A Snowy and Icy Weekend!

Winter hit Vancouver this weekend. We had a good bit of snow fall Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning we joined Craig and Liza at 10am to participate in the Club Fat Ass run from Lynn Canyon to Deep Cove return to Lynn Canyon. Actually we did it in reverse - it really was intended to start in Deep Cove. Craig lives in the Lynn Canyon area so if we finished there we could shower up before heading out to the Vancouver Canucks vs Boston Bruins hockey game. It was cold when we started (-3) with light snow. As the day progressed and we retreated into the woods it appeared to get colder. The trail was really quite dry when we started due to the cold temperatures this past week. Some sections had some ice but they were quite obvious. We saw many familiar faces coming and going on the route. Just before we reached Deep Cove for the turn around Liza rolled her ankle. Ouch! She made a wise decision to call it enough. Craig rounded up a stranger in the Deep Cove parking lot to drive Liza back to her car at Lynn Canyon. The strangers were runners so we knew she was in good hands;-). We set out for the return leg back to Lynn Canyon with the long climb out of Deep Cove. I was glad we were going up and working hard as I was starting to feel the cold. The snow was starting to cover the trails with ice patches forming on the trails. We made it back in about the same time, 5 hours total. We showered up at Craig's and went for a bite to eat before heading into Vancouver for the hockey game. It was really snowing in the city. It didn't keep the fans away though! It was a good game but the Canucks did loose 3-1. The ride home was a bit treacherous. Today, first thing we went to Hayward for a 1.5 hour run in the deep snow. It was fun but there was the odd icy patch beneath the snow to test our reflexes! Neil could hardly wait to get home and clear the 6" of snow in the drive way with his John Deere Tractor and new this year, snow blower attachment. It worked great and the driveways are clear and good to go!

Snow Snow Snow!!

Today Craig, Neil, Liza, Dave and myself went as planned up Mt. Fromme for some snow shoeing. Wendy joined us at the start and waved us off as we started to get into deep snow. Wow...did we get into deep snow! We were breaking trail and trying to follow the trail markers up Mt.Fromme. We weren't having much success following the markers and soon realized many of them were below the snow! We were getting close to the top when we really lost the trail, made a few loops and retraced our own tracks in the snow to no where. I was starting to get cold with the slowing of the pace as we tried to find our way. What great trail buddies - offering up their spare gloves, hats etc...Once we picked up the pace I warmed up. We couldn't really find a route up so the guys decided the best way out was straight down the mountain with hopes of eventually landing on Mountain Highway. It was steep, it was deep, it was crazy!! I went down on my butt for most of the way! Thankfully we did eventually land on Mountain Highway. We had a challenge of crossing the ditch but eventually all of us were on the road. It was a nice run out back to the car. Another fun adventure with great company!

What a Beautiful Day!

The weather in Vancouver has been so nice! A little cold (-5 to plus 5) with clear blue skies. The mountains are looking fantastic against the brilliant blue skies. Friday the weather was so beautiful I went for 2 runs just so I could really take in the weather. Today Wendy, Neil and I did 22km on lower trails on the North Shore - we ran into snow on the Seymour Grind and Powerline. It was so great out there it felt like we could keep going forever - but common sense prevailed and we returned to the car as planned. Tomorrow we are going a little higher for some snow shoeing with some bagging buddies.

Trans Canada Trail - 30.5km

The Start for us Today!


The Trans Canada Trail Map.


The Finish at the Pitt River Bridge.

This weekend is the anniversary of the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. What a better way to celebrate than to go for a run on the Trans Canada Trail! Thanks David for posting this flash Club Fat Ass idea. The Trans Canada trail upon completion, will be the longest shared-use recreational trail in the world, spanning roughly 17,244 kilometers (10,714 miles) and winding its way through every Canadian province and territory. Approximately 75% of the 17,244-kilometer Trail will be built on existing trails, abandoned railway lines and crown lands with the remaining 25% being "new" trail. Currently, just over 10,000 kilometers of the trail have been registered. It will be owned, operated and maintained by local organizations, provincial authorities, national agencies, and municipalities across Canada.
We joined the trail at the top of Burnaby Mountain @ Simon Fraser University. Chad dropped Marla, Ken, Neil and I off and we met up with Wendy who ran from North Vancouver. Not too long after we started we met Ean running towards us. Marla noticed a trail marker that said another 11,000 km to the finish! The trail took us down Burnaby Mountain, along Burrard Inlet, into Rocky Point in Port Moody, through Port Coquitlam on the Poco Trail and then joined the dykes in Pitt Meadows where we finished at the Pitt River Bridge where we had left our car. The trail was well marked with the Trans Canada Trail markers. We dropped Wendy and Ean off at the sky train station in New Westminster and joined the others for some food at the Gillnetter Pub. I fell asleep in the car on the way home - sign of a great long run!