Eagles, squirrels, and bears, oh my!
I've been making an effort to regularly exercise and stay active (I love Zumba Toning!), and now that it is summer, I want to take advantage of the weather and go hiking as much as possible. But because I don't drive, I haven't been able to do a lot of hiking (or any at all, really), since most trails are not transit accessible, and the ones that are technically transit accessible aren't really--it takes well over an hour one way (usually at least 1.5 hours), and several transfers between buses that run only every half an hour. And even then, there are only a handful of trails that are "transit accessible".
Despite my transportation limitations, last year I managed to go on a few hikes with meetup groups and/or friends, and even did the Grouse Grind three times. But this year I was determined to do a lot more hiking, and to hike as much as possible this summer, since it's a seasonal activity. So far, since the beginning of June, I've gone on four hikes (that is, if you count the Grouse Grind as a hike), one per weekend, and have several more planned, including this upcoming weekend.
The hikes I have gone on this year are:
Sunday June 1: Grouse Grind
Sunday June 8: Quarry Rock
Saturday June 14: Baden Powell Trail (Deep Cove to Lynn Canyon)
Sunday June 22: Minnekhada Regional Park
I did the Minnekhada hike with 7 other people from a meetup group (none of us had met before), and had a blast. The trails and forest were absolutely gorgeous, and it was the perfect level for me: not too difficult, but not too easy. It wasn't a steep hike, but there were some short uphill portions, and I worked up a good sweat and felt that I had gotten a good workout.
After about two hours of hiking at a relaxed, leisurely pace, we headed back to the parking lot. We were quite close, perhaps less than a kilometer away, when we saw a bear. A freakin' bear! It was about twenty feet away from us, and I was one of the two people at the front of the group, who were a few feet behind us. We quickly scurried back a few feet and warned the rest of the group.
We were all very calm and quiet (including the dog that was with us) and stood there for a moment in awe, when the bear started to slowly approach us. Then someone noticed a bear cub. We quickly turned around and left, deciding to take the long way back to the parking lot. You do not want to mess with a mama bear!
While it was a bit scary--the bear was close enough that if it had charged at us, we would have been in trouble--it was also pretty fucking cool. I've never seen a bear in the wild like that, so it was an interesting experience. And not long before we had seen a squirrel, and someone had noted that we hadn't seen much wildlife on the hike (we had only seen an eagle and the one squirrel).
Despite my transportation limitations, last year I managed to go on a few hikes with meetup groups and/or friends, and even did the Grouse Grind three times. But this year I was determined to do a lot more hiking, and to hike as much as possible this summer, since it's a seasonal activity. So far, since the beginning of June, I've gone on four hikes (that is, if you count the Grouse Grind as a hike), one per weekend, and have several more planned, including this upcoming weekend.
The hikes I have gone on this year are:
Sunday June 1: Grouse Grind
Sunday June 8: Quarry Rock
Saturday June 14: Baden Powell Trail (Deep Cove to Lynn Canyon)
Sunday June 22: Minnekhada Regional Park
I did the Minnekhada hike with 7 other people from a meetup group (none of us had met before), and had a blast. The trails and forest were absolutely gorgeous, and it was the perfect level for me: not too difficult, but not too easy. It wasn't a steep hike, but there were some short uphill portions, and I worked up a good sweat and felt that I had gotten a good workout.
After about two hours of hiking at a relaxed, leisurely pace, we headed back to the parking lot. We were quite close, perhaps less than a kilometer away, when we saw a bear. A freakin' bear! It was about twenty feet away from us, and I was one of the two people at the front of the group, who were a few feet behind us. We quickly scurried back a few feet and warned the rest of the group.
We were all very calm and quiet (including the dog that was with us) and stood there for a moment in awe, when the bear started to slowly approach us. Then someone noticed a bear cub. We quickly turned around and left, deciding to take the long way back to the parking lot. You do not want to mess with a mama bear!
While it was a bit scary--the bear was close enough that if it had charged at us, we would have been in trouble--it was also pretty fucking cool. I've never seen a bear in the wild like that, so it was an interesting experience. And not long before we had seen a squirrel, and someone had noted that we hadn't seen much wildlife on the hike (we had only seen an eagle and the one squirrel).