We got up around 8 and had some muffins we had purchased the previous day. Then we drove down to the Sea-to-Sky gondola. It is a bit pricey for what it is, but we tried to get our money’s worth out of it. The gondola took about 5-10 minutes or so to reach the top. From the gondola stop, there are numerous loop trails that one can explore. But we wanted to check out the suspension bridge before it got too crowded.
Above, you see Nicole very casually walking across the span as another gentleman in the distance timidly approaches her in a sort of standoff. Very soon after walking across the bridge, more people began showing up. Within about 15-20 minutes, it was nonstop foot traffic. Almost everyone was moving quite slowly across it, gripping the handrails as if their lives depended on it. Others would approach and exclaim, “Nope, I can’t do it.” I was surprised at how many people seemed to be filled with such anxiety. Is it a fear of heights? If so, was the gondola terrifying as well? Regardless, Bricole were unfazed.
We began with a short loop trail that yielded one view with the remainder being trees. At this point in the morning, we did not encounter many other hikers. It is evidently a thing to hike all the way up from the bottom and take the gondola back down. The option to do the opposite of this was not available at the ticket office because that would have been too easy I suppose.
We were afforded some nice views of the town of Squamish, the river, and the Howe Sound. Virgin River spoiler alert!!! It was from one of these overlooks, that the character Jack proposed to Mel. It was also from such a point that Mel revealed that she was pregnant, and didn’t know for sure who the father was because she had also done IVF using her late husband’s fertilized eggs! Then her mother-in-law showed up to claim custody of Mel’s unborn children! Wowzers! Wait, what was I talking about? Ah, yes overlooks! We thought it might be a bit chilly at this point in the morning, high up in the mountains, but it was actually quite pleasant. It was perhaps mid to high 70s and dry. It would heat up in fairly short order, though.
We went on about three different loop trails, ending with the panorama trail that offered this overlook. By this point, the crowds were getting a bit heavier. The suspension bridge had about 50 people on it as we made our way back to the gondola. It seemed a good time to head back down. We then got some lunch at a local place called the Tall Tree Bakery. We took some sandwiches, cookies, and beverages back to our Air BnB, where we ate them outside with the addition of some ketchup-flavored crisps. Nicole was not entirely pleased with them, in case you were curious. She had sampled other ketchup-flavored crisps in Dubai, and finds the middle eastern version to be far superior.
We headed back out once more and made a quick stop off at a place called Fishermans Park. People were sunbathing or in some cases swimming in the river. I dipped my toes in quite briefly and found the temperature to be slightly above freezing. From there we went for another stroll on the path next to the river near the Watershed Grill, better known as “Jack’s Bar.” We elected to have a seat inside the bar to order a couple of drinks and a light dessert shown below.
We did our best to stay hydrated and cool on this unusually hot summer’s day in British Columbia. As the afternoon sun showed no hint of reprieve, we returned to the BnB to relax for a bit. There is no AC there, or in most places in this area (as it is almost never needed), so we sat outside in the shade of some red cedars for a bit of recovery. After inadvertently taking naps, we returned to the riverside trail to watch the sun disappear behind the mountains before picking up some dinner in town.
We ate dinner outside back at our Air BnB and sampled our bottle of wine at the same time. This concluded a busy, yet relaxing day here in Squamish, which should set us up nicely for more of the same tomorrow.
passports & pepto bismol 