Golden Ears Camping Trip- Saturday

We decided it would be a good idea to go on a camping trip so we could test out all of our stuff and see that it all worked and if we needed anything else. We reserved a camping spot at the Golden Ears Provincial Park, about 50 miles from our house.

Check out our route, big climb at the end!

So we set of at about 10 in the morning, we were going to leave earlier but for some reason it is physically impossible for us to leave the house before 10 on a weekend.

We headed off down through midtown Vancouver down to the Fraser river past all the squawking crows who seem to be going crazy at this time of year, two even tried to ‘get’ me the other day by swooping at my head. They are just protecting their chicks but they can get very aggressive, I wanted to say ‘chill out crow face, I’ve already had my bagel for breakfast I don’t want to eat your hatchlings’ but I don’t think they would have listened

We continued through Burnaby and into New Westminster part of which was along the ‘7/11’ Bike Route. I think it’s good that 7/11 are sponsoring a bike route, giving people the chance to work off the $1 Big Gulp’s they are selling all summer.

I know 7/11 is an American brand but they will always remind me of Thailand where there is a 7/11 on every corner, freezing cold through the strongest air conditioning known to man with the relentless bing bong of the door alarm that must drive the store clerks mad. I once in Koh Tao saw a cat run into the store do two laps of the aisles being chased by the clerks and then dive head first into a shelf full of cakes and treats. 

We crossed the Pattullo bridge and into Surrey, from there we sped along the Fraser Highway and on to Golden Ears way and over the Golden Ears bridge to Maple Ridge.

As we got to the edge of Maple Ridge and near the park it felt good to be out of a built up area having ridden through Metro Vancouver all day, although there were lots of cool things to see it can sometimes get a bit much riding for miles and miles through a metro area so was nice to be in the countryside. And it felt great to arrive at the park!

The climb up to the campsite although a bit strenuous at times was a nice way to end the day. As the roads were quiet and shaded and it felt great to be out of the city.

We got to the camp in good spirits bought some fire wood and prepared to set up for the night. There had been a bear sighting in the area recently and as we had no car to lock our food in we had to make sure to hang our food from a branch for the night so Mr Bear didn’t come snuffling round our tent.

I'd been carrying the tent and all the cooking stuff, so Holly had the 'pleasure' of carrying the wood the last half mile to the campsite!

Just as we were about to set up the tent came the rain, oh no! And it wasn’t just a light drizzle no it was a proper end of days, thunder lighting wind howling storm. We got the tent set up as quickly as possible, covered our stuff and jumped in the tent shivering and cold. Luckily after an hour or so the rain let up and we were able to cook dinner.

The firewood was wet so despite our best efforts we couldn’t get a fire lit to stay warm. So tired, we decided to hit the hay.

Dave


We will be cycling the Pacific Coast from Vancouver to Tijuana over six weeks starting in August 2012 to raise money for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. Please show your support by sponsoring us here, leaving a comment below and sharing our blog.