Tag Archives: Man Time

Crown Mountain

22 Oct

Before the rainy months of Vancouver kicked in we decided to get out for one more summer hike. Brian, Adam and I jumped into my trusty VW and headed out to North Vancouver. We elected to take the BCMC trail up Grouse Mountain instead of taking the famous Grouse Grind where seeing high heels is not out of the norm. After getting to the top of the trail we continued to the start of the real hike out into the back-country. It was a gorgeous day as we trudged further away from Grouse Mountain Resort. We hit a very steep downhill section with some chains and I couldn’t help whistle the Indiana Jones theme in my head. We got back down the valley and started the accent of Crown Mountain. It was a touch slog but we finally made it to the top of Crown Mountain and were blown away by the view(yes of Brian).

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Looking south was a view of the city and then north was a sea of endless peaks.

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With Jello legs we managed to drag ourselves back to the pub at Grouse where the ice cold pale ales were exactly what the doctor ordered to nurse our legs back to health.

Until next time!

Foggy

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Adam taking in the view.

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Elfin Lakes

30 Sep

Itching to get out of the city again the boys decided to take a Friday night off drinking to get an early start Saturday. With coffees in hand Alex, Cormac, Mike and I were on our way to Elfin Lakes in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Just over an hour later we were at the trail head with back packs on ready to roll. There wasn’t much to look at the first half of the hike but it soon opened up to great views of Mt. Garibaldi.

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We eventually got to Elfin Lakes and set up camp on one of the wooden platforms.

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With some extra gas in the tank we continued on to Opal Cone to get a great view of the glaciers.

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After the long hike back it was time to dip into the beer rations for the night and enjoy a swim in the lake.

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The next day we woke up and enjoyed breakfast with one of the best views nature has to offer.

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After breakfast we hiked up to The Gargoyles these great lava formations above Elfin Lakes.

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On our way down we shared the trail with a black bear but luckily it was more interested in the foliage than 4 handsome young men.

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We packed up our gear and it was time to say goodbye to another great weekend spent in the British Columbia back-country.

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Until next time!

Foggy

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Black Tusk

29 Jul

Three weekends of partying in a row is pretty usual in the summer months but I needed a break. I called up my buddy Luke and we decided to get into the back country. Luke picked me up at 5am Saturday morning in his Jeep Cherokee and we were out of the city by the time the sun came up. 1.5 hours later we were at the trail head with our gear strapped to our backs and started up the path. The trail up to the Lake is nothing to write home about with countless switchbacks for the entire 9km. We got to the end of the trail and I was blown away by Garibaldi Lake. It was a gorgeous turquoise blue without a single ripple on it.

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Garibaldi Lake

Luke and I set up our camp and went right to the lake to cool down from the mornings hike. We made a make-shift cooler in the lake to cool our beers down and spent the day relaxing in the sun and jumping off the dock.

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Garibaldi Lake

We got up early the next day and started out on the trail up the mountain. Black Tusk has always been a bucket list item for me and to quote Sir Edmund Hillary today was the day I was going to knock the bastard off. This part of the hike was stunning as you are surrounded by lush meadows, wild flowers, streams and the back drop of the coastal mountains.

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Taylor Meadows

As you get near the top all sign of life disappears as a warning that the Tusk is not to be taken lightly. The terrain turns to shale and every step forward you slide a little back. Before you know it you are starring the last obstacle in the face, the dreaded chimney.

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Just below the Tusk

My heart was pumping with adrenaline as I started the climb knowing that any loose hold would send me barreling into Luke and take us both off the side of the mountain. We both managed just fine and were left speechless at the top. We took our time taking it all in, then came the obvious question of how are we supposed to get down?

 

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Black Tusk Summit

 

Until next time my foggy friends!

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Fishing on the Nile

31 Oct

I met Peter and Warren rafting the day before who were up from South Africa selling wine for their wineries. Warren was the marketing manager at Guardian Peak and Peter’s family ran De Westhof Estate. That night we spent testing their products and they invited me along to go fishing the next day. We met captain Rob and set out to catch some *Nile Perch. It was a pretty sophisticated fishing trip as the boys brought some wine and cheese to enjoy out on the water. Lake Victoria has been extremely over fished and we were warned that pulling anything out would be difficult. That didn’t stop big Peter though from pulling out a whopping 20Kg Perch. I tried to pay the boys in the end for my part of the boat fees but Peter said no way as I had a lot longer trip in front of me.

Huge Cheers to you boys!

Foggy

*Nile Perch is a huge fish found in Lake Victoria and the Nile that can weigh up to 200Kg.

Lake Victoria

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My First Cricket Game

6 Mar

The lads all met up after work and we headed down to Wespac Stadium to catch some 20/20 cricket. I have gotten pretty into the sport down here but had never actually seen it live yet. 20/20 form means that each team gets 20 overs to bat (in baseball terms an over is 6 pitches long) and takes about as long as a baseball game would. There are the obvious similarities between the two sports with someone throwing a ball at a batter and the fielders trying to get them out. The best similarity though was that cricket fans like their beer as much as baseball fans do. It was an awesome night and I felt like I was back at Safeco watching the Mariners kick the Blue Jays ass.

Foggy

Wellington

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Small World

28 Nov

It is amazing sometimes how small the world really is, the more you travel the greater this realization becomes. I moved to Wellington here knowing no one, and through Tom he mentioned a fellow Canadian living here. We went out for drinks a few times and it turns out he went to UBC as well and ran the same Blue Crew program I did a few years before me. An even stranger twist is that his Dad trained with my Uncle Brent in track in Victoria. So here we are two Canadians in New Zealand causing a ruckus. Will has made the transition down here great the only problem is we both love then same women and her name is cold beer. We have arms made of rubber and whenever the weekend rolls around they always seemed to be twisted. I can certainly think of worse things in life so this one’s for you Mr. Stewart!

Foggy

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An Ode to Simi

7 Nov

For the past month Matt has been a huge GC to let me crash in his lounge while I sorted my life out. We had never met before but for some reason accepted me into his home. Our first meeting could have gone better as I called him to let me into the apartment as he was entertaining a female companion. I dropped my bags off and hung out watching TV until he emerged from his room and asked if I wanted some eggs. He cooked up a feed and we made some proper introductions. Over a month later and I feel like I have known the guy for years. Too many good times together including that trip up to Auckland for the finals. The time at the flat was awesome but it is time for me to get my own room. A huge thanks to Matt for the mattress on the floor and you have one in Vancouver when you get yourself up there.

Foggy

 

 

 

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Rugby World Cup Final

25 Oct

The boys decided that if The All Blacks made the World Cup Final we would drive up to Auckland. Once the semi-final was won the road trip was set in stone. Saturday morning we got into the car and drove the 7 hours until Taraunga where my buddy lives. We had a night of home cooking until we continued the next day up to Auckland. We stopped and got some beers for the drive (which is legal in New Zealand) and smashed it out. We got to our home base and took in the warm sun which we haven’t felt it a while.

We walked to Eden Park to try and score some scalpers but there were none to be seen so we cabbed downtown. Our driver just happened to be a Calgary Flames fan so there was some great banter in the car. The streets were packed but we eventually found a bar that would let us in. The game started and New Zealand went silent, you could feel the collective nerves of a whole country riding on the next 80 minutes. After the final kick went out the liveliness came back to the streets and New Zealand was again World Champs. We all poured out into the street and threw high fives to anyone we passed. It definitely brought me back to the Olympics in Vancouver but not on the same scale. 24 years after they won their only World Cup The All Blacks finally got their hands on it again. The long wait was worth it as the party that night was on another level.

Foggy

Rugby World Cup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rugby World Cup

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Canada vs. All Blacks Haka

3 Oct

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Oktoberfest

26 Sep

My friend Franzi picked me up and we drove down to Munich together. We met up with his 2 buddies from Australia Paulo and Keeno and a friend from Austria Lisa. The 5 of us piled into a tiny hotel room for two and the debauchery began.

We chose the Hoffen Brau tent to set up shop and settled in with a large table of Aussie’s that Paulo and Keeno knew. The huge beers started flowing and we thought it would be a good idea to do a big cheers photo. We all wound up and smashed our glasses but one of them exploded and cut Franzi’s knuckle, he was then whisked away to the medical tent. People would get up on the table and thousands of people would be cheering you on to down your whole 1 litre of beer, but if you messed up be prepared for boos and half eaten chicken carcasses to be flown at you. I eventually met up with Franzi and we went to go purchase Lederhosen, we spent way too much money but at least now we fit in.

The next day was filled with more of the same except now that I was wearing the lederhosen I was being grabbed in every direction by ladies in the tent. It was a wild day that ended in me having to take my bags and head to the train station. An overnight train to Frankfurt followed by a plane back to Vancouver, all the time wearing my lederhosen. I feel bad for the people sitting next to me on those rides as I must have stunk of meat and beer the whole way home.

Foggy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oktoberfest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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