2013 - Lake Lovely Water, Rockies, Seattle, Sheridan

My Flickr site for more pictures - 

- My YouTube video of Lake Lovely Water.

Lake Lovely Water - July 2013
Location of Lake Lovely Water

The group at the cabin with Mt. Lydia in the background.

I was invited again to go with Dennis Brown and some of his friends into the Tantalus area, specifically the Canadian Alpine Club hut at Lake Lovely Water. The core group from the previous two years was the same, but there were a few new people as well. As always, it was a very interesting group of people from a variety of backgrounds which made for many rewarding conversations. Different climbs, hikes, and lake paddles were done, and as always, we ate extremely well. :-)

The Rockies - August 2013
Location of Mt. Athabasca

Mt. Athabasca in the clouds.

I am blessed with many good friends. Two of them, Dave and Chuck, and I went again to the Rockies for some photography (Chuck and I), painting (Dave), easy hikes, and rambling talks over a variety of good ales and scotch. We spent the first part of the trip in the overflow campground in Jasper, making day trips to Maligne Canyon and Lake, Mt. Edith Cavell, a couple of nights at the Wilcox Creek campground near the Icefield Center south of Jasper. Another great time with good friends.

My set of Rockies pictures on my Flickr site.

Seattle - August 2013
Location of Chihuly Garden and Glass

Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle

Lynn and I made a three night trip to Seattle, a city we had not visited for about twenty-five years. It's a great place to walk around, whether it's the Pike Place Market, the attractions around the Space Needle, or the waterfront. We took a harbour tour and made a trip out the the Museum of Flight, just south of Seattle. Two of the more memorable times was visiting the Chihuly Garden and Glass, as well as meeting up with my old friend David Harris, who I had climbed with many years ago. 

My set of Washington State pictures on my Flickr site.

Sheridan Lake - October 2013
Location of Sheridan Lake

Cariboo colours.

Ken invited Chuck and I up to the family cabin at Sheridan Lake for some photography of the fall colours and general relaxation, although Ken was his usual hard working self doing a variety of maintenance jobs. Another good time.

A picture of Roe Lake at night.

The year 2013 was filled with a variety of events and experiences. My three camera related groups kept me busy with meetings and get togethers.I continued to do frequent walks and hikes into Golden Ears Park, along with walks in the UBC Research Forest. Lynn did a trip with her sister Karen and some other friends in October down the west coast and then bussed to Las Vegas for some "girl time". All told, 2013 was a very enjoyable year.

2009 - Central Europe, Sheridan Lake Retreat, The Icefields Parkway Bicycle Tour

My Flickr site for more pictures - 

Central Europe

Lynn and I flew to Berlin in mid June to start a month long trip through parts of central Europe. We didn't start out the year planning for another trip, as we went to Italy for a month last year, but with the death of two friends over the last year, along with the death of my father, we decided we should do things when we could. So with the help of our local travel agent to arrange the flights and the Internet and my retirement time to make it possible for me to arrange all of the hotel bookings, we took off.

We visited seven cities: Berlin, Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich. Each were very worthwhile in different ways. Berlin's turbulent and rich history was fascinating to get a sense of, and it was a privilege to walk through the streets of Prague as it hadn't been bombed during the second world was, so unlike some European cities, all of the buildings were original. Krakow gave us a taste of another rich culture and wonderful old city and not far out of town, one of the most infamous places on earth: Auschwitz.

I enjoy a beer or two in a Salzburg beer garden.

Another long train ride took us to Budapest which was a very large city with a long history. It was unlucky to have supported the Nazis during WWII, then the back luck to have been "liberated" by the Russians. Like the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary, it had not tasted freedom until 1989 when the USSR fell apart. Budapest was great. Wonderful people, food, and sights.

A three hour train ride took us to Vienna. The House of Hapsburg ruled over Austria for over six hundred years! With that kind of longevity, and accompanying power and wealth, theHofburg palace complex is an incredible collection of riches gathered over many years from far and wide. Then there is the opera house, ... the list of worthwhile sights goes on. And the beer!

A short train ride takes you to Salzburg on the Salzach river. Salzburg used to be on the salt transportation route, but now it seems that its wealth comes from tourist pockets. Don't get me wrong. It's well worth visiting. It's a beautiful town in a beautiful location if it's a nice day. We arrived by train on a dreary rainy day, and the town didn't seem that attractive, but when we woke up the next day, the sun was shining and we had an absolutely great day touring a town packed with interesting sights, not the least of which was Mozart's home. And the beer garden!

Our last stop was Munich. As with all of the cities we visited on this trip, I knew enough about them that I knew they were worthwhile to visit, but I had not built up great expectations. I think because of that, I enjoyed the places more. Munich was no exception. Although it was bombed all to hell during WWII, the older part of town has been rebuilt to look much like it did before the war. Our walking tour of Munich was very interesting and entertaining, and our tour of Dachau, well, how do you put that into words? How do you describe a gas chamber and ovens where thousands of humans were murdered and turned to ash? Suffice it to say that there was more than once all I could do was not cry. Germany is evidently doing a very good job of trying to educate its citizens about what happened during the third reich and to try to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.

I have been lucky to have visited western Europe a number of times. I have visited various parts of western Europe in 1974, 1975, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008, and now in 2009. This trip had a different flavour as both the land and its people have had a different history. I feel extremely fortunate to have made this trip. Did I mention how good the beer was? :-)

Lynn relishes the last rays in Kraków

- For more images from our trip, go to my flickr site, click on the "Europe" album, and view away.

Sherdan Lake Retreat

Location of Sheridan Lake

Anna, Ken, Terri, Lynn, Chuck at Sheridan

Ken and Anna kindly invited the McCaffertys and Rajalas up to the cabin on Sheridan Lake at the end of July and we had a great time relaxing. Needless to say we had good drinks and food, and oh yes, a little exercise. :-)

The Icefields Parkway Bicycle Tour - Well Not Quite

Location of the Icefield Centre on the Parkway

Dave, Chuck(by the tent), & Ken

We had talked in the spring of another bicycle tour somewhere and we finally decided to do our favourite ride - the Jasper to Lake Louise to Jasper ride. So Ken Willis, Dave Dixon, Chuck McCafferty, and I drove up to Jasper and then realized it was a long holiday weekend and all the campsites were full. We were directed out of town about fifteen kilometers east of Jasper to the overflow campground. Oh yes, on the way to Jasper we went through one of the heaviest downpours and hailstorms I have ever witnessed. And the weather forecast was for unsettled weather. Needless to say it didn't take long for us to decided to make it a supported ride. We would take my CRV along. :-)
The ride to the Jonas Creek campground was great. The weather was warm and dry, and the scenery was wonderful.The next day's early morning ride up to the ice field center was typically stimulating - cold and clear with the hill climb just as steep as it always was. :-) Breakfast at the icefield center has taken on a decidedly oriental flavor. Unless you can get into the actual restaurant you have to use the cafeteria. Don't get me wrong, the food is good if not expensive, but you won't find bacon and eggs on the menu.(a picture of Mt. Kitchener taken from the base of the Wilcox Pass hill.) (a picture of the Sunwapta River taken just south of the Jonas Creek campsite. )
The run down to Saskatchewan Crossing is always enjoyable as it is almost all down hill, with gentle rolling sections thrown in for good measure. We had reservations at The Crossing and enjoyed the pub meal and the ice cream at the store. The weather forecast was not good. Rain, low temperatures, and wind were in the forecast. (a picture at the ice field center from our 1998 ride)
The next morning we got up at 6:00 am to look outside. What we saw was a very low ceiling. Bow Summit was likely in the clouds. Temperatures had dropped and rain looked very likely. It didn't take long to attach all the bikes to the CRV and drive back to Sunwapta Falls for a nice breakfast. :-)

The trip was abbreviated but I for one was glad we did as much as we did for it got us together and we had our usual good time together.

2008 - Van. Island Cycle, Robie Reid, Brunswick/Harvey, Sheridan Lake, Trophy Mt.

My Flickr site for more pictures - 

A Vancouver Island Cycle Tour -
Location of Port Renfrew

Our route - map by Randy

Roughing it at the Port Renfrew Hotel

Randy Wheating heard about a loop a person could do on Vancouver Island on bicycles so July 16 found Randy, Keith Akenhead, Chuck McCafferty, and myself driving our bikes to a parking lot just before the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. We spent our first night on Saltspring Island. 
Thursday saw us climbing very warm pavement on our way to Lake Cowichan where we spent our second night. I remember a very nice meal at the Aroma restaurant.
There were some strange sights on the almost all paved road to Port Renfrew. Reports of a cyclist wearing little more than a helmet and cycling shoes were rumoured, but I'm sure that was just a halucination. The Port Renfrew Hotel was a welcomed watering hole.
Saturday dawned foggy and chilly, but we soon warmed up on the long climb leaving Port Renfrew. Up and down to single lane bridges, and a sharp climb on the other side are lingering memories. The hills relented somewhat after Jordan River.

Approaching Sooke

We spent the night at the Sunny Shores Resort & Marina in Sooke and had a good meal at the Fuse Waterfront Grill, wondering where Keith the younger had gotten to. I looked forward to our last day of cycling for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the lack of hills. The Galloping Goose Trail took us to Victoria, and the Lochside Trail to Swartz Bay.
I am lucky to have good friends with a sense of adventure and humour. I thank them for another good trip.
Here's a link to the article I put into Clubtread. It contains more info and pictures.
Here's a link to Randy's great write-up of our trip. It contains much more info and pictures. :-)

Robie Reid in a Day - by Alan Lizee

Alan Lizee

"This Lobster is very proud to have finally climbed Robie! We did it Monday (July 21) in 15 hours, car-to-car. Ed from Club Tread was a very good partner. We started at the gate to the BC Hydro road at the top of the ridge between Stave and Alouette Lakes. This added one hour each way of rough hiking, but it eliminated the canoe trip; thus, making it possible to do the entire trip in one day.
Robie Reid is best climbed in early September when the rock route is snow-free. Now in July, the rock route to the South peak is 80 percent snow-covered, and this compounds the difficulties. A deep moat with a thin overhanging lip provided a worthy challenge to get onto the ramp leading to the South Peak notch. Next, we had the rock crux (class 4) with two inches of water running over it (rappelled on descent). A few, normally easy, class 3 grooves had slippery, wet moss in the bottoms. The top half of the ramp that traverses towards the South peak was a narrow strip of steep, hard snow (45 degrees) perched precariously over the rock wall right below (no chance to self-arrest a slip). At the South Peak notch, we found an easy ramp to traverse along the West side of the South peak directly onto the final ridge leading to the main peak, and that saved a lot of time and calmed our nerves. The final summit, with solid rock, was so fun and aesthetic that we wanted it to keep going. We were very tired, but happy thoughts kept us going as we trudged back up the long slope from the lakeside to our car."
Read more about his trip and view many pictures on the Clubtread page.

Brunswick/Harvey Loop - by Alan Lizee

Location of Mt. Brunswick

Chris scampered up the West horn for this photo op. Mt Garibaldi and the Sky Pilots as background.

Early in August Chris Morley and I completed a clockwise loop of Brunswick Mountain and Mount Harvey. From Lions Bay, we headed up the trail to the regular West-end route of Brunswick. From the true summit, we headed directly down Brunswick's south flank to intersect the Howe Sound Crest Trail already half way to Magnesia Meadows. This was qiccker and more fun than retracing our steps down the West side to the actual juntion of the Brunswick trail with the HSCT. The trail lead us in a gradually descending traverse to Magnesia Meadows and then on to Harvey Pass. Scrambling up the steep but easy North-East ridge of Mount Harvey was fun. There actually was a distinct trail worn through the vegetation between the blocky granite. The summit gave us more spectacular views to enjoy before we rushed madly down Harvey's South-West ridge and back to Lions Bay. 1764 metres total elevation gain and 7 1/4 hours car-to-car. - AlanMore pictures and info in the Clubtread article.

A Sheridan Lake Retreat

Location of Little Fort - The bottom of the hill cycled.

Dave Dixon part way up the big hill west of Little Fort

Ken Willis invited the Lobsters up to the family cabin on the east shores of Sheridan Lake for some R&R and we gladly obliged him. Dave Dixon has written a very nice article about our trip in his blog, Big Guy Small Scooter. I recommend the read.

Trophy Mountain Meadows

Location of Sheila Lake in the meadows

Dale MacQuarrie and Dave Dixon in the Trophy Mountain meadows
Looking south - Sheila Lake behind them.

See Ken Willis's Clubtread article for more pictures and information.

2008 - Diamond Head, Burke Mountain, Munro Lake, Sheridan Lake AGM, Sunbathing Video

My Flickr site for more pictures - 

Diamond Head - January

Location of Round Mountain, on the route into Diamond Head

West end of Paul Ridge

Why do we get up before 6:00 am and battle through the rush hour traffic to get up to Squamish before most of the road construction crews start their traffic slow downs? Well, it's because every once in a while you have days like this. Mid week and very few people, powder snow and climbing above the clouds. Life is good.

Mt. Atwell

Burke Mountain - Feb.2 by Alan Lizee

Location of the peak

From Burke Mt summit, Gabro Pk is left, the blade off Widgeon is central,
and Widgeon Pk is right.

"The day dawned blue on Feb 2nd, so I spontaneously decided to snowshoe up Burke Mt.  I parked on the side of Quarry Rd, about 3k past Minnekhada Pk and headed up the trail, so nicely maintained by the Burke Mt Naturalists, to Munro and Dennett Lakes. At Dennett Lk, the trail swings to the left to gain Burke Ridge West of the lake; instead, I turned right  to gain a saddle East of the lake. From there, a short spur led me quickly to the main ridge; and 10 minutes later, I was at what "103 Hikes" calls the summit of Burke Ridge. From here I descended to the base of a sub peak, went up the sub peak, down the far side, and finally up to the summit of Burke Mountain." - Alan Lizee

The route

Diamond Head - Feb.7

I dragged myself out of bed before 06:00 and picked Chris Cooper up in Pitt Meadows by 06:30 only to take an hour to get on the freeway amidst the rush hour traffic. To get by as much of the road construction before it really cranked up for the day, we waited to have breakfast in Squamish. There was a lot of fresh snow in the hills. The road up to Diamond Head was plowed as far as the park boundary, but from there, only one vehicle had been ahead of us. There was a lot of snow approaching the hair pin and even with chains and all wheel drive I spun out as the truck had a few hours before me. Like him, I parked in a little pull out at the start of the hair pin. Chris and I made it up to the Red Heather shelter where we had a leisurely lunch with a couple of retired guys from Squamish and because of the blowing snow and mist, headed down.

The "parking lot"

There aren't many times when a person will see lots of snow in the Diamond Head parking lot and no cars in it.

Keith at the Red Heather shelter

There is so much snow at Red Heather, the shelter is getting to be just a hump in the snow from some angles. The slope of the snow to picture right gives you an idea of the amount. The light streaks of white gives you an idea of the blowing snow at the time.

Munro Lake - Feb.13
Location of Dennett Lake, just west of Monroe Lake
Alan was going to take a group of people up to Munro Lake from the local hiking club and he wanted make sure that the trail was findable so he and I went up to check it out.

Alan Lizee

We got to where the trail levels out and goes over to the lake. We had lunch at this high point and then went back down.

Keith Rajala

The MSR snow shoes worked well even on the sloping crusty snow with its rows of saw like teeth.

The AGM of 2008 - Sheridan Lake

Location of Sheridan Lake

Ken Willis

Well, we ended up trying for a cabin AGM up at Sheridan Lake after the Manning Park snow AGM didn't get any bites and we still only ended up with two people. Ken Willis and myself soldiered on and enjoyed some Caribou sun and snow, along with quite a few hours beside a crackling wood burning fire reading a good book and sipping some of Scotland's finest. 

Well somebody has to do it! :-)

Sheridan Lake sunset.

 - - Video of February sunbathing at Diamond Head.