Kayaking in Deep Cove and Hiking in Garibaldi...

Hi everyone,

We are now approaching the end of our 4th month here in Canada and thought we would give an update. The job market is extremely tough over here. Robyn has been working at an outdoor store called Mountain Equipment Co-op for around a month now which she has really been enjoying while continuing to look for work in her field. I have continued my job search in IT and have had very little luck. I currently have a glimmer of hope and am awaiting confirmation on the next step for a job with the Winter Olympics, but failing that we will more than likely head off soon on a road trip around Canada and then do some more travelling on the way back home to Australia.

Over the last week, one of Robyn’s friends, Hannah, has been here which has given us the opportunity to explore a little bit more of Vancouver. First up we headed just out of Downtown Vancouver to a place called Deep Cove, which is famous for its amazing sea kayaking as well as their Honey Glazed Donuts which are almost worth the trip there just for them. We spent 2 hours out on the water looking at all the amazing scenery as well as spotting some seals.

Over the last few days the three of us headed to Garibaldi Provincial Park (just before Whistler) to do an overnight hike. The Park is right in the middle of Bear Country so after hearing mixed information from the people we spoke to, we were cautious enough to carry a can of Bear Spray which fortunately we did not need. The hike itself was around 32 km of which the first 8 was straight up. We arrived at Garibaldi Lake just before some serious rain headed our way and after setting up camp in the rain we cooked ourselves up a feast of various dehydrated food. There has to be something said about the convenience of pouring water into a packet and waiting 5 minutes before eating delectable treats such as “Sweet and Sour Pork” and “Chicken Teriyaki with Rice”. Surprisingly, they were not that bad, actually bordering on nice. We settled in for the night with the bear spray close by. :)

The next day we woke early and headed to Panorama Ridge which was a 5 hour return trip from camp. The walk started well but when we hit the snow line we had a hard slog uphill through the sometimes knee deep snow. After persevering we got to the top and were rather dissapointed that the view was clouded over. We waited long enough for the clouds to partially clear and were rewarded with some stunning views back down over the lake. Heading down was one of the highlights as we were able to glissade straight down the snow cutting our return journey substantially. Overall Garibaldi Provincial Park was amazing.

That’s all for now but we will leave you with some of the photos. We will also keep you updated on our situation.

All the best, Glen and Robyn

Hannah and Robyn at Granville Island, Vancouver