The Short and Curling

Popular in the chilly lands of Scotland, Sweden and Canada (and I’m sure many other places), curling was not on my list things I must do before I’m too old and scared to go sliding around on ice. But try it I did, one weekend afternoon with a couple of friends here in Vancouver.

The curling sheet.

Four of us turned up to try, what appears to me at least, to be bowling on ice. We had our own instructor who gave us the basics and then led us through some warm up exercises (got to take this game seriously you know!). She then proceeded to demonstrate, with no apparent effort, how one slides the stone along the ice and then asked “Who wants to go first?”.

I always hate that moment, when you are the asker, and no one responds, so I (bravely) volunteered myself. I mean, how hard could it be right?

With my curling broom tucked under my arm, and the stone (darn heavy it was!) resting on the ice under my hand on my other side, I got into the start position and slid the stone back and forth a few times, weighing it up, before launching myself forward a few steps and gracefully sliding along the ice while watching the stone slide all the way to bulls eye at the end. Oh, no wait. That wasn’t me, that was everyone else. … launched myself forward, let go of the stone, and immediately toppled over sideways, where the wonderful broom tucked under my arm for balance hit the ice and cracked it. I shit you not. My far superior curling companions snickered and giggled. Smug bastards.

After a few more of these episodes, where my balance improved and I managed not to crack the ice any further, we had a little mock game. Do you ever feel the afternoon is dragging on? Yea, it was one of those…

Needless to say, I haven’t found my new niche sport. But kudos to those of you who spend hour after hour on the chilly ice, sliding around and hefting stones and brooms and enjoying yourselves. It takes far more skill than it appears.

The stones for one team, all lined up and ready to go.

Black Tusk

Continuing on the theme of hikes around Vancouver…

Early last autumn, 5 of us headed north of the city to do a hike called Black Tusk. We drove towards Whistler and headed into Garibaldi Provincial Park just south of Whistler itself (to see a map of where this is click here). We chose a stunning day for it, which was lucky as this was a 29km hike that we did in one day, including driving there and back. It’s rated on http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/black-tusk/ as difficult, with an elevation gain of 1740 m.

The first 5 – 6 km were uphill, however with all of us talking, they passed really quickly without it really being noticeable. Eventually we could see our destination – Black Tusk, aptly named due to its prominence on the sky line and colour. We passed through “typical” BC beautiful scenery, forests and meadows.

The ultimate goal for the day, although not even half way of the total distance covered

Forest giving way to meadows.

We were also lucky to see some lovely autumn rust colours in the forests and meadows we passed through.

After a good few hours, we were approaching the tusk itself, and the going got tough. Sharp uphill onto the ridge just below the tusk, with shingle underfoot, so two steps forward and half a step back. But then there we were, in the shadow of the tusk. Only the two guys opted to actually climb to the peak, which involved scrambling on some fairly precarious looking drops. It is actually recommended to use some climbing equipment (ropes etc) as falling can be consequential – definitely serious injury, possibly worse – although a lot of the people who headed up there still opted to climb to the peak without equipment. I personally was quite satisfied with taking a seat at the base of the tusk, eating my lunch, having a rest and enjoying the view.  And the view was really worth it!

After a well-deserved rest, we started to make our way back down. Going down the shingle slopes is almost as hard as climbing up, and one often feels as though your feet are going to slip away from under you, although they don’t. This next picture shows Black Tusk in the background. By this point we were already so far away that you can no longer see the people who were up there. So while it may appear that we were not so far from it, it was further than it seemed (as it always is when you are out hiking!).

Next destination on this mammoth day hike, Garibaldi Lake! So super stunning, gorgeous colour, but so very cold (glacier and snow fed lake). But one of our party, unsurprisingly, decided he had to hop in for a swim, much to the entertainment of the rest of us, who preferred to avoid hypothermia. Again, the views were stunning, although by the time we reached the lake in the mid-late afternoon, the sun was already dipping behind some of the peaks, casting parts of the lake into shadow.

From here it was all downhill back to the car, approximately 9km if memory serves me correctly (which it doesn’t always!). The last 5 – 6 km, which were a return on the same path we came in on, had my engines running on low and my speed reflected this. Although I was bringing up the tail end of the group, everyone was feeling well-exercised after the day.

On the way home we stopped in Squamish as the Watershed restaurant, on the edge of Squamish River – again, great views! As I chose not to drink, I was the nominated driver to get us all home safely (cheers guys for all falling asleep in the car). This was an awesome hike, and I’d love to do it again, maybe even a bit later in the year to see more snow on the mountains, but you really do need a good level of fitness to be able to enjoy it.

A Day Hike From Vancouver – Cheam Peak

From Vancouver there are multiple accessible day hikes you can do, from heading over to the North Shore mountains to driving for a few hours north, east, or even south. It is, of course, easier to reach a lot of these if you have a vehicle, but many of the North Shore hikes can be relatively easily reached via public transport, you just need to factor in a bit of extra time to get there and home. If you are interested in any local hikes check out Vancouver hiking trails. This website has some good information on it, from elevation gain and difficulty rating, to whether or not the hike is accessible by public transport.

This day we chose to drive inland (east) from Vancouver in the direction of Chilliwack (said ChillAwack, not ChillYwack, as my friend and I were corrected by a local). See this Vancouver to Chilliwack map showing the location. It takes about 1 to 1.5 hours depending on traffic and then you head off the main roads and onto some back roads. You end up on an old unused logging road that has deep ditches dug across it to facilitate water run off and also to deter people driving up there – not that it stops anyone. You do need an AWD or a 4WD to get up this road, and even in my AWD, we stopped part way up as these ditches became so steep one was scraping the back end of the car as you drove up the far side of the ditch (but it was fun doing a wee bit of 4WD style driving!). Luckily a super nice local (the one who corrected our “poor” pronunciation) picked us up in his 4WD truck with much better clearance and gave us a lift the rest of the way (and coincidentally, back down again after too).

The start of the trail featuring a loo! The peak you see is not Cheam Peak, that was off to the left of this shot.

The zig zag of the logging road winding its way up the mountain.

The hike is approximately 9.5 km return with an elevation gain of 665 m. Doesn’t sound so much, but when you are walking uphill and don’t have much of a “slow” speed, it’s quite some gain! The first part of the track was relatively flat and in a bit of wooded forest before passing Spoon Lake, and then heading sharply uphill out in the open with no shade.

Spoon Lake – it was so pretty I wanted to jump in for a swim!

Although we did this hike mid-September, there was still a surprising amount of snow around the mountain. Granted it’s not a lot, but I was surprised to see any given the temperatures we had over summer.

This is Lady Peak. You can see there was still a wee bit of snow around even though it was mid-September.

We finally got to Cheam Peak (along with a couple of dozen others who were on the track before us), where we sat and ate our lunch. As always, the wind was chilly up so high, so the puffa jacket I had lugged up with me came in handy for keeping me nice and toasty while we ate and enjoyed the views.

The Fraser River, looking worse for wear due to silt, and Chilliwack in the background.

The view from the peak back to Vancouver. As happens in summer, it becomes hazy because of air pollution drifting from inland. However this is nothing compared to the current smoky conditions we have this year from wild fires!

Overall I would say this was a nice full day hike, including the driving. I would rate it as easy/intermediate – the trail was easy, super visible, non-technical, but there was a constant uphill grind that did require some fitness, otherwise it would not have been pleasant at all. A lovely day out getting some fresh air and exercise and seeing another part of the greater Vancouver area.

A Few More Pictures From My Sister’s Visit

Gosh it really was quite a few months ago that my sister visited me! I’ve been terribly slack about posting to my blog since then, whoops! I took a lot of photos while she was over, and just want to share a few of them.

Florencia Bay, Vancouver Island, another one of these beautiful long and wild beaches found on the west coast.

Grice Bay boat launch, not far from Tofino. Very few boats here, but this single boat on the calm water made a great picture.

The roots on this tree were pretty amazing. Seen here beside the track at Schooner Cove, Vancouver Island.

This walking track is known as the Shoreline Bog Walk. As the name suggests, it is a boggy marsh area – great for nature and birds – but not so great for walking on, hence the raised wooden platform, to protect the fragile nature.

Tonquin Beach, Tofino. We didn’t always have bright sunny weather, but the different moods conveyed by the weather just gave us a different view of some of the beautiful surroundings.

North of Vancouver city, is the town of Squamish. It has a river that has a bit of a beach beside it. We stopped here after a trip to Whistler one day and watched the sun set.

Othello Tunnels

Nestled on the side of the Fraser River sits a little town called Hope. There’s not a whole lot there, and along the one main street we observed a few shop windows boarded up and no longer used for active business. It did not exactly appear to be thriving. We made the decision not to spend too long in Hope itself, because despite the name there didn’t feel like there was a lot of hope in the place. However, one thing Hope is famous for are the Othello Tunnels, which sit within Coquihalla Canyon Park (so not in Hope directly, but about 5km east). The Othello Tunnels are a series of train tunnels, blasted through solid granite in a straight line, put in around the early 1900s, designed to link the Kootenay Region with the BC coast. Canadian Pacific Railway hired an engineer called Andrew McCulloch, who had a thing for Shakespeare (hence the name), to build the railway along this route. They are a true feat of engineering (even I could see that), and were built almost entirely by hand.

Today they are a tourist attraction walkway, set to a backdrop of stunning scenery. Water dripped down off the roof of the tunnels and splashed my face as we walked through. People were riding bicycles through the tunnels – some without lights, which made it a bit tricky for them to see and for us to see them – people were pushing baby prams, elderly people and those with families could all manage this almost totally flat walk.

There are no longer any railway lines laying in the tunnels. Bridges link a couple of the tunnels. The scenery in between each tunnel was stunning as they were cut through mountains alongside the Coquihalla gorge.

Most people stopped walking once they got through the tunnels, but M and I continued on down the path a little way to see what else was there. The path continued on alongside the river, but eventually we turned around as it didn’t seem to end, although it was beautiful. This was an easily accessible, relatively flat path, ok for push chairs and probably even wheelchairs, those who can’t walk far, and for anyone interested in some history and seeing amazing engineering. It didn’t take us all that long, but if you are interested in strenuous, exciting walking/hiking then you should probably look elsewhere.

What Can You See In A Week?

M is away a lot for work, and has to be away for a whole month over summer, so we decided to coordinate ourselves and take a weeks holiday together. We had some discussion of where to go, but we knew we would travel around in the car, camping where we felt like, sleeping in the tent or car (I preferred the car as it was less likely a bear would eat me if I was in the car – I am not joking, I have developed a bear-phobia, but I otherwise did not think of cougars, wolves or bobcats, lucky me??), and doing hikes and whatever else took our fancy. There is just so much to see in BC, so it made it hard to narrow down, but in the end we decided to drive in a bit of a loop east from Vancouver, heading out past Chilliwack, Hope, Manning Provincial Park, Princeton, Keremeos, Osoyoos, Rossland, Castelgar, Nelson, Kokanee Glacier Park,  Kaslo, New Denver, Nakusp, Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, Okanagan Falls and eventually back to where we came from. Clearly we didn’t stop at all these places, and honestly not all of these places are worth stopping at (in my opinion if you are pushed for time, skip Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton and spend more time at the earlier places). I made a map so you can see the general route we took, so if you want to see it click here. Go on, you know you want to, otherwise what do all those place names mean? And why did I spend all that time making the map?

Along the way we saw:

high craggy mountains still topped with snow,

fields of alpine flowers,

Central Otago (???!!) complete with road side fruit stalls,

forested lakes,

misty morning lakes,

animals that won’t eat me,

AND NO BEARS! Phew! But of course, I didn’t know we wouldn’t see any til the holiday was over.

A Train Trip to Seattle

At the end of April, I got to travel to a conference for work. It was held in Seattle (home of Grey’s Anatomy for anyone who is a fan). Seattle, although in the US, is not so far from Vancouver, lying not quite 200 km south down the coast. I could have driven there, but I decided to take the train as I had no idea about parking at the hotel or the conference centre, and to be honest I’m not so comfortable driving in an unfamiliar city. I’m pleased I made that decision because I managed to catch a ride home with my boss and the traffic was chaotic.

The train was the Amtrak Cascades train (click here for their website). Before I went I had read about what a beautiful trip it is down the coast, so I was looking forward to seeing it for myself. It was also my first time to cross the border into the US since I’ve been living in Vancouver. I’ve heard various stories about how difficult and unpleasant these border crossings can be, so I was wondering how that would work out too.

I got to the train station in Vancouver rather early (well, on time according to the ticket, but no one else seems to pay attention to these things except me) and then had to wait around a bit. I had to go through some pre-customs checking before boarding the train, but it was totally painless. And off we went.

The first impressive sight I saw was one of the bridges as the train headed out of Vancouver. Bear in mind I was taking photos through the window of a moving train, so some of these are really not great pictures.

Next I was treated to a fabulous view of Mount Baker. It’s a pity this photo doesn’t do it justice. It really is a towering beast of a mountain. Seen from other angles, with other mountains in the picture, it really puts into perspective what a monster this mountain is.

Then there came a lot of water and flat farm land, which although pretty to look at, didn’t make for such stunning photos, so I won’t add them here. However, passing through some of the small towns that the train runs beside just near the border, one gets to see a lot of jetties, which would have turned out as better shots had I not been whizzing by in a train.

Then dusk started to settle in, and treated me to some fine silhouettes.

All this while, the train conductor is walking past and stopping to chat to me (I think I was one of the only solitary travellers on the train, who didn’t have her face buried in a laptop or smart phone and actually engaged in conversation). The train whizzed along the sea front, and I also got treated to the view of a naked man who had just had a swim, and a girl pulling a brown eye at the train (classy honey, really). It did make me giggle though.

Then came the border. The conductor warned us over the intercom to have our travel documents ready, and to comply with the customs officers as this keeps things running smoothly and on time. He did it in a very funny manner, clearly showing that he thinks sometimes the customs officers go over the top. We slowed to a halt, and a couple of guys hopped on the train, checking every passenger. They got to me and gave such a cursory glance at my passport that I’m not even sure they matched me to my photograph. But that was it. Welcome to the USA. Painless.

The train set off again, and not much later it was dark, and then it became a game of trying to keep myself awake until my stop (the train continues past Seattle to Portland and on), and finally there I was.

It was a nice ride, with pretty views, but it was also unbearably slow, stopping at every small town station to pick up and let off passengers. The food on offer (the train left about 4 or 5pm, so we travelled right through dinner time) was not amazing (I got a veggie burger and was a little grossed out to see the guy pull it – cellophane wrapped – out of the fridge and pop it in the microwave, then hand it to me, nice and soggy – but hot), but I guess they don’t exactly have a big capacity for catering. The train was also no where near full, so I wonder how they manage to make any money running this. Maybe next time I’d opt for the bus.

The Dugout

Recently I wrote a post about engaging in my community (see here). Well, I decided to take it a step further than merely going to a once weekly yoga class at the local community centre. Something I had wanted to do for ages was to get involved again in my community in a way that gave back, rather than just focused on selfish pursuits. I don’t have loads of spare time, so that was limiting of course, but eventually, one day as I browsed the Craigslist volunteer postings, I came across something that suited me well.

“Volunteers needed to help serve soup/coffee in the downtown east side” (aka DTES) or something along those lines, between 7am – 9am. Anyone familiar with Vancouver will know that the downtown east side is a less desirable area of the city. It is home to many homeless people (what an irony), people with addictions, mental health issues, those who have run up against hard luck and so on and so forth. There are a couple of streets that I would be unwilling to walk down on my own at night, and would even be rather skittish to tackle in the day time. Most of the time, nothing untoward happens, but you never know. One often sees people sleeping in doorways on cardboard (if they are so lucky) or just on the side of the footpath. In many parts of downtown (not just the east side) I have been approached and asked for money or food. I am reluctant to give money as I don’t know where it goes – into a bottle, up an arm? Or actually on food? But there is a problem here in Vancouver, one many people try to ignore, and giving my time is one of the best ways I can see to contribute.

So I responded to the ad. Turns out there is a place called The Dugout (see home page here) that acts as a community lounge in the DTES. It offers soup and coffee in the morning, then offers a place to sit and chat during the day, watch tv, use a computer, get a free loaf of bread and find out about other services that may be able to help depending on one’s situation. It caters to people who live in single room occupancies (SRO), the homeless and people in between the two. I have now been going there one morning a week for the last month, between 7 – 9 am, ladling out soup, helping with set up before the doors open at 730am, and helping to clean up when the doors shut again at 830am (to be re-opened 9am – 4pm). Getting up between 6 – 630am may not be my ideal waking hour, but doing this once a week does not even register on the scale of discomfort and misfortune that others going there deal with on a daily basis.

I must confess to some apprehension about going there my first morning. I have not had much contact with people in less fortunate situations such as I have described. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But what I encountered surprised me. Here is one portion of society who has not forgotten their manners – more thank you’s and please’s than I have heard in a long time. Each morning, a queue forms quietly out the back door, and I rarely see any pushing or disagreements. Scruffy beards and long hair hide quiet, well-spoken men who sound reasonably (sometimes surprisingly) well-educated. Some present with neatly clipped facial hair and clean, tidy, albeit maybe old clothing. A few engage in light hearted chatter. There has been 1 or 2 who were a bit loud, clearly either high or coming down off something, but the other staff and volunteers handle this so well, and I take my lead from them. What has brought these (largely) men to this place? I am certain there are some harrowing stories behind the haunted eyes and attempted jollity. I am curious yet scared of the stories these people could tell.

I hope to be able to continue helping out at The Dugout. It is such a small thing from me, but sometimes a smile or a “good morning” along with a coffee and some food may be all it takes to start someone’s day off a little better than the previous day ended.

Engaging In My Community

Something I miss about my life in NZ is the engagement with my community I had there. I did Tae Kwon Do for almost 20 years, and instructed both adults and kids for probably more than half of that. I didn’t realise it at the time, but it made me feel a part of something. I was looking beyond just me, and what suited/worked for me – anti-selfish may be a better way to say it.

Since living overseas, I have come to miss that. I miss being a part of what makes a community. If you don’t feel a part of the community around you, you don’t tend to care as much about it as if you are immersed in it. Sure, I go to work and see people, and go out running and have some friends here now, but I do nothing for my community (besides supporting local coffee shops).

Recently I discovered there is a community centre very close to where I live. I looked it up (http://roundhouse.ca/) and was super impressed with the number of programs offered for both adults and children. Everything from crafts (pottery, knitting, drawing, painting, wood working), music, theatre, to numerous sport activities. And most at a really reasonable price too. So I decided to start getting involved in my community again.

This morning saw me at a 930am yoga class, stretching out my body, along with a room full of people (who evidently also did not have a late Saturday night). Although I didn’t converse with anyone (other than the instructor who came and introduced herself when I arrived, as it was my first time there), I figure that by going regularly I’ll start to become a part of something again. In a month, the running group starts up too, so I thought I would go along and join that. I may even try to find out if they need instructors for anything I am skilled to do. Being involved and giving back feels good.

Health Care System in BC

In the last few months I’ve become acquainted with the health care system in BC. I don’t like going to the doctor – who does? It generally means something is not quite right. I get nervous, even if it is about the simplest thing to which I pretty much know the answer (so why do you go? I hear you ask. I can’t prescribe myself drugs and while I am a doctor I’m not an MD so taking an educated guess at what is wrong is not quite as good as the real deal). I also don’t like paying lots at every visit, especially if it really was just for something trivial.

However, here in BC one must have health insurance. In NZ (and Sweden), your taxes contribute towards the health system (honestly I never paid much attention to this when I lived there), so you pay at each doctors visit, but typically referrals to specialists are covered, albeit you must wait, sometimes for a lengthy period, even if it is serious. Hospital stays are covered, assuming you go on the public waiting list. You can also purchase optional extra health coverage if you like.

In BC, we pay somewhere in the vicinity of $130 per person per month (I just had a conversation with M to find out actually how much we pay, but neither of us can remember the exact amount, it is simply money we don’t see, it comes out of the pay packet before you get it). When I go to the doctor here, I don’t “pay” anything i.e., I don’t pay at the doctor’s office at least. And I have been referred to a specialist here and again, I don’t pay anything there. But somehow, I feel more justified that “I pay X amount every month so I should use the health care system when I deem it necessary”, as opposed to it coming out of taxes that I don’t see, and having to pay something at every doctor visit. Weird mind set isn’t it? So far I’ve only had to wait a comparatively short time for my specialist appointments (initial appointment about 6 weeks, and next appointment for a test about 3-4 months, which compared to NZ for the same specialist appointment/tests, can take 6 months plus or so I’ve been told by Kiwi doctors). Not too bad.

However, one thing I do find weird is that if your test results don’t show anything wrong, no one contacts you. I have no idea how long many of these tests take to come back, and often when one asks, you get a rather vague answer. How long should you wait before you know everything is ok? A few weeks? A couple of months? I would prefer a quick phone call from the doctors office to say your test came back and everything is ok, rather than simply counting off the days/weeks until you think enough time has passed, so you must be ok.

I was also searching for a female GP taking on new patients (sorry men GPs, there are just some things I’d rather see a woman about). I rang about 8+ medical practices in the general area around me, and had no luck at any of them. Apparently there is a shortage of doctors in BC (Canada?). For now, I will have to continue going to drop-in clinics, where you don’t always see the same doctor, and thus it is difficult to build any sort of rapport. And drop-in clinics? I’ve never come across these before, but basically, as it sounds, if you need to see a doctor you can turn up to these drop-in places and wait. A bit like an after hours clinic in NZ, except I think a lot of people here use these as their regular doctors, given the doctor shortage. I know that is what I do currently.

So how have I found it so far? Expensive, when you consider how much comes off your pay each month – but hard to compare right now to NZ or Sweden where it is included in your taxes. The waiting times have been quite good (or so I’ve been told). The doctors have been pleasant, but I would still rather have one GP who gets to know me. And my attitude towards “using” the health care system? I will probably actually go and get checked up for something that could be a problem rather than wait until it becomes a real issue – which I think makes more sense. Being proactive is far better (and in the long run cheaper) than being reactive.