Archive for March 2015

Views Worth Grinding For

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I read on another blog a few weeks ago about the Urban Grind being held at Harbour Center in downtown Vancouver. Me, being the way I am, wanting to try everything new was excited for it. I could see no drawbacks from this event. For five dollars, you are allowed to climb up the 40 flights of steps as many times as you want (between 4-6:30) free glass of beer and water at the top, an amazing view of the city and $5.00 voucher for the food court in the basement. 



My friend and I climbed up just once. It wasn't very bad. It only took about 10 minutes. There really wasn't a view during the walk up. We started off talking as we walked along but honestly, by the fourth floor, we stopped doing that and did more panting for breath. 






At the top, the view was truly amazing. I've never been up at Vancouver lookout before. It has a 360 degree view of lower mainland. There was a hint of clouds which added a very nice touch to the view. 

We stayed up at the top too long and were unaware that the food court closes at six. So unfortunately we were unable to use our vouchers. but they are supposedly good till end of April so rest assured I'll be back to have my meal :)

Dog Mountain

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We had yet another weekend of beautiful summer weather this past weekend. I was invited by a friend of mine to join her and a friend for a hike up dog mountain. For those who don't know where that is, the trail is just off of a run at Mount Seymour, about a 45 minute drive from home (Surrey). Its about a 5 km hike roundtrip, which is about a 2 hour hike.


We met up on the mountain and started our hike around 1:45 pm. The trail is not particularly hard altitude wise, as you're already fairly high up in the mountain. However, it is rather technical. There are lots of rocks and roots on the trail that makes stepping very difficult. There was also a LOT of mud too. Just before we reached the first lake, which acted like a checkpoint, my friend and I both managed to slip on the same rock and fell in mud. We managed to clean ourselves off somewhat at the lake and witness some fellow hikers playing on the half frozen over lake. One of them decided to run across the lake and, as if I really needed to explain what happens next, without warning he falls through the ice. Luckily for him the lake is very shallow and he is alright, albeit a bit wet.



We continued on our hike and finally reach Dog Mountain after hiking for an hour. The view was amazing. Although we didn't have a unobstructed 360 view, the weather was so nice and clear we could see the entire lower mainland and as far away as Mount Baker. The feeling of climbing to the top really was amazing. It wasn't as crowded as Quarry Rock a week ago, which was awesome. You could just sit and relax and soak it all in.







The descent was equally long as the ascent. You would think it would be faster but because of all the technicalities on the trail, it took just as long. We made it back to our car dry but muddy. So a word of advice if any of you ever decide to hike to Dog Mountain. DON'T wear your nicest, cleanest sneakers/runners/shoes. You will get them dirty and they WILL be hard to clean. I learned that the hard way.

Quarry Rock at Deep Cove

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This weekend we had some AMAZING weather here in Vancouver.  Saturday really felt like late spring/early summer rather than late winter.  We decided last minute to join a friend in a hike to quarry rock at deep cove.

The hike isn't a very difficult one at all. It is probably considered an easy climb. This is also a pet friendly trail soi there was a lot of dogs on the trail.  It took us about an hour to get to the top where there was a lot of others that had the same idea as we did. It was crowded but we managed to get a spot to sit and rest.


We spend the afternoon up there, relaxing and enjoying the lovely weather. I can't wait to start hiking on harder trails this summer. I've already accumulated a list of places to hike. I hope to post about them soon. 

Stay tuned :)