Above, you see the splendor of Squamish, about 45km south of Whistler.
The pic above was taken after, I'm afraid to report, significant toil. There was some discomfort-- nay, pain-- and we all know that Pain is only Weakness leaving the body. So, much weakness was left on this trail of tears, although there was only minimal sniveling at the time. That came later.
Squamish is known for its climbing and its cliffs. There are some very steep trails-- these wonderful Canadians build beautiful staircases-- thousands and thousands of steps...up, up, up we go...just like Gollom, Sam and Frodo going up the Stairs of Cirith Ungol, but no nasty surprises (Shelob) at its terminal end.
To the right is the famous Shannon Falls, a 325m drop that I could see right outside my Airstream window. The afore mentioned stairway climbed parallel to the falls for a bit then curved away so then, if alone on the trail, you could more easily hear your labored breathing and joints creaking along the way.
All the way up to the peak of Stawamus Chief Peak #1 with the reward of the valley below (on a different camera, sorry) in all its grandeur. That night I saw a lone skydiver in the twilight (no pic, sorry), which reminded me of old days. I searched for the bird from which it had dropped, but apparently the dude was BASE jumping from one of the peaks. Pretty cool.
As this is my Whistler blog, perhaps I should talk about Whistler? Sorry...and I will say sorry a lot here, as Canadians seemingly apologize for everything and I'm just trying to fit in. To the left is my view of my 'porch', right outside my door a nice, graveled perch on which a picnic table awaits, then plummets down a cliff to Fitzsimmons Creek about 50 feet below. For the curious, the pink stuff is used to winterize RV plumbing pipes.
So, I am settled into my site at Riverside Park, my Starlink deployed with minimal obstruction, the latrine maybe 40 feet away, and it has already been pretty cold-- down to 15 deg F one night. I am directly adjacent to the Lost Lake ski/bike trail network and have already found that Upper Panorama is an 'expert' trail that is beyond my technical skill, but navigated white-knuckley with no mishap. Yet.
This year I brought my fat bike and I've been able to ride into town ( yesterday was less than 25 deg F and I nearly froze my balls off) to go get a coffee at La Brasserie, a breakfast spot right in the heart of the Village Stroll.
The beautiful trio of Morgan, Keek and Jenna hosted my coffee obsession this Sunday morning at a cafe north of town. Although they sound like a 60's folk band, I assure you their cover as baristas is compellingly believable and potentially audacious. From behind the vantage point of the 'Cranked' counter top on which a Victoria Arduino espresso machine is prominently mounted, their hideously displeasing view from the 'office' is thus:
