Vancouver in the fall

My grandparents were visiting and I have been carrying my camera with me around town and here is what I got :)
A stream on the way to Whistler:
Fall colors in Whistler:

Vancouver - a view of the city:

Stanley Park:

The skyline of Vancouver from Locarno beach:

Cheakamus Lake, August 16

The hike to reach the lake is about 3km and then another 3km or so along the lake itself until you reach the end of the trail and a nice little beach. It is a fairly flat hike on a well maintained trail suitable for all, including bikes.

The water is cold -it is a glacier/snow fed lake afterall- but the day was so warm (34c) that I couldn't resist a few quick dips :)

Whistler - BC Day Weekend

We took the gondola up to Whistler mountain and then took one more lift to get to the peak, it was a very clear day and a warm one as well. We hiked parts of Half Note and High Note and here are the views:

The Black Tusk:

Cheakamus Lake:

Saw a couple of bears from the gondola, so keep your eyes open :)

Bear it all - Whistler , July 19th

We went up to Whistler for the day to walk around the village and enjoy the fairly cold water in Alta Lake (don't get me wrong, it is swimmable). On our way we had an exciting surprise - a bear grazing on some greens at the side of the road :)

Saltspring Island, June 28-July 1

We spent the long weekend camping at the Garden Faire Campground which was really great; sites were far enough apart, very clean, very green and located sort of at the center of the island. There are quite a few artist's studios on the island; two wonderful cheese makers (you can read about them here), one good winery (and one bad); a few lakes which have tiny (a few meters wide) beaches - my favorite being Stowel lake. On a clear day you can either drive up or climb up Mt Maxwell for a view of the surrounding islands and Mt Baker.

The view from the ferry on Mt. Baker
Gary Oaks Winery

Ganges Harbour

Ruckle Provincial Park - a small shady park with a few nice trails and a beautiful view on the water traffic and the neighbouring islands.

Quite a few tidal pools you can observe on the rocks in Ruckle Provincial Park with colorful starfish and other creatures and plants.

On our way back to Vancouver we stopped on Vancouver Island to see whats happening in Victoria on Canada Day. I had great memories of Victoria based on my previous visit a few years back and this time I couldn't really pinpoint what was it that left such a good impression. The city if fairly boring and an hour is sufficient to see all it has to offer. I think the appeal of the area stems from the nature rather then from Victoria itself.

Garibaldi Lake, June 15th

A long but not difficult hike, with very moderate incline, from 18km to 20km (depending how far around the lake you go) in and out. The last 3km are the most beautiful and interesting so don't give up on the 6km through the forest...The whole trip took us about 8 hours, including photographing and an hour long luch at the lake.
On the way to the lake you will pass a couple of forks leading to the Black Tusk and Taylor Meadows as well as a giant slide and two additional lakes - Lesser Garibaldi Lake and Barrier Lake.

Barrier Lake - the frist on you see on the trail; soon after the fork.
Garibaldi Lake was still frozen but you could see a beginning of something moving around the edges...Should come back in a month or two.

It was very warm and sunny; do not forget your sunscreen especially if you are planning to linger by the lake like we did.

The road to/from the parking lot

Turn right off Hwy 99 just after you cross the Rubble Creek Bridge, 37 km north of Squamish or 19 km south of Whistler onto a paved road that leads 2.5 km to the Garibaldi Lake parking lot.

Stawamus Chief, May 25th

Drive north on HWY 99 (past Squamish) up to the Shannon Falls parking lot, the trail head starts there. If you missed it don't worry there is another parkign lot and another trail head just north of Shannon Falls.

We hiked to the first peak (out of three), its a constant climb up as if climbing uneven stairs, 7km in and out. The hike itself is not very interesting as you are walking in the forest constantly looking at your feet but the view from the top is beautiful.