Vancouver to Cache Creek
June 4, 2023
After the ferry crossing into Vancouver, we drove 54 miles north to camp for two nights at Porteau Cove Provincial Park on Howe sound. This was the one campground I’d hoped to be on the beach, but all those sites were booked within seconds of being available online 3 months ago. We still got a nice site across from the beach, and we walked the pier as well as the overlook at the south end of the park.
On May 31, we drove a few miles north where I had booked an underground mine tour at the Britannia Mine Museum. The tour was well done and our guide had us cover our ears to experience some of the noisy equipment used when copper was being mined here. That was the first time we had been on a mine tour with demonstrations! There were many exhibits as well as a BOOM tour inside the old stamp mill.
Just when we thought we’d had enough fun we got to go gold panning! Larry might have come down with a little gold fever after panning for almost 2 hours.
The next day was the first of June, and we started at Shannon Falls to see the third highest fall in British Columbia.
We then made it to the Sea to Sky Gondola just as it opened. The gondola is a ten minute ride in cable cars with floor to ceiling windows.
On the ascent it looks like you’re going to hit a massive granite wall then you just go up and over it! Can you see the paraglider to the right of the closest cliff?
We walked some trails and the suspension bridge at the top before taking the return gondola and admiring the stunning views of Howe sound.
For a delicious snack we shared a custard, with nutella & brownies in cinnamon pastry cone from the Praguery.
Alice Lake Provincial Park was where we camped for the night and we enjoyed a trek around the lake. We were both impressed at how sturdy the little Canada gosling was already.
June 2 was a Friday and first thing in the morning I was able to score online day passes to hike Joffre Lakes the next day! Because Joffre lakes is so popular they try to limit the number of daily visitors. Afterwards, we drove to Brandywine Falls for a quick walk to the waterfall before heading north towards Whistler.
At the outskirts of Whistler we stopped to hike The Train Wreck site which is pretty cool and very popular. The train wreck was a cargo train where no one was injured, and the remaining rail cars are colorfully graffitied.
Bear sign.
It was still mid morning by the time we finished so we had no trouble getting a parking spot near Whistler Village. We posed in front of the Olympic Rings from the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Then we ate authentic Australian food at Peaked Pies. This is a savory pie in a flaky crust with mashed potatoes then mashed peas with brown gravy-actually very good and filling so we saved half for after our hike to Joffre lakes the next day.
Cal-Cheak recreation site campground is first come, first served, so we got there by early afternoon to get an available site and walk to their suspension bridge.
On Saturday we drove 45 minutes to get to the Joffre Lakes parking lot to start our hike before 7am. (An empty parking lot, one of our favorite morning surprises.)
The lakes were a solid uphill hike and the last part fairly rocky and root-y but I watched my feet and took my time.
Our favorite lake was the second lake but we had a snack at the third lake on a rocky scree.
The blue dot is us!
When we got back down to the first lake there were so many people, which we didn’t expect with the pass system. Always good to get an early start regardless! We ate our leftover peaked pies and drove south to our reservations at Nairn Falls Provincial Park. After a rest, we hiked to Nairn Falls. This unique waterfall goes under a submerged rock bridge at its base so the water boils up further from the falls.
No water spigot so Larry had to use the hand pump and add water to the camper a gallon at a time. Just a little extra workout for the day!
Sunday was our last day on the Sea to Sky highway and it lived up to its name with the climb up the mountains. We were rewarded with sightings of a black bear in the road and then deer along the way to Cache Creek. What a beautiful drive!
I turn to this quote when I think something is too hard.
”Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary.” -Muhammad Ali