Monmouth Creek - Day 2

We had a grand-ol’ time crossing the Squamish River on Day 1 but forgot our map and our printed copy of the trail. We decided to take the crossing a tad bit seriously here on Day 2, and so we would swim across the river towing our gear behind us in dry bags. It is a glacial river (freakin’ freezing) and so we’d have to rent a wetsuit for Julia. We would learn late in the second morning that you can’t really rent a wetsuit in Squamish and that the friendly staff at Valhalla Pure strongly recommends against swimming across a river with so many hidden dead heads and sweepers. We listened, and thought their comments oddly applicable to a river crossing based on a stratagem of inflatables. We rented a kayak.

The crossing went smoothly.

We knew the trail generally follows a creek up the side of a steep face. We had a written description of the trail and a topographical map of the region, but no map which actually showed the trail. So we approached the creek from the south and then followed a bunch of empty creek beds up to eventually find the creek. Once we had the creek, we waded up it until we found the first waterfalls. All the information required to complete this hike without wading or bushwhacking is readily available online or from Valhalla Pure in Squamish, but it was actually quite good fun to wander our way through the flood plains.

Now it was just following a very nice trail up and up through an endless series of waterfalls. It was really the nicest hiking I’ve ever done around Vancouver.

Some shots of the waterfalls:

This one was really cool! The water has carved a deep tunnel in the rock peering through the tunnel there is just an eruption of waterfalls at the back of it.  I can’t wait to come back and see this one when the water is really high.

Eventually we found the arch. I had read about it online but not seen it. The water has formed a really smooth tunnel through quite a long span of granite and left some amazing features unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We had a great dip here.

And the climber in me just had to go out onto the arch and take a closer look. Some dirty 5.6 moves getting out here, but I really felt happy sitting there on the arch. Truly a great moment!

For me, it was a beautiful swim home. Epic shot here from Julia in the kayak who navigated well in the high winds.

Monmouth Creek – Day 1

I was on The Chief alone when I met a cheerful man who was about to jump off the cliff I was climbing on. He was aiming to paraglide on a little 20 lbs glider, but the wind wasn’t quite right and so we were wasting some time together. We had a nice chat and as he was leaving he pointed into the Tantalus Range and singled out a small peak across the Squamish River. “Best day hike you’ll ever find. You really have to go there.”

I looked into it and found a hike which followed a creek up to Echo Lake. Maps indicated what was obviously visible from my vantage in Squamish – steeps granite with many narrow waterfalls. Gathering information through word of mouth was difficult. Most people entering the Tantalus Range from Squamish do so via the logging roads far down river. I need to get to the west bank where the river empties into the Howe Sound, and this region is accessed only by boat. Not insurmountable, but it means that despite the incredible proximity to the main highway the hike is not broadly known.

Julia had some time off work and she suggested that we attempt the river crossing “on the cheap.” We would buy an inflatable two-man boat from Walmart ($9) and an inflatable Orca Whale ($8) and load up the whale like a pack mule with enough stuff for two nights of camping.  We giggled furiously at the idea – and so it was on! Stoke factor high.

Trouble erupted when Walmart, Canadian Tire, and London Drugs were all sold out of inflatable boats. We had a downtrodden walk on which we mourned the loss of our plan and discussed alternatives. Perhaps renting a kayak for the three days? We decided on a risky option – to buy a Four-in-One Double Queen-Size Inflatable Air Bed from Walmart ($110) with plans to return it for a full refund. It would be a real gamble.


Ready to embark:

Epic shot

At the far side of the river:

Mission Status: Amusing Failure

Sky Walker's Traverse

Julia came up from Vancouver on her day off and I took her out for her first big climb in many years. At the top of the climb we swam in the pools and waterfalls right before the river plunges down 200 meters off the side of the cliff we just climbed.

Pool bathing and waterfall showering

Some folks had a very impressive highline set here above the falls – wasn’t enough time for me to get on it L But this guy was really good.

Chasing the Top 100 in Squamish (Angel's Crest)

I took this time off for a variety of reasons: mostly just to take a break and poke around; but maybe scope out some next steps in my life. Definitely, I want to spend time thinking about problems which are not computer related and to experiment with some different lifestyles.

On my first sabbatical I travelled thousands of kilometers and visited thirteen different countries on three continents. It was a great experience but at the end I was left wishing that I had invested more in relationships  and wished that I had taken the time to explore places more deeply. There would surely be a tradeoff - meeting fewer people and seeing fewer places – but I'm sure it is the right way to do things this time around. So my goals for this sabbatical are focusing on fewer pursuits, smaller distances, and increased depth.

After returning from the Sunshine Coast I had a very mellow birthday with friends and the new Batman movie. Thanks to everybody (both local and remote) for a great day (even though the movie was crappy).

I loaned my only pair of house keys to a friend and he unfortunately took them on his trip home to Ontario, so I was locked out of my house for about six days. I embraced this and decided to get deeper into climbing and head up to Canada’s most popular climbing destination: just an hour’s drive to Squamish.

I'm playing around with a recently published list of Squamish’s best 100 climbs - called the Squamish Top 100. They are distributed across a variety of difficulties and many different climbing areas, so it really encourages quite a bit of exploration. I roughly go for one per day and explore the area around it.

Tim and I started the exploration on the first weekend with Angel’s Crest. This is about a 500 meter climb which using traditional protection up a crest to the summit of the Stawamus Chief climbing at 10b. It is one of my favourite long routes from the ground to the top of the chief. 

Tim leading Angel's Crack (10b)

Kenn leading on Angel's Crest (10b)

Tim and I have some history on this climb. We tried this route for the first time two years starting at 5am and accidentally walked beyond the start of the climb until we found a different but similar looking climb. We followed our noses up and up for over twenty hours of wild and dirty climbing and when we finished (well after midnight) we thought we had completed Angel’s Crest “give or take a pitch or two”. Two weeks later we figured out that we wandered into a totally separate gully system and climbed a line up the infamously dirty North-North Arête.

In stark contrast to our first attempt, our climb this week went smoothly. In fact, the crux pitches felt relatively casual for the grade and we finished the route with enough light for a swim as the sun went down. Great day!

Don't have a good summit shot of the both of us - but have one good one of each of us. This has made me really excited for a few weeks in Squamish exploring new vertical terrain - just one hour’s drive from my house!

Sunshine Coast - Desolation Sound Kayaking

Three days kayaking, fishing, and snorkeling through the Desolation Sound - a beautiful marine wildlife reserve on the north of the Sunshine Coast.

We camped on our own private island the first night right in the heart of the sound. Eagle feathers, seals, and dolphins.

And found a pretty amazing spot to settle in and roast up some veggies on the second night.

Pictures by Uwe. See more here.

Sunshine Coast Climbing

Uwe and Anja and Felix and Anke all ditch their vans in Squamish and the five of us move into the Ambulance to share the cost of ferries as we head for eight days of climbing and kayaking on the Sunshine Coast.

First stop is Powell River. I’m pushing hard for us to attempt a 10-pitch route up Psyche Slab in the Eldred Valley. It’s rough country and you can’t drive on the logging roads between 4am to 8pm, so we take a day to familiarize ourselves with Powell River climbing at the Lakeside Crags where we did find a nice but dirty broken crack system (5.9).

My spoiled European sport climbing companions are unimpressed by Powell River’s dirty traditional-style front-country crags, so we head to try out “an aqua-dynamic belay” at The Dark Pools. We find excellent cliffs for jumping, a rope swing, and beautiful lush surroundings - this spot is a real jem!

But the best feature here is the free-water-soloing. We start on the 10 meter long 5.10 climb which traverses just 2-6 feet from the water. Nice!

Then we take a stab at the 200 foot long circuit which climbs at 5.11 starting right on the water and climbing up to 40’ above! Shut down!

Life is grand and spirits are high as we abandon plans for the expedition climb in the Eldred Valley. We are headed to the sunny crags at Comox on Vancouver Island. On the ferry from Powell River to Comox, an officer in uniform approaches us. “Are you the ones driving an ambulancish-type vehicle? It seems we have a bit of a situation…” We don’t know what to say. He asks us to please follow him to the bridge, and we do so nervously. We step past the authorized personnel only signs and onto the bridge where three uniformed officers greet us.

“Who wants to drive?” they ask.

I'm having a hard time keeping the ship straight (bearing 250), but when we spot orca whales off the port bow the first mate announces their presence to the other ferry passengers over the intercom. I’m shocked when I hear his words echoing across the ship, “we will see if we can get a bit closer.” Hard to port! I’m orca chasing in a 5,000 ton boat! We get within a few hundred meters but are careful to maintain distance from the animals. When we lose their path we do a full 360 degree turn just for fun.

Sick.