On Sunday we decided to try the drive to Whistler mountain. Every Australian we have met here has said we must go there, and I have been dying to go since we arrived in Vancouver.
After driving through Stanley Park and over the magnificent 1930's Lion's Gate bridge (http://www.cherrybouton.com/lgbridge.html)
it was very easy to get onto highway 99 and follow the coast around to Howe inlet and through the mountains.The Horseshoe bay Ferry terminal is on the way-where the car and passenger ferries travel accross to Vancouver Island.
We aimed to get to Squamish village, about half way and see how we were going. It is about a 2 hour trip from Vancouver to Whistler.
On the way we stopped at Porteau Cove on the Howe inlet. It is a Marine park with an artificial reef and several shipwrecks for divers. The old jetty, no longer in use, was very impressive. There were plenty of large bleached trees washed up on the pebble beach- great photographic material for Woody.
Situated on the most southerly fjord in North America, the park features waterfront campsites with a view over Howe Sound to the mountains beyond. There are even some purpose built log cabins- a legacy from the Olympics-that you can rent.
"Porteau" (porte d’eau) means "Water’s Gate." This name dates from 1908 when John F. Deeks began mining the extensive sand and gravel deposits here to supply Vancouver. A small community of employees lived here until the beginning of the Depression, enjoying good housing, a schoolhouse, tennis courts, and daily ferry service from the Union Steamship Company.
Howe inlet is a calm and striking body of water with mountains on both sides and as we went further along it the mountain landscape was utterly breathtaking. Over on the other side of the inlet -the “Sunshine Coast” - the mountains were rugged and still covered with plenty of snow.
Squamish is a small town, catering for tourists and a small logging and fishing community. It think it is named after an Indian tribe. We had our picnic lunch on the peaceful and picturesque jetty among the yachts and motor boats.As we enjoyed our picnic feast a large haul of local crabs was being winched up from one of the fishing boats onto a large Chevrolet Ute.
A great cafe-the Zephyr-seemed to be the centre of the action in the town on a quiet Sunday afternoon.It provided freshly baked organic cakes and great organic tea and every table was full. Next time we will stop there for lunch. Highly recommended.
Although it was late in the afternoon we decided to continue on and go to Whistler. The views of the mountains became even more spectacular and the drive was surprisingly straightforward. I believe the government spent money upgrading the highway before the Winter Olympics in April.We drove through Whistler Creek and the Whistler Olympic Village and straight on to Whistler Village itself.
Although it is summer there is plenty of activity on the mountain. The ski lift and gondola are operating so you can go to the top of Whistler mountain and take one of the many hiking paths. As it was late we decided to leave that for another trip.
In winter there is a “peak to peak” gondola that is pretty hair raising between Whistler and Black Comb peaks. I hope I will have enough nerve to do this-unfortunately my experience with heights does not have the greatest track record. But we made it up on the gondola up to the peak of Mont Blanc in France, so I will have to give it a try in Winter.
There is serious action for bike riders up here in the summer and the lower ski tracks have converted to some awesome bike routes. The village was very busy with visitors and Canadians on vacation.
The village itself has a great atmosphere- reminded us of Chamonix in France. A vast array of shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs. Lots of Lodge and Hotel accommodation too. There is everything you could possibly need here for outdoor activities in summer or winter.
I am hoping to convince Woody to spend a white Christmas up here-I think in Winter it will be magical. I have never skied and always wanted to try. I know I will spend most of the time falling over, but I think it would be great to try. I am also keen to try cross country skiing.
We left very late to drive back to Vancouver, but it was well worth spending the time at Whistler. There was a full moon and the mountains looked dramatic and surreal-perfect cinematography for a movie.
Can't wait for the next trip to Whistler when we will plan to catch the ski lift and hike on one of the trails
