Day 43 - Stawamus Chief Trail

Rockies 2008 – Day 43 – 08.03.08
Squamish – Stawamus Chief Trail, 22 miles total and 23.3 mpg. Totals for the trip, 7230 miles, 27.8* mpg. Those are the stats.

It’s Sunday. It doesn’t feel like Sunday. The day of the week no longer matters, except that 1) some things are not available/open on certain days, and 2) Non Sequitur is longer, and involves a different story. Other than that, in could be just about any day of the week.


Breakfast. We are in Squamish on a holiday weekend, plus the annual Lumberjack Competition is going on here. This morning is The Squamish Days Elks Loggers Breakfast. It’s a community event, and everyone is welcome. The last time we did something like this was with Bruce in Nashville, when McLean got married (we think that’s when it was). Hey! It’s $5 each for 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, orange juice and coffee – what could go wrong?! Nothing did go wrong, it was a good breakfast, eaten with townsfolk outdoors and everyone was in good spirits. The line was long, but moved fast, and the line was still long when we finished. Here’s to the Elks!

To the visitors center for info – the visitor center here is architecturally quite interesting. By the way, if you want information on British Columbia, check out http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/default.htm. Another great site is http://www.vancouvertrails.com/.


We’re going on a hike today, very close to Squamish, called Stawamus Chief Trail. The hike is well described at http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/stawamus-chief/, so I won’t repeat what they tell you so well. But I will add a couple of personal notes. Read the fine print. What is obvious from the outset is that when they say the trail is 1.5km, and there is a 500m elevation gain, they really mean it – an average grade of 30%! That’s steep. They sort of underplay that in their description. There are a lot of stairs. There are ladders. At the top there are chains you can use. This is one steep puppy! The trailhead is a boulder! (and not easy to climb!) (S-H: This in itself should be a warning…I had picked this trail to do early in my research for our hikes) You’re in trees most of the time, sometimes damp almost rainforest, sometimes arid (always UP). I had both boys, and Sally-Heath had two trekking poles. Don’t get me wrong, there are (insert expletive here) people running this trail. There are old people (older than us), there are children who can barely walk, there are many dogs (most off-lead, which is okay here), there are people in flip-flops or sandals. Some things never change. This was, for me/us, a difficult hike, perhaps the most difficult we have done – there are certainly places in the Grand Canyon as difficult, and perhaps as long, but this was a challenge. We only did the first peak. There are three. We did well to complete one.


We didn’t take the boys to the top. Probably could have, in retrospect, but it’s just as well I guess. We each went the last 200 m separately, the other staying with the boys. I hope I’m not painting a bad picture here – the hike was enjoyable, I’m glad we did it, and I’d do it again. It’s difficult, but it’s beautiful too. I really can’t compare it to any hike I’ve done before – it is unique, mostly because it is so straight up. (Wood and rock steps) Not much in the way of switchbacks. Not much in the way of trail (orange diamonds nailed into trees to guide you). The trail that is there must have been implemented by big men – there are big steps – no small steps, and there is only ‘help’, like stairs, in places that absolutely demand it. This is not a walk in the park. We had fun, and were tired as hell at the end.

Nap. Absolutely necessary.

Clean up and head for dinner. We picked The Nest (formerly The Eagles Nest). Just a short drive to Brackendale away. Found it easily, and had a fantastic meal. Todd Good, the new owner/operator, spent time with each of the guests, including us, and I can only say the food was great, the presentation was great, and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening. If you’re ever close, find The Nest. You won’t be sorry.

Back at the ranch, it’s time to crash. Everyone else has, as usual. I just keep tappetty tapping. One thing I haven’t mentioned – we haven’t quite figured this out – how to leave food in the car. You see, as you may realize – we must always have the boys with us – there is no place to deposit them. So we are either 1) in the room together, or 2) in the car together, or 3) they are in the car while we do stuff, like eat. In the case of (3), anything in the car is vulnerable. They have been very good, except when there is food accessible (even if we think it is not accessible, or if we forget there is food). In the last few days they have had quite a few extra meals. Woody is round in the middle – perhaps he is the major offender? Anyway, we’ve got to do better, or come up with a solution, like maybe a strongbox?!

I’m getting an alert about thunderstorms in Scottsdale. I hope everything is okay. It’s tired here in Squamish. Time to sleep.