Day to Day Diary
In the following sections I'm going to try and give a little overview of what we did each day along with a gallery of photos that we can look back on. I've got a shit memory so I've probably already forgotten a lot.
Day 0
Date: 21st July 2022
Start Location: Swindon
End Location: Vancouver
Accommodation: Best Western Plus Sands
Barber, Lucy and Ben drove down to my house in Swindon the previous night so that we could all travel together to Heathrow. Kyle had just returned from Colombia so met us at the airport a bit later after having slept in. The flight was direct to Vancouver at 10am, meaning we arrived in Vancouver pretty tired at Midday.
On arriving into Vancouver we jumped into an Uber to the hotel, unfortunately our room was ready so we dropped the bags off and headed down round the corner to the Craft on English Bay and had some food.
When we got back to the hotel we were so tired, Barber, Lucy and myself had a nap at 6pm that turned into the whole night. Ben and Kyle however decided to head out for a few more drinks and a spliff. This caused Kyle to scream in the middle of the night before trying to piss in the corridor and wardrobe before being ushered to the toilet by Barber and myself at 1am.
Day 1
Date: 22nd July 2022
Start Location: Vancouver
End Location: Squamish
Accommodation: Mountain Retreat Hotel
Stops: Shannon Falls, The Chief
After going to bed so early, Barber, Lucy and I heading out at 5am to explore Stanley Park, they ran, I walked. It was nice to get out this early and see the city as the sun rose.
Once the sore heads of Ben and Kyle awoke, we got breakfast then headed to pick the car up.
Travelling up towards Squamish our first stop was Shannon Falls (technically second stop after our realisation on how expensive Canada was in Safeway). This was a nice little introduction to our first Canadian waterfall just a 10 minute walk from the car park next to the Sea to Sky highway 99.
Further up the highway we stopped at the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park to hike up to the originally named (a theme in Canada) Second Peak of the Chief. This was a tough introduction for our first hike with 600m elevation gain in less than 2 miles, you can see on my Strava here. There were a lot of step, a ladder and chains to help you up to the top of the peak. It was all worth it for the views we were rewarded with.
We then headed to our first hotel where we had to sneak a very paranoid and anxious Kyle into the room with his inflatable bed. Kyle was added to the holiday late on, so we struggled to rebook all the accommodation meaning that he had to either kip in the car or sneak into the room.
Day 2
Date: 23rd July 2022
Start Location: Squamish
End Location: Lillooet
Accommodation: Hotel DeOro
Stops: Brandywine Falls, Whistler
Back on the Sea to Sky Highway, our first stop of the day was at Brandywine Falls, what was going to be a 5 minute stop off turned into a mosquito ridden 7 mile walk through the woods to a rickety old bridge crossing the Cheakamus River, with plenty of whinging from me, as per. Strava route here. On route we witnessed some idiots bungee jumping off a bridge, planting the future idea of a sky dive into Ben's head. Mosquitos aside, it was a lovely walk.
From there we stopped off in the popular ski resort of Whistler, grabbed some dinner and a few beers (two people got shot there the day after) before heading up the gondola to ride the Peak to Peak gondola linking Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, as you can see by the photos, the views were amazing, a recurring theme throughout the holiday.
From Whistler we made our way up to the quiet and fairly backwards town of Lillooet, seeing our first black bear on the side of the road on route! Dining options were short but we settled with a place that fed us well. We then found out that even on a Friday night, everywhere shuts at 10. Even so, remembering passing a pub with some live music on, we had a walk down the street via an old jail. Had a few night caps whilst watching the band and the locals dancing, then got the shits and hot footed it back to the hotel.
Day 3
Date: 24th July 2022
Start Location: Lillooet
End Location: Vernon
Accommodation: Prestige Vernon Hotel
Stops: Pavilion Lake, Kalamalka Lake Beach
Today was Sunday, a long 300km drive was on the horizon and after a couple of active days it was time to have a bit of a rest day. After a decent breakfast in the local bakery in Lillooet, we stocked up on our 'money-saving' supermarket mega sandwiches and snacks and started the leisurely drive to Vernon.
Shortly into the journey, amongst the mountains were plenty of lakes. We thought we'd pull over and take a closer look at one of the called Pavilion Lake in Marble Canyon Provincial Park. Barber and Ben couldn't resist the allure of the first swim in icy cold waters and promptly stripped of and headed down the steep bank. The rest of us watched over with the aroma of human shit in the layby.
After stopping in a wildlife park car park just pat Kamloops for dinner, we eventually got to Vernon and was pleasantly surprised with the quality of our hotel room, Barber and Lucy got their own mezzanine bedroom, I shared a double bed with Ben and Kyle got to sneak in with a sofa bed. It even had a little kitchen which we took full advantageof by making pasta for tea.
Later on that afternoon we headed to the beach at Kalamalka Lake before realising that none of us actually like beaches. Me and Ben had a nice swim anyway, followed by a few beers.
Day 4
Date: 25th July 2022
Start Location: Vernon
End Location: Revelstoke
Accommodation: Super 8
Stops: Nakusp
Another long 300km drive ensued on Day 4, this time it was broken up by a couple of ferry crossings. There was a more direct route but this was one supposed to be more scenic with the opportunity to visit some hot springs on the way. We never took that opportunity as it was baking hot and the last thing we wanted was to be even hotter...
The first ferry went pretty smoothly and was pretty quick, rewarded on the other side with and ice cream. We stopped for dinner at The Hut Drive-in in Nakusp for a healthy feed of burgers, poutine and milkshakes. When we got to the second ferry, there was a bit of a queue which meant we didn't fit on the next ferry and had to wait for an hour for the next one. This was actually a blessing in disguise as we got to have a break from the car and potter round the pebble beach, admire the views and skim some stones in the lake.
We got to Revelstoke in the early evening so squeezed a little walk in up to Nels Nelsen's Ski Jump, I say we... My dodgy hip was playing up so decided against the steep incline and incessant mosquitoes preferring to wait in the car sweating my balls off. That evening we had a nice walk into Revelstoke for food, it was busy, so we ended up getting a few pies to share and then a few wings later on with our night caps.
Day 5
Date: 26th July 2022
Start Location: Revelstoke
End Location: Lake Louise
Accommodation: HI Lake Louise Alpine Centre
Stops: Mt Revelstoke
When people ask what the highlight of this trip was, it's hard to decide with so many to choose from, but this day I always mention.
After much deliberation on what to do today, we decided to stay in Revelstoke and head to the Meadows in the Sky Parkway, a 26km winding road that leads you close to the top of Mt Revelstoke. We got there early in the queue as it gets busy and only opens at 8am. The drive took you through forest to a car park at the top where we could start our hike. We planned on a 16km hike from the top that visited two lakes, Eva Lake and Miller Lake, Strava file here. The hike was amazing, again with barely a cloud in the sky, always on the lookout for bears as this was supposed to be a hotspot for them, unfortunately, or fortunately if you ask Lucy, we didn't see any.
We reached Eva Lake to find the stunning still lake with the reflection of the mountains making it look like a Bob Ross painting. We didn't hang around too long due to the little biting bastards, just a quick feed and some shit beer that Ben brought up. Making our way to Miller Lake, we got chatting to a local that gave us some great information about the area, where to go and what to do. He also thought it would be crazy for anyone to swim in the freezing glacial waters that we were stood next to, screaming and shouting Ben, Barber and Kyle duly complied. Video evidence can be found here. This place was probably my holiday highlight, mainly because we had the place to ourselves for half an hour and the surroundings were amazing.
Following that packed start to the day we headed to our hostel in Lake Louise, one of the better hostels I've stayed in but with no air conditioning it wasn't a very comfortable kip! At least we managed to get some washing done.
Day 6
Date: 27th July 2022
Start Location: Lake Louise
End Location: Lake Louise
Accommodation: HI Lake Louise Alpine Centre
Stops: Lake Louise
Day 6 was the first time we spent more that one day in one place, we spent two nights in the hostel so didn't have any travelling to do. The actual lake, Lake Louise, was todays hike of choice. The lake car park is really small so there's no chance in getting into it, there are shuttle busses that you can catch but these were all fully booked, so we decided to walk from the hostel up the 4 miles winding road to the lake. It wasn't until returning back that we found there was a proper hiking trail up there... but we did find a nice quite clean long drop for us all to have a shit in, so can't regret it too much. Strava route here.
This is one of the most popular attractions on the whole route, the emerald coloured lake was was stunning. The hike we chose was up to a disappointing tea room beside another lake, Lake Agnes, which was overlooked by an aptly named cliff, the Beehive. I didn't fancy the extra miles to the top of the Beehive so I had a rest for a couple of hours next to the lake while the chipmunks nibbled at my feet. The others went up there and said the views were worth it, including the avalanche. Heading back down we had a quick dip in the freezing cold Lake Louise before sitting in a pub for four hours then hazy headily hiking the much more direct few miles down the actual trail to the hostel.
Day 7
Date: 28th July 2022
Start Location: Lake Louise
End Location: Canmore
Accommodation: Rundle Mountain Lodge
Stops: Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls
Leaving Lake Louise, we went slightly back on ourselves to visit Emerald Lake and Trisha Takanawa Falls. Emerald Lake, as advertised, is an another idyllic emerald green lake surrounded by mountains that were great for echoing. When we got there we decided to give the canoeing a go, the boys in one and the couple in the other for a nice relaxing paddle, well, relaxing for me as I was in the middle and didn't have to do any work. We finished off with a nice stroll around the lake for an hour or so, Strava route here, before heading to Takakkaw Falls. A short windy drive took us to our tallest falls yet, we parked up, had a petrol station sandwich picnic in view of the falls before a short walk to them. About 50m away from the falls the spray from the falls was so heavy you got piss wet through, I made the mistake of wearing flipflops so had to watch on as the others clambered up the rocks all the way up to the waterfall, got some good photos at least.
From there we drove towards Canmore, deciding to take the slower old main road, the Bow Valley Parkway. We were immediately rewarded with our first proper view of a bear, we pulled over to have a good stare for 5 mins. We didn't see any more but it was a nice road to drive down. We arrived in Canmore, dropped Kyle off at his hostel then carried on to our lovely motel. This was another one that came with a tiny kitchenette, so we headed to the shop and made a lovely pork chop salad.
Day 8
Date: 29th July 2022
Start Location: Canmore
End Location: Canmore
Accommodation: Rundle Mountain Lodge
Stops: Kananaskis River, Calgary
Basing ourselves in Canmore for two nights, Lucy booked us in for a family rafting session in the morning. We drove to Kananaskis to get kitted up in some highly flattering wetsuits, I got a special black helmet to show that I had a big head. We shared a raft with a couple and their two kids and had great family raft, even saw an osprey and got to jump in the water at the end so we could try and piss in our wetsuits, I failed. We all headed back to Canmore, Ben and Kyle then drove to Calgary to do their skydive, Barber, Lucy and myself chickened out. Instead we had a wander into town then walked for an hour (in flipflops) to an industrial estate to a couple of breweries that were recommended by out raft guide, Rachel D. One was a gin distillery with a lass from Kendal that served us a couple of great cocktails. After the gin we got a free bus to meet Ben and Kyle near Kyle's hostel after some food. On arrival to the bar, they'd befriended a reality tv star barman impressed by the amount of drink they consumed. A couple more night caps, then bed.
Day 9
Date: 30th July 2022
Start Location: Canmore
End Location: Saskatchewan River Crossing
Accommodation: The Crossing
Stops: Lake Helen, Mistaya Canyon
From Canmore the plan was to drive the Ice Fields Parkway, the road that links Lake Louise to Jasper. A road that should only take a couple of hours to drive but after reading about the amount of things to do and see on this route, we decided to take two days to drive it, stopping at the halfway point at the Saskatchewan Ricer Crossing. Our first stop was meant to be a short hike to Hector Lake, but when we stop we couldn't find the trail so after a bit of fannying about, thankfully near some quiet clean toilets, we found a 12km trail to Lake Helen, Strava route here. This was another time that the day didn't go to plan but we were rewarded by an amazing hike that we wouldn't have otherwise found. Lake Helen itself was small, pretty shit and full of mosquitos so we didn't hang around too long. The hike there however had some of the best views we had all holiday, the view of Bow Lake and the mountains in the background were amazing. Ben and I decided to do this walk with no top on and no sun cream, a day for the base tan (burn) to take shape. Travelling a bit further up the road, we then stopped at Mistaya Canyon, this was another amazing powerful river that Barber could dip his cap in and we could sit next to and relax for a while before heading to the motel. The motel complex we pretty decent with a pub, restaurant and shop. The room itself was a bit of a squeeze sneaking Kyle in, his airbed squeezed in between our beds. I found some calamine lotion for my sun burn, had some scran then bed.
Day 10
Date: 31st July 2022
Start Location: Saskatchewan River Crossing
End Location: Jasper
Accommodation: Jasper Downtown Hostel
Stops: Parker Ridge, Athabasca Glacier
Leaving the motel after a good feed for breakfast, we headed to our first destination for the day, Parker Ridge. This was a short steep hike up to the ridge, from there you could see good views of the Saskatchewan Glacier, Strava route here. Once we got to the view point of the glacier I decided to head back down to the car after not feeling well, a mixture of sunburn and mosquitos I think. The others kept going the extra short distance up to the top of the ridge until heading down to find me back at the car drenched in my own sweat. Whilst I was down at the car some bloke got in the drivers seat, confused to why I was in the back, he then realised his car was the car next door... After Parker Ridge, we got back on the road before stopping at the incredibly popular and incredibly impressive Athabasca Glacier. We hiked up to the glacier, ignoring all the warning signs that only allowed organised groups, spending some time pottering about on the glacier. After that back on the road the next stop was supposed to be a cliff diving lake, but though better of it when we realised how cold and stupid it would have been. Instead we drove straight to Jasper to check in to our hostel, again no aircon this time but there was a sign up saying it was coming soon...
Day 11
Date: 1st August 2022
Start Location: Jasper
End Location: Jasper
Accommodation: Jasper Downtown Hostel
Stops: The Pub
Barber had booked us all in to do some outdoor rock-climbing today, unfortunately the first rain of the holiday put a stop to that, they cancelled when we turned up after the weather forecast showed some thunderstorms coming in. After that disappointment, Barber, Lucy and Kyle decided to go for a run whilst I joined Ben in the room to have a doze and a well needed rest. While out on their run they had the first and only close encounter with a Mamma bear and cub. Forgetting/ignoring all that we'd read on what to do in that situation, Lucy turned on a sixpence and sprinted back up the hill at a pace Linford would be proud of. Not wanting to waste the rest of the day, I went to the pub for a few beers before the rest of them joined me. After that we went back to the hostel with a few beers and finished off the pizza we brought back from breakfast earlier in the day. We got kicked out of the common room for playing dominoes too loudly, so me, Ben and Kyle went back to the pub for a night cap and in Kyles case a late night ice cream.
Didn't really get any photos on this day...
Day 12
Date: 2nd August 2022
Start Location: Jasper
End Location: Clearwater
Accommodation: Dutch Lake Motel
Stops: Triple Decker Falls, Spahats Creek Falls
Leaving Jasper we had planned to get the gondola to hike up to Whistler's Peak, but as we drove there the heavens opened. Weighing up whether it would be worth getting piss wet through to do a long hike with no views as rewards, we decided that we would instead travel straight to Clearwater where the weather was better and see if would could do something else there. On route we passed Mt Robson, the tallest mountain in the range, this was in the plan to hike around here but the trails had been closed off for construction. Once we got to Clearwater, Ben found us a hike to do up a hill. We turned off on what looked like a logging track and started to drive up this rough , windy, hilly track. Rapidly running out of fuel a couple of miles in we decided to sack that idea off and go back to town to fill up and see if we could check in. We couldn't. So instead we went to Triple Decker falls. From the small hard to spot car park it was a short steep descent down to the falls. This was another gem we accidently happened upon, again our plans didn't go as we wanted but still got to see some amazing places. These typically Canadian named, 'say what you see' falls were exactly that, a triple decker of falls. We worked our way to the bottom of the falls where we all stripped off and had a quick dip in the freezing cold water. We then went up the road a bit to Spahats Creek Falls, another impressive long waterfall, unfortunately we couldn't get close to this one.
Once checked in to the impressive Dutch Lake Motel, the others went for a run round the lake, I don't run. We then had a walk to the place that Barber and Kyle had been banging on about for most of the car journey, unbeknown to me... the Hop N Hog Tap and Smokehouse. Still a bit disappointed they didn't get a t-shirt. We had to wait outside in a queue for a while but it was worth it for the amazing platter of meat that we had, only dampened by the bastard mosquitos that ate my feet.
Day 13
Date: 3rd August 2022
Start Location: Clearwater
End Location: Mount Currie
Accommodation: Hitchin Post Motel
Stops: The Cheese Pusherman Roadhouse
Our longest drive of the holiday, we thought we'd set off at a reasonable time and get the 5 hour journey done in good time, after stopping off at the bakery for breakfast that is. The plan was to do a 4 hour hike at Joffre Lakes once we made the long journey, however, we arrived in pouring rain and decided against it. Instead we carried on to the weird small village that we were staying in for the night. After sitting in the car park of a brewery waiting for it to open, then leaving once it did open... we stopped in an odd roadside cafe called the Cheese Pusherman. We were greeted by a bloke that was slightly off his rocker, he sold 'mushrooms' which I think he'd had plenty of during his 70 years. We had a coffee and a doughnut and a good craic with him. As we left he gave us some free doughtnuts as they were closing, we took them back to the motel and left them in the fridge, forgetting about them the next morning. The motel was probably the worst of the accommodation we'd had, had a very murderery vibe about it, still it was fine. A fairly uneventful travelling day but it had to be done so we could spend more time in the other places.
Day 14
Date: 4th August 2022
Start Location: Mount Currie
End Location: Vancouver
Accommodation: Moda Hotel
Stops: Nairn Falls
Leaving the motel pretty early, soon realised that it wasn't as early as every other person staying there thought, as the once full car park stood empty bar the Dodge Grand Caravan. A quick visit to the Cheese Pusherman for some coffee and banana bread, we made our way to Vancouver. On the way we stopped at another waterfall... Nairn Falls were a half hour walk from the car park, an impressively powerful set of falls that were a nice last stop off before the city.
We dropped everyone off at the hotel whilst me and Ben headed back up to North Vancouver to get the car cleaned and drop it off back to the house it came from. Everyone went off and did their own thing for a couple of hours, Barber and Lucy accidently heading into the roughest area of the city, describing it as Crack Den City. On the way to meeting Kyle for a beer I saw someone pissing on a car in the street, someone smoking crack and several oddball men in crop tops.
:Later that evening we met up with Matt and Allanah, two friends from Swindon that had been over there for a couple of years. We had pizza and a good catch up before heading to a secret bar that was on Lucy's list of must go boozers. We then headed into the city centre for a few more beers and to sample a pickleback, a shot of whisky followed by a shot of pickle juice, it was surprisingly palatable. We all then headed home at 3am, apart from Kyle, I left him walking in circles in the pub, he got home fine.
Day 15
Date: 5th August 2022
Start Location: Vancouver
End Location: Vancouver
Accommodation: Moda Hotel
Stops: Granville Island, BC Place
Our final full day in Canada took us on a hungover stroll to meet Matt in Granville Island (not actually an island) via a little river taxi. We all met up for dinner in the busy markets, then split up to do our own thing, Barber and Lucy already having been at the markets most of the morning headed back, Ben did some washing whilst Matt, Kyle and myself had a long walk around the coast, taking in the view, admiring some massive expensive houses, some beach volleyball and a bloke balancing on a ladder and juggling swords. Matt then drove us in some communal car a bit like a car version of a Boris bike, to his place to pick up Allanah, then head to the rowing club where we had a drink in by the harbour whilst listening to some weird violin music. We then got a bus to the the highlight of the day. Matt had sorted us out with tickets to see the Vancouver Whitecaps play a game against the Houston Dynamo in the MLS. The game was absolute dog shit for 86mins, then the Whitecaps scored two last minute goals to win 2-1. The final whistle was blown followed by an odd singalong to Stand By Me, good experience anyway. We then went into town for a final meal and drinks and said goodbye to Matt and Allanah.
Day 16
Date: 6th August 2022
Start Location: Vancouver
End Location: Home
Accommodation: Our own beds
Stops: Montreal
Our Canadian crusade finally came to an end. We got the Skytrain to the airport on Matt's recommendation and flew home via Montreal. A great holiday had by all.