Anastasia and I spent my birthday yesterday on Bowen Island. We rode our bikes to the base of Mount Gardner. It took 2 hours to get to the top and the path was gorgeous. According to the web, the trails are well marked, but we didn’t find that at all, and got lost on the way back. The few tiny signs that we saw were hand written in marker that was worn off and barely (or not at all) legible.
At the top there was a slatted wooden platform which we assumed was put there for hikers (There was also a large humming telecommunications tower). We sat on the platform and commenced munching and enjoying the amazing view of the islands, Vancouver, and Mount Baker. Suddenly there was a helicopter coming right for us and we continued to sit there wondering why it was so close. Then it was just hovering in front of us. We were so taken aback that we didn’t react right away – “Is he going to land here? Is this a landing pad?! Should we, um, maybe move?” So we abruptly scattered and had this beast blowing our hats off as we made for the trail.
On the ferry from Snug Cove to Horseshoe Bay. The yellow arrow shows the peak we hiked to. You can just make out the tower. A very worthwhile (if oft painful) venture!
On side note, after the hike we went into a craft shop on Bowen where I saw screen printed clothing I had made about 10 years ago. I asked the woman there were they came from and she went into sales-mode, “Oh, they’re by this designer who lives on an island off Seattle…” at which point I broke her off with “Um, actually I made these!” I wonder if she was disappointed, as at that point I looked more like a crumpled damp rag than a clothing designer. Turns out a woman who used to sell my stuff at a store in Vancouver opened this place and I guess still had some of my things.
On another side note, we were too shattered to ride our bikes home from downtown Vancouver so decided to put our bikes on another bus. When we asked the driver if he was going to our stop he hummed and hawed and then asked if we were with Critical Mass. He only let us on because we said no! He was angry with cyclists/demonstrators for obstructing traffic…
