Sky Highway, Whistler, Squamish and Vancouver

In Whistler.

Hiking outside of Whistler.



Biking out of Vancouver - Trust me, I am happy! :)


We made it to Vancouver! Martin kept saying how surprised he is that the van made it as far as it did with no major problems, knock on wood, the luck continues to Portland.

We drove the Sea to Sky Highway, through Faser Canyon and onto Whistler a few days ago. We had no idea that Canada actually had a desert, but it does, right in Fraser Canyon. The Highway is a beautiful drive, and quite nerve wrecking, through hairpin turns and right next to a deep canyon. We camped at one of the (FREE!!) state campgrounds. The next morning we rose to gorgeous weather! We had big plans of hiking most of the day, right outside of Whistler, but found some "out of the way" hotsprings up a forest road, and decided to calm our nerves by trying out the hotsprings. The guidebook says that they are free, but unfortunately, the Canadian Government now owns the land, so we had to pay $8.00 each - but well worth it! We spent four hours soaking ourselves, it was totally worth the long drive and the money. After the hotsprings we headed into Pemberton, a small farming community outside of Whistler. We did a hike to Nairn Falls, which was actually pretty impressive. We then camped for the night at another Free Campsite.

The next day we headed onto Whistler. We hiked 7km straight up to a cabin. I am pretty used to mountain scenes after living in Alaska and hiking all over there, but this was breathtaking. Probably the most beautiful area I've ever been in. Martin was also impressed and already mentioned that he wanted to get back there to climb some peaks. After our nice hike, we headed to Whistler. We had a cold beer at the Whistler Brewery and met a couple from KENAI! They were on their way out too - to Seattle. Whistler was less than impressive, very touristy, but that was to be expected. I still wouldn't mind skiing there.

The next day we headed into Squamish. Squamish is known for its rock climbing. We hiked "The Cheif", a granite wall, second largest in North America. The backside was semi-easy to hike, with chains and latters leading to the top. The view at the top was amazing. Squamish is nestled between the mountains and Horseshoe Bay.

After our hike we were ready for the city - we headed to Vancouver. We actually found a campsite right in the city limits. The first night we went into the city by bike, to seek out a local brewery. We were successful and even found our way back after dark! Today we toured the City by bike again (we are also trying to get our biking legs ready for South Korea). We visited the Aquarium and The Museum of Anthropology at The univerisity, which was amazing and overwhelming. Tomorrow we head for Vancouver Island to bike for two days. We plan on making it back to the States around September 10th.