Living Virally: The Wet Coast

Episode 6

Our time loop is becoming further unraveled. Phase III for the restart of BC has been implemented. This means that we can begin “smart and safe travel within the province and the restart of in-person K-12 and post-secondary classes”.  Of course, physical distancing is to be practiced and the wearing of mask when that is not possible. So, with the governments blessing we decided to hit the road, but where to go?  Since moving to Penticton 32 years ago, I have always had fireworks for my birthday. 

Not to be this year as my fireworks tends to attract tens of thousands of people into the downtown core, something that will not be allowed till at least Phase V or VI. 

So with no reason to stay in Penticton for my birthday, the search began. Manning Park was on the top of the list till a junk e-mail crossed my computer inviting me to “find and explore beautiful Whistler”.  It had been many years since was visited Whistler, so long ago that Nonie and I spent several hours arguing about when we did visit. We eventually settled on 1983 or 1984, a period when we were living in Vancouver.  So after thirty-six or so years, perhaps it was time to re-visit.

First we needed to find a place to stay. Luck was with us and we scored a one bedroom condo for $69 a night that was only a 15 minute walk down to the Village centre and a 20 minute walk back up to the condo.  Kudos to Horstman  House, we had a wonderful stay. 

Photo: Tripadvisor

Our safety plan was to do most of our own cooking with one outing to a restaurant on my birthday, pack lunches for all bikes and hikes as well as  minimizing visits to the village when it was busy. We also did all our shopping in Penticton to avoid any unnecessary shopping trips.

We left Penticton under a slight drizzle which turned to a nasty rainstorm as we crossed over the Coquihalla Connector to Merritt. From Merritt we drove to Spences Bridge, Lytton, Lilloet, Pemberton and our final destination Whistler, a route that allowed us to avoid travel through the Lower Mainland. As we approached Whistler the clouds opened up around us and we were blessed with some sun for the final few kilometres into Whistler.  

Arriving late in the afternoon, we checked in and enjoyed a brisk walk down to the Village. It has certainly grown considerably since our last visit. Besides the Village Centre, they have added a North Village and an Upper Village to the core. We actually had a mission as we had missed one important stop before we left Penticton, the liquor store.  Whistler has grown so much they now have two government stores and a number of private outlets. 

Day 2 dawned with a mixed bag of cloud and sun. Today we were going to explore all the lakes around Whistler by bike. Whistler has great access to shared hiking/biking paths the can get you anywhere in and around the Village. The trails were well maintained and provided a myriad of photo opportunities.

Quiet little wet land areas filled with turtles. 

Glacial streams to cool my tender tootsies. That is till the I lost feeling  and they became frozen tootsies pops. 

The ice on the cake was my chip onto the 9^th green at Nicklaus North. Twelve inches from the cup done with no feeling in my feet.  

Day 3 greeted us with torrential rain, the Wet Coast starting to live up to its name. Our original plan was a hike into Iceberg Lake located in the alpine on the south side of Whistler Mountain. A 15 kilometre out and back trek with 1,000 metre elevation gain, most of it in the first 2 or 3 kilometres. Greeted with steep muddy trails we opted for Plan B, a short hike into the Nairn Waterfall located about  20 minute drive north of Whistler.

As we made our way into the park. Our efforts were rewarded as the clouds parted and  we were bathed in lovely sunshine.  

As we headed back to Whistler, the clouds closed in again and the rain started up. Not torrential, more of a hearty drizzle. We were headed to Olympic Park, which was home to the Nordic and Ski Jump events for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. I had actually visited the site during the construction period.  I was there to carry out a site safety inspection of the Whistler Olympic Village with the local VANOC team. 

Our goal today was to climb to the top of the highest ski jump for a late lunch. Not as easy at is sounds.

First there is the approximately 500 steps the gets you to the end of the jump. Thankfully the clouds cleared and we made the climb in sunshine. 

Sadly the sun disappeared and the weather turned into another hearty drizzle making the 1.5 kilometre trail to the top of the jump and the starting gate into a nasty, steep muddy, slippery climb requiring a rope in one section.  

But lunch and the misty view were pretty spectacular. 

As the rain became more torrential, we made our way back to the condo for popcorn and a movie.  

The rain that greeted us on Day 4 was more than a hearty drizzle but less then a tsunami. Today, we were headed up into the high alpine of Blackcomb and Whistler to do a few hikes. We tried to wait out the rain but gave up and headed to the Blackcomb gondola chanting our favourite mantra “We won’t melt.” Nonie has a bit of a phobia about ferries and gondolas so getting her on one is always a challenge. Thankfully the heavy cloud cover masked just how high up we were going. (7, 990 feet)

Magically, as we arrived at the summit, the clouds thinned out enough that we could find our way around although the Village below was not visible. 

We enjoyed the one trail that was open with the rest closed as the snow pack was still pretty heavy leaving the trails unmarked. 

There are at least another 6 trails available on Blackcomb. We are definitely returning in the warmer weather. 

As we returned to the gondola station, the cloud cover became even thinner giving us a bit clearer view of the valley bottom. While it was nice, it did create a bit of a dilemma for me.

The Peak to Peak gondola travels between the summit of Blackcomb and Whistler mountains. We had tickets for the ride. Nonie was going to have to suck it up for this one. The gondola will travel 3.024 kilometres at an elevation of 436 metres above the valley and at a speed of 7.5 metres per second. 

She turned out to be a real trooper. Though a return trip to the Blackcomb side was not to be in the cards according to Nonie.  

We were greeted at the Whistler side by rain mixed with sleet and a pretty brisk wind that rattled the gondola car as we entered the station. That pretty well sealed the deal on the chance of any return trip. 

Only part of one trail was available with the rest still covered in snow so it we were quickly back to the lodge for lunch and a hot chocolate before taking the Whistler Gondola down into the Village. We did take time for a meet and greet with the Inukshuk who lives on the summit. He/She was not great at maintaining social distancing.  

Dinner to night at a Mongolian restaurant then on the road home tomorrow. 

Day 5 and while it was not raining, it was completely socked in with visibility of about 100 metres. It cleared up by the time we reached Pemberton where we stopped for breakfast. For lunch we turned into a pullout that provided a lovely  view of the Nicola River. While enjoying lunch an eagle landed in a tree beside us. I think he was monitoring the river for fish but he also seem to be eyeing my sandwich quite a bit. To avoid what could be an ugly situation we moved on. 

The chance of getting another rate of $69 Whistler would seem to be really slim as current rates for the same condo is $208. But should it occur, we will be back. Ice Berg Lake is calling me.