Sunday, June 12, 2016

Vancouver 100 Completed!

Today Neil and I completed the final section we needed to cover on the Vancouver 100 route. We started at Nelson Creek and climbed to the top of Black Mountain and returned to Nelson Creek. We were hoping to see some other participants but I think they were home in their beds or at the Deep Cove end of the trail. One of the funny stories that emerged from this weekends event was that 2 male participants were heading home at 2:30 am after a long day on the trail. When they were traveling over the Lions Gate Bridge they were stopped at a police road block looking for drunk drivers. The police officer lunged his head into the car for the sniff test and must have been hit by a strong odour from hours on the trail but certainly not that of alcohol! Oh what a great event! This is the first time we have broken the 100km's up into sections. It provided some good weekend outings over several weeks. However, I do always  appreciate a long journey! 
Today on the trail I noticed this post with the multiple options. Amazing what you notice when you have the time to take it all in. 
Thursday I had a good outing to Buntzen Lake. 
I opted to take the trail along the lake. It is very undulating and a great workout. I hadn't been there for what seemed like years. 
Near the start of my outing I came upon this sign. Hmmm...
Then this confirmation that indeed Mr. Bear was in the neighborhood. It was very fresh! 
Then this sign appeared on the post in front of me...it says "never hike alone". I was alone! I did the sensible thing and retraced my steps. There have been many Cougar sightings of late on the local trails of Vancouver. No explanation why the Cougars are coming so close to habitation but it's a little disconcerting! Anyway, I still managed 10 km around the lake. 
I explored down by the beach. Nice peaceful area for picnics and taking in the views. I look forward to returning to the area but perhaps not alone!  
Congratulations to all those who participated in the Vancouver 100! Looking forward to next years event. Be kind to each other out there. 

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