Canada 2

Day 25 - Tuesday 18th September 2018 - Seattle - Squamish

Woke early (too anxious for a sleep in) and had breakfast. Sorted out the food we couldn’t take with us (fruit, again) and packed the car. I’m sure no one is at all surprised to learn we hit traffic on our way out - Seattle likes to keep its reputation. We were pretty slow to get properly under way because of this. Ended up crossing the border just before 1pm. Compared to the first time crossing the border, it was like chalk and cheese. We drove straight up, no lines. He checked our passports and asked a few questions (was more concerned about Lily than he was about me) and then waved us through. Whole process took 5 minutes.

Continued on our way and managed to get lost leaving Vancouver. The navman has had a lot of issues on this trip (some of them we accept are user error but some of them are just stupid - like taking us one way so it can make us turn around and go the other). Only set us back a little, and made it to Squamish in good time. Once we arrived and checked in we spent a bit of time just recovering thanks to not sleeping very well and having a somewhat big driving day. Then we got ready again to go out. We went for a walk from the hostel (this was the hostel Lily was previously staying at and volunteering at) to the Chief (otherwise known as Stawamus Chief I think). Didn’t hike it at all - it was about a half hour walk from the hostel to the base. I was wrecked afterwards (still really feeling my cold) so we had a breather at the bottom. Lily did some stretches and then did some yoga - eventually I joined in once I was feeling a bit better.

When the sun started to set we walked back and then walked and got some groceries. The clouds in the area cleared up and we got some beautiful views of the mountains (it was a fine day just some clouds around the mountains until this point). Cooked dinner and then went to bed.

Day 26 - Wednesday 19th September 2018 - Squamish - Kamloops

Made sure we didn’t dawdle in the morning and got on the road. It was a four and a bit hour drive to Kamloops so we didn’t want to ‘waste’ time. We took a bit of a detour for lunch because Lily knew this cafe that was apparently really good. I was pretty happy with it but Lily says it was better last time she was there and she wasn’t too impressed with it this time around. I have to admit I got really stressed when paying because I usually pay in percentages but it didn’t give me that option this time and I had to try and calculate in my head on the spot how much to tip (needless to say I overtipped just to be safe).

We arrived and checked in easily. Weren’t super impressed with the accomodation - it was one big room with a bathroom and the windows didn’t open and you couldn’t keep the blinds open because it looked straight out onto the hallway. We decided to walk to the grocery store to get dinner because it was about a 25 minute walk away and we figured it might help us wind down.

Definitely helped us feel better. We watched TV (we have been endlessly watching ‘Law and Order’ because it’s the only American show they seem to play that doesn’t horrifically irritate one or both of us) and then headed off to bed. We put the aircon on the fan setting - weren’t sure what else to do. I knew it would agitate the remains of my cold and Lily thought she might be fighting off a cold and was worried about having it on too, but there was no air getting into the room otherwise so we took a gamble.

Day 27 - Thursday 20th September 2018 - Kamloops - Revelstoke

I woke up feeling actually pretty okay. Lily woke up feeling not so good - said she couldn’t sleep very well and as expected the aircon had messed with her sinuses and she’d had to get up and have an antihistamine to see if she could get it to stop. Still, we got up and went to the breakfast provided by the hotel. Was very cold outside but this was probably more noticeable because it was very stuffy in the room (even with the aircon being on). Ate breakfast and then packed up ready to go. Was pretty quick as I hadn’t brought all my luggage in, just an overnight bag and Lily had also brought in the bare minimum.

Was raining as we left, and continued to rain for the rest of the day. Arrived at Revelstoke quite early so went and ate lunch. We also went to the information centre to see what hikes we could do in the area either that afternoon or the next day.

Went and checked in at 3pm and decided to just have a ‘day off’ because Lily hadn’t slept well and I was still getting over my cold. We went out to get dinner and sort out food for the following day but otherwise had a quiet one and an early night.

Day 28 - Friday 21 September 2018 - Revelstoke

Slept a lot better. Ummed and ahhed about how warm to dress - it was 14ºC outside and it is always a lot warmer when hiking but it was raining and we knew it was going to be colder on the hike we were doing as it was up a mountain. Erred on the side of caution and layered up as much as we could. Ended up being a very good decision as whilst we were driving up the mountain (about an hours drive) it started to snow. Continued to snow right up until we parked. Ended up eating our lunch in the car (we were very hungry and there were bears in the area so we didn’t want to carry food with us on the hike if we could help it).

We struggled to motivate starting the hike as it was still snowing and even with all our layers we were still cold. I was really annoyed with myself for not buying gloves (I had bought a beanie and had brought a scarf from home for the flight and then got a lot of use out of!) but found that once we got going we warmed up enough that it didn’t matter too much. I was still feeling the affect of my cold (which I was very cranky about and impatient about because it was starting to feel endless even though I couldn’t complain seeing as I’d only missed one day of activities because of it) so was pretty miserable initially. It got a lot better once we hiked higher into the mountains ironically because it got colder - the snow became less slushy and ended up being a really really incredible experience (for me, anyway, although I think Lily really enjoyed it too). It was absolutely silent thanks to the snow, and just a completely different atmosphere because of this. Also helps that it was beautiful.

We did a few different hikes once we had reached a higher point in the mountain and had some of the history of the area. Was a little disappointed that the cloud cover was so low - we didn’t see a lot of the views that were supposed to be amazing - but wouldn’t have had the snow experience if they weren’t so low so I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Still got to learn about some Native American history and read up on the area.

We finished up and headed back to the hike that would take us back down the mountain to the car. Noticed a sign about bears and stopped to have a quick read - it was asking people to not take the path back down to the carpark as there were bears in the area and to please take the shuttle bus back. Lucky we saw the sign after we had already hiked it (the same sign was at the bottom). Took the risk and hiked back down and was absolutely fine (we think we have natural animal repellent as we’ve seen nothing this trip - which is not completely true but feels like it when I think how much I saw last time I was in America!).

Decided to treat ourselves on the way back and stopped at Tim Horton’s for a hot chocolate and a sweet treat. I’m not the biggest fan of hot chocolates and this wasn’t anything to write home about, but a hot drink was definitely something we needed and the sugar was definitely needed after shivering our way through however many hours of hiking.

Another early night because we were pretty exhausted after being in the cold all day (and me from hiking - I don’t think Lily gets tired from hiking at my pace but I definitely do!).

Day 29 - Saturday 22nd September 2018 - Revelstoke - Canmore

I slept well but my nose was making me pay the price of being out in the cold all day the day before. Not that my cold felt worse, just a bit stuffy. Lily woke up in an absolutely terrible mood but she wasn’t sure why. Told me she slept fine so not sure. Probably just run down and to be fair travelling can be exhausting and she was doing 90% of the work by doing all of the driving. We had a quiet morning and a quiet drive to Canmore. We stopped at some falls - Takakkaw falls. Lily had done these with Helen and Peter and wanted to see how different they were when it wasn’t summer. It was raining and quite cold but it was still fine (for me). Lily said they were less impressive than the last time she had been there, much less water.

We were going to stop at Lake Louise but it was raining and Lily wasn’t in the mood so we drove on to Canmore. It was still relatively early when we arrived so we went to do a hike nearby at Grassi Lakes. Was a pretty easy hike - made harder by my lingering cold and snow on the ground. I also managed to roll my ankle on the way down which set my back off so I was a bit nervous about how my back was going to recover. The hike itself was nice though and the views were incredible. The rain had stopped whilst we did the hike and whilst it was overcast it didn’t obscure the view.

After the hike we went to Sharon’s (the place Lily had been renting when she was living here) who was kind enough to let us stay for our time in Canmore. No one was home when we arrived so we just got ourselves set up. We were going out that night so decided to have showers straight away - apparently the bathroom backs onto Sharon’s room so it wouldn’t be an option to have a shower when we got home.

Still no one home by the time we left - headed off to go to some hot springs. Some of Lily’s friends met us there too. Was pretty incredible to be honest - the hot springs were about 40ºC in the water but it was cold enough outside that there was snow on the ground. It started raining whilst we were in there and I think it might have actually been snowing and then melting when it got close enough to the water. Was pretty fun but couldn’t stay in for too long (think we managed to last about an hour all up). Went and got dinner and one of Lily’s friends came along (Samantha). Lily worked with Samantha at Origin so they had a pretty good catch up.

We went to a restaurant called ‘The Elk’ which I think the selling point was that they made elk burgers etc but obviously no good to me. Had a veggie burger which was honestly pretty good. Got home around 10:30-11pm and was absolutely exhausted to went straight to bed. Lily stayed up a little later and skyped parents but then went to bed as well.

Day 30 - Sunday 23rd September 2018 - Canmore

Woke up having slept very well - think Lily was the same. Sharon was home and up this time so we had a chat with her (Lily had a proper catch up and I was introduced etc). We then got on our way. We stopped at the library so Lily could print and prep some documents for her travels after our trip ended and then we stopped to get some lunch and snacks.

Was a bit of a struggle to find some things to do that didn’t require equipment (it was very early in the season for it to be snowing - Sharon complained because usually September is the best month of the year because it’s very crisp out but also very sunny) but Lily had a hike she wanted to do to Taylor Lake that she’d wanted to do for awhile and she says it was rated as easy to moderate so we thought it would be fine without equipment. I have actually just looked it up whilst writing this to confirm the name and would like to note that it is rated DIFFICULT on the website I just looked up!!!! It claims to be 6.3km one way but fitbit says I had done 20.2km by the time we had gotten back to the carpark (some of that was from walking around this morning but that likely only contributed 2-3 km or less so I think they misjudged!!!).

I found it incredibly difficult to do. Thanks to the snow and rain the whole track was mud, so we had some very slow and careful walking which was horrific for my back. It took a lot of core strength to stay balanced and had to try and stand off to the side any time we passed people. Got even worse the closer to the top we got as the mud turned to snow and ice and was difficult to remain upright. I really struggled mentally because my back was hurting so much and I wasn’t sure if I could do it (was also miserable because you had to focus the whole time because of the uneven terrain and I usually love mentally switching off on hikes and just enjoying the scenery etc so struggled on the way up).

Also had the fun part that it took a lot longer than expected because we had to go slow. We didn’t reach the top until 4pm - and we hadn’t had lunch before we left because we were expecting to arrive more like 2pm to eat at the top. Was very hungry when we arrived at the top and we were both surprised to find we were freezing. We had stripped off during the hike as it was very hard work. By the time we stopped to eat I realised I couldn’t move my arms and fingers they were so cold. Immediately put on all the layers we’d brought but was very surprised that the cold had snuck up without either of us noticing.

The view at the lake was incredible and with the hardest part of the hike behind me I was actually feeling a lot better. All my complaints above aside it was very beautiful landscape and I knew I would have enjoyed it a lot if my back wasn’t hurting so much. We didn’t spend a lot of time up the top as it had taken us so much longer than we expected. Was definitely faster going back down but to be honest I also think it was harder. A lot of sections I would generously call a controlled slide more than a hike down. The ice was a lot harder to navigate. I was a lot better on the muddy sections on the way down because it was easier to see good places to step down so I managed to keep up with Lily almost the whole way down. Had to stop a few times to stretch out my back as I was really struggling. Had to take my backpack off a few times too as it was even travelling up my back to my shoulders. Was really happy with myself though when we got back to the car - my mental game with my back is always the biggest problem. My physiotherapist says that sometimes my back pain is psychosomatic - sometimes it hurts because I think it should be hurting or it hurts because I expect it to hurt. Typically any time my muscles around the area of the injury get overworked I tend to struggle with the pain. To be clear - the pain is real, but it should be treated like the sort of pain you should push through like sore muscles. Was happy I’d managed to push through it and sure enough by the time we got home my back wasn’t even hurting any more (everything else was pretty sore still though!).

Organised to Skype home, and then went grocery shopping for dinner. Had salmon and veggies because I was craving it and put on a movie. Just as we were finishing dinner, message from home about dad falling off ladder.

Won’t go into the details but Lily was a wonder as she really helped keep me calm. Both stayed up until I was able to Skype mum and Kelsey (about 1am) and then took a valium (me) and went to bed.

Posting this as I'm about to board plane so will have to post the last week when I get home. Will also have to load photos when I get home as the wifi here isn't quick enough to load them!Read more