Vancouver Day 5: Lynn Canyon

On Saturday we pulled the car out of the parking lot for a hike in Lynn Canyon. Janie, a local librarian who is originally from Canada, recommended Lynn Canyon over Capilano. Both have suspension bridges, but Lynn Canyon's is free and overall less touristy.

If you have a car, Lynn Canyon is easy to get to. Without one, Capilano is the way to go because it provides a free bus every 30 minutes when the park is open.

In hindsight, we should have gone midweek. It ended up taking us nearly twice as long to get there, and about three times as long to return to the hotel. There was the extra traffic, plus lots of road construction. Yes, on a Saturday there were active road construction sites.

On the way we realized we were within a couple of blocks from MEC -- Mountain Equipment Company, Canada's version of REI (the store where Don works). Don wanted to visit the store, but it's location was just far enough from the CBD (Central Business District) we did not make it on foot. We paid to park in their underground lot and headed upstairs. By eyeball estimates, the 2-story MEC flagship store at 62,000 square feet appears to be four times the size of the one floor Princeton REI. They have a rock climbing wall to check out gear before purchasing it, and a section for ski equipment and swimwear, and a larger bicycle department. He recognized much of the merchandise from his store, but said the MEC store gave more shelf space to each item.

Arriving at Lynn Canyon we got the last parking spot. Yay! Later we noticed another lot, but that one appeared to be just as full. Imagine what the place must be like in the other seasons.

We stayed about 90 minutes and hiked about two hours. On the one hand, it was easy hiking because many of the trails were covered in boardwalks so there were few places to trip over tree roots and rocks (I still managed to do so, but did not fall this time). However, as a canyon there were many steps to climb down then up. It was a good workout.

We noticed many families. As we were leaving we saw a multi-generational family with a 30-something man carrying a walker for his grandmother as she tried to navigate the narrow suspension bridge with her cane. We kept going. She was surrounded by about five family members. There was nothing we could do help. More power to her, but the trail is not that easy.

Just before crossing the bridge there is a sign memorializing Jacquie. The 19-year old died while sunbathing a couple of weeks before my 13th birthday. I felt a kinship with her. How does someone die from sunbathing? Sure, long-term one could develop skin cancer and die, but then there would not be a memorial. A quick Google search found the story as written by the sister of one of Jacquie's best friends. Lynn Canyon is a major teen hangout spot. Despite the many signs, teens jump from great heights into the 30 foot pool to cool off on a summer day. On that fateful day, Jacquie was not diving, she was, literally, sunbathing when her friend heard a great sounds and noticed a rock rolling down the canyon onto her back. She was instantly killed. So much promise.

Once across the suspension bridge (our third for the trip), we were faced with a decision: left or right? We went right and crossed the river again on a flat bridge at Twin Falls, which took us through a street to a less impressive path back to the suspension bridge.

Our second time across we went to the left and hiked to the turquoise water in the 30 foot pool. This side was a lot more crowded with multi-generational families speaking a wide variety of foreign languages. Made me realize it was the first time on this trip I've heard a language other than English.

Here are some pictures from our hike:

Back in Downtown we had a mini-farewell tour to Vancouver. We ate a late lunch at the Steamworks Brew Pub where we ate lunch on our first day. I felt like an expert when I directed the table next to me on how to find the ladies' room. We sat next to the giant picture windows facing the train tracks -- sent some pictures to Dad.

Returned to Granville Island, and walked back across the Burrard Street Bridge.

Dinner at a Thai Away, a Thai Restaurant around the corner from our hotel. Based on the space set up for a queue in front of the restaurant we were lucky to get a table without a wait. Next time we have made a note to book an online reservation first.

It was a great trip. We hope to return in a different season and do some more exploring.