Tags
adventures, Brohm Lake, Canada, Hiking, Live abroad, Road trips, Sea to Sky Highway, Swimming, The Chief, Vancouver
I wrote this months ago but have been so slack with my posts recently that I’m only just getting round to posting. I can’t believe it’s already been over 6 months since we all went to this incredible place!
The weather in Vancouver over the summer was beautiful so it would have been a sin not to take advantage of the beautiful city and do some road trips and hiking! My friend Anna got the ball rolling with looking into hiring a car as there was 10 of us wanting to go and only one vehicle. We hadn’t fully decided where to go however, Brohm Lake near Squamish was mentioned and recommended so we thought we’d give it a go. The scenery on the way to Squamish, known as the sea to sky highway is absolutely beautiful. Once you get out of downtown traffic, the road is long, free and wide and there are mountains all around for the majority of the journey. With the trunk packed with food, towels and swimwear, we drove for just over an hour taking a quick stop at Shannon Falls before we arrived at Brohm Lake. Continue reading
Cornucopia
The walk to the springs themselves is beautiful and takes about 20- 25 minutes. Along the wooden panels people have had names and messages engraved, the best one being Clara Richardson will you marry me? I’m pretty sure she would have said yes considering the view she would’ve been looking at, other than her boyfriend at the time.
The springs themselves are quite small so it’s recommended you get there early. We took the 9a.m boat and didn’t have any trouble with overcrowding. There were only about 10 other people there at the time so plenty of room to all have a dip in. The springs are very warm, with the first ones you step in being super hot (you wouldn’t sit in them for too long!) It’s a beautiful cove that feels like a secret place considering where it is. The best part is when you reach the end of the hot springs and there is a section where you can sit down and feel the warm water on your back but then the tide comes in from the front and splashes you with cold water. Super refreshing! There’s a little cafe on a boat back where you get picked up and a beautiful husky dog there to greet you. As it’s in the middle of nowhere they do get away with putting their prices up, $4 for water – eek! However they did do a very tasty coconut oatmeal cookie.
Next stop for our adventure was Portland Oregon. I didn’t really know what to expect from Portland, I just remembered a chat I had with two people in my first week at the hostel where they had said it was definitely worth a visit. We had an early start as our flight was booked for 9a.m. Again we arrived at the airport about 45 minutes too early but it was fine as we sat and got a filling breakfast. The flight was so quick and before we knew it we had landed in Portland at 11a.m. The weather was a scorching 32 degrees and was actually really lovely to come back into having been in San Francisco for the past three days. We jumped on the train and went to the city centre where we knew we could drop our bags off in a place called Powell’s before we needed to check in to our air bnb. As soon as we got to Powell’s we both fell in love with it instantly. If I thought the bookshop in San Francisco was amazing this was about eight times the size and was just incredible. The staff were so friendly and accommodating and there were so many rooms and books it was hard to know where to begin. If it had been a cloudy day I know where we would’ve spent the whole day! 
Next stop on our trip was San Francisco. I know Craig was secretly dreading it because he loved Las Vegas so much and wanted to stay in the heat but I was super excited to be going as had heard so many great things about it. We arrived around 6p.m and luckily our hostel wasn’t too far from the station. We did go around in circles a little bit before getting there but we made it in the end. Our hostel, Hi International, was located on Mason Street, therefore a good spot for getting around. We had booked a private room and when we saw the room it was a really small room with a double bed and then a bed on top. I could just see Craig’s face drop as we had gone form having two double beds and a bathroom to a small kind of dingy room for the same price. I’m quite used to hostels so didn’t mind too much but yes it wasn’t quite as fancy. We both thought the bed on top was pretty funny plus there were bars at the end of the bed so Craig was too tall for it!
Yesterday was an eventful and beautiful day despite having less than 5 hours sleep. I started it by cycling down to Stanley park where the Scotiabank charity challenge, where you could choose to run or walk 5k or a half marathon, was taking place. For those who were running the half marathon, their morning had already began at 7am and some of them were near crossing the finishing line by the time I arrived at the charity village to help the 
The weather for the last two weeks in Vancouver has lived up to its saying, that being the rainy city. It has been grey and cold and raining constantly therefore unfortuantely this has left little opportunity for exploring. For Easter weekend however with four days off I definitely did not want another weekend stuck indoors and therefore intended to fit some hikes in and travelling to new places in Vancouver.
