Crystal's Epic Adventures

  The goal for today was Alpaca Peak, a 2,083m granitic mountain located in the North Cascades and a lovely winter snowshoe or ski with spectacular views. To get to it, you summit Zupjok Peak, follow the ridge to Llama Peak and then over to Alpaca.  Sounds easy enough, right? I have been doing so well lately with my hikes, each one kicking my ass a little more making me stronger every time. I figured this would be a long shot, but the weather was expected to be glorious and I wanted to give it a try. We always start our hikes out super early, leaving the house at 6:00 am so by the time we got to the trail head at 8:00 am, we were the first ones there.   The slope to  Zupjok on  the right We managed to summit Zupjok in just 3.5 hours - that's pretty good! After a quick snack break, I felt a little pooped but figured I still had enough gas in me to keep going on to Llama Peak.  Summit Selfie The thing with looking out over mountain peaks from a distance ...

Our most recent adventure was a hike/snowshoe to Munro & Dennett Lakes right in our own back yard of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park in Coquitlam.  Just stunning!  It was difficult to plan what to pack for this trip, we have been having such incredible weather lately, there may be snow but it can't be that much, right?  I packed my smaller, summer day pack and dressed accordingly.  However, after a quick trip report search in the morning, Klaus found a report from May of last year that said that there was quite a bit of snow.  So with a last minute change over to my winter pack and strapping on my snowshoes, off we went on the short 20 minute drive to the trailhead.  Much nicer drive than what we had been doing lately.  At 7:30 am, we were the only ones at the trailhead and the thermometer in the car showed that it was only 2 degrees, but the sunshine was telling another story. Very quickly into the steep hike, I was peeling off my layers and a...

  Spring is here!! I realize I have been tardy with posting about my adventures. It's not because there has been a shortage of adventures! Maybe it is the fact that more than a year later from the start of this *&%#@ pandemic and we are at the worst infection rate ever. Maybe it is because my C250 Adventure Challenge is over.  Maybe.  It's time to get caught up. I love going on adventures in whatever form it may be and taking photos of them. The cherry blossom trees have begun to bloom - my most favourite spring time event here in Vancouver. Then it's a close second seeing the crocuses and daffodils blooming everywhere. Vancouver’s original 500 cherry blossom trees, planted at the Japanese cenotaph in Stanley Park, were a gift from the mayors of Kobe and Yokohama, Japan in the 1930s as a thank you to the city for honouring Japanese Canadians who served in WWI. As the impact of cherry tree plantings began to reshape the city’s landscape, Vancouverites were soon smitten...