December 7, 2014: False Creek Celebration Loop

It was a nice day for the not-too-strenuous victory loop of False Creek, ending up at the Craft Beer Market in the Salt Building in the former Olympic Village. A record turnout of 14 people assembled at Science World. We walked counter-clockwise and crossed the Burrard Bridge before returning along the seawall.

Science World

False Creek East

Assembling at the start

Landfill of the future

The lineup

Heading out

Jon

Liz

Larrie

Jean

Gordon

Janet

Don

Ralph

Marching along

Happy walkers

Shadows on the trail

Inscription

Julie posing, I

Julie posing, II

Angela leaping

The ladies

Some men

Michael

Down side up

Leaving Yaletown

Skyline

Approaching the Cambie Street Bridge

Ascending to the Burrard Bridge

Milling about

Approaching Granville Island

Granville Island

Awaiting the walkers

A flight of beers

Cheers!

Some of the many taps

Dinner arrives

The aftermath

Post Hike Portrait

Another group portrait

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November 2, 2014: Renfrew Ravine to Waterfront Station

A rainy day for the final leg of the loop did not deter this hearty crew.  This was the most urban of all the walks with much of the route through the historic downtown East side.  This allowed for an enjoyable coffee break at Cafe Calabria on Commercial.

We ended with a stop at Rogue Kitchen and Wetbar (inside the Waterfront Station building) before catching the Skytrain back to the 29th Avenue starting point.

Distance: 10.93K  Weather: drizzle and rain.

Total Distance: 152.6K
Loop Distance (excluding SFU side trip): 139.43K

Starting selfie

Starting out

Renfrew Ravine

Renfrew Ravine

Renfrew Ravine

Foots

Approaching Trout Lake

Trout Lake

John Hendry Park

John Hendry Park

Starting to rain …

… but we don’t care!

Park scene

Michael on the path less taken

Confused by holly?

Window shopping

Coffee break on Commercial

Leaving the coffee break

Halloween window display

Picture this

Framed!

Taking the railway crossing

Street mosaic

Strathcona streetscape

Strathcona houses

Group portrait

Strathcona

Chinese memorial statue

Chinatown

Sun Yat Sen Garden

Photographer at work

Photographer at work

Sun Yat Sen Garden

Sun Yat Sen Garden

Crossing the tracks to CRAB Park

CRAB Park

CRAB Park

Harbour Tower

CRAB Park

.. or maybe that way …

Welcome to Vancouver

The End selfie

Post Walk lunch at Rogue

German Plaza back at 29th Ave.

October 26, 2014: William Griffin Park to Phibbs Exchange redux

Four of us did the second stage of the Loop today.  We followed much the same route as the first time, although we had the advantage of having the updated description from the 2010 update to the book.  This allowed us, for example, to avoid the bottom portion of the descending power line trail which was good because today we were walking down an active stream.  It was very wet along much of the route, although the day itself was very pleasant and mostly sunny.

We deviated from the official route at the end, continuing down Lynn Creek to Main Street.  I think this was actually a nicer route.

Distance: 13k  Weather: Mostly sunny

Seems like an appropriate start

Heading up Mosquito Creek

Big leaves

???

Fall leaves

Sign ignored

At the Mosquito Creek bridge

At the Mosquito Creek bridge

West Van from afar

Signpost

Along the powerline …

… and into the woods

Deep dark woods

Crossing a bike bridge

more autumn leaves

Along the street

Lunch break, and yes that’s Alan’s second beer

down we go

Hastings Creek

Another mid-bridge selfie

Julie being a boy scout

Which way ???

Love them signs

yet more leaves

At the end

End of hike selfie

October 5, 2014: Burnaby Lake Park to Renfrew Ravine

Jon’s pre-walk on September 21

Jon selfie

Gordon’s route with the official group on October 5

Shopping or hiking?

(includes about 1.4 km trying to shut down the app while en route in the car to St Augustine’s)

According to Jon:

… a pretty gentle one, with only one uphill portion, from Deer Lake up to Metrotown, and much of that is up a set of gentle steps. When exiting Burnaby Lake I recommend taking the Sprott Street exit to Kensington as I’m not convinced the trail he describes still exists (and there’s a new nice walking path along Kensington).

The consensus seems to be that it was about 16 km The steps from Deer Lake to Metrotown have the legend of Deer Lake according to Chief Joe Capilano on them in thirteen parts (so you get to rest while reading each part—the steps may be gentle but there are about 300 of them).

The weather on October 5 was around 19 degrees: perfect for walking. We ended up at St. Augustine’s Craft Brew House.

Make-up Walk on October 19

Group Selfie at start of walk

Five of us did section number 10 today.  We had a very pleasant day, warm and partly sunny.  We made one minor deviation from the “official” route, taking the Deer Lake boardwalk rather than the meadow trail.

Total distance 15.56 km

Group selfie

Who knows?

Still waters, I

Still waters, II

Walk #10, Fauna: Caterpillar

Another Riparian Zone

Striding

Metrotown from Deer Lake

Start of the steps

Legend of Deer Lake, I

Near the top

Water feature near Metrotown

Walk #10 Flora: unknown

St Augustine’s, I

St Augustine’s, II

Oct 19 – Piper’s Spit – Burnaby Lake

Oct 19 – Crow

Oct 19 – Approaching Deer Lake

Oct 19 – Deer Lake boardwalk

Oct 19 – Leaving Deer Lake

Oct 19 – Deer Lake trail

Oct 19 – Stairs up to Metrotown

The complete Legend from the steps

Oct 19 – Big Mushroom

Oct 19 – Liz and Michael stalking mushrooms

September 7, 2014: Mundy Park to Burnaby Lake Park

A record turnout for today’s walk – 12 partipants.  We wended our way through Mundy Park, down into Port Moody, and then through various ravines to end up at the East end of Burnaby Lake.

Distance: 13.88km  Weather: Sunny and warm.
Distance so far: 126.11km

Assembling at the starting point

Beginning

and so we set out

Lost Lake is found

Don

September sunshine

Michael with Gandalf stick

Ralph and Angela

Mundy Lake

Kathy

Jewel in the Crown

Liz

Wild orchids

Gordon

Jon

Ralph

Descending into Port Moody

and climbing back out

resting after the climb

Alternative route

Mystery pond

Alan

Julie

Dave and Jean

Lunch break

Lunch break

Sophie, looking for handouts

Micheal rides the chipmunk

… and then this way

Yard sale diversion

Yard sale diversion

Jon versus critter

… and the critter wins

Dave

Consulting the map

Approaching the end

Approaching the end

reaching Burnaby Lake Park

End

The Cariboo dam

Burnaby Lake outfall

Fish ladder

Crossing the dam

Heron

Michael and Jean

Relaxing at the end

Post-hike libations

Proper post-hike treatment

August 31, 2014: Waterfront Station to William Griffin Park redux

This was a repeat of the first stage for people who missed it, with minor differences in the route taken.

Total Distance: 13.78km Weather: Rain to start, cloudy in the middle, sunny finish

We depart

We depart

A soggy start

Coal Harbour

Coal Harbour

Cormorant – Coal Harbour

Statue – Coal Harbour

Statue – Coal Harbour

Into the Stanley Park woods

Beaver Lake

Beaver Lake

Beaver Lake

Spiderweb

Bridge and causeway

Lions Gate Bridge

Posing with a little lion

Prospect Point

Prospect Point

No, that way!

On the Bridge

Lions Gate Bridge

Mouth of the Capilano River

Lunch break along the Capilano River

Lunch Break

Bowser Trail

The dreaded staircase

Up the stairs

Up the staircase

Rest break

Rest break

View from the top of the stairs

Up we go again

A roadside library

A roadside library

We made it!

a final selfie

The end

Lonsdale Quay Farewell

August 3, 2014: Pitt River to Mundy Park

We are observed from on high

We depart

It’s going to be hot

The river

It’s hot

Mary Hill

Morning break on Mary Hill

Consider yourselves warned!

Suburbia – Mary Hill

Hazy view of Mount Baker

Descending to Colony Farm

Yes, it’s hot

This way to the Fraser

Millennial Bridge

Which way?

I think this way

No, I think that way

Colony farm

Colony Farm

Lunchbreak

Sunflower sighting

Port Mann Bridge tower

Strolling along

Apparently there used to be a road here

This was a road once!

Bushwhacking #1

Bushwhacking #2

Blackberries

No scratches

Blackberries!

The old and the new

Almost there

We’ve found a watering hole!

Summer Fling

That was hot

The ripe, warm blackberries were a fitting reward after scrambling up the very overgrown road near the end.

Given the 30 degree heat, Original Joe’s was perfectly placed, about 3 blocks from the end point.  We ordered five almost-pints of Gypsy Tears and one Summer Fling.

Distance: 13.26k  Weather: sunny & hot
Distance so far: 112.23k

July 6, 2014: Port Coquitlam to the Pitt River

The hike takes us up the east side of the Coquitlam River to the Patricia Bridge. We cross under the bridge and make our way up to a turn which takes us across Shaughnessy Street, through a couple of parks, and along the Hyde Creek trail. This leads us to DeBoville Slough and further to Pitt River. Following the dyke south to the Pitt River Bridge and crossing it leads to a parking area near Old Dewdney Trunk road, the end of our hike.

The entire trail is level and definitely scenic with very little street time.  It is a very pleasant and flat route almost entirely along waterways.  On July 6, it was misty as we started out, then fairly dry for about 2/3 of the hike, but then the rains came – mostly a gentle but fairly steady downpour which persisted until the end.

The traditional group photo with Jon

The group photo with Jean

Marching along

before the rains …

Pastoral scene

Flowers

Lunch break and shelter from the rain

The traditional selfie

Waiting for the rain to stop …

… but it didn’t so off we go

Along the river

And over there are the mountains …

Along the Pitt River

Birds on the river

Heron

Chocolate break

On the Pitt River Bridge

Julie describes the view

View from the bridge

Post-hike with Jon

Post-hike with Liz

Loop 7, Take 2 on the following Sunday with three participants was a quite different weather story: hot and sunny, around 30 degrees.
Fauna seen: one brown sheep, one wild turkey, many assorted ducks and Canada geese, and three bears feasting on blueberries along the dyke.

Take 2, Beginning

Take 2, Middle

Take 2, Big Ole Bar

Take 2, End

Distance: 12.99km Weather: drizzle & rain for round 1, sunny and warm for round 2.
Distance so far: 98.97km

June 1, 2014: Ioco to the Coquitlam River

The group with Michael

The group with Jon

A rule-bound municipality

Single file

Through the trails

Panorama

The group

Darwin

Jon

Alan

Brad

Michael and Julie

Larrie

Contemplating the urban section

The group shot

Who knew fish were so sensitive?

Smile!

The end

The hike is from Ioco to the Coquitlam River, along a mix of sunny and shady trails. The post-hike lunch was at the St James’s Well pub in Newport Village.

Distance: 14.80km  Weather: Sunny
Distance to date: 85.98km

May 4, 2014: Indian Arm to Ioco

We met at White Pine Beach and walked to Admiralty Point before heading to Ioco.  This was a soggy walk with the weather varying from light drizzle to all-out rain for the final stage of the journey.

Distance: 15.71 km  Weather: drizzle & rain
Distance to date: 71.18 km

The group

The group, full length

across the bridge

across the bridge

Belcarra Pier

X-rated tree behaviour

Strange trees

Giant feathered forager

Damp but happy

historic plaque

rest stop

Not finding comfortable places to sit, though

and so we continue

So you say this bridge goes all the way across?

wet alright

the forecast appears to be for rain

Fashionable hiking footwear

Not a gaiter to be seen