Adventures along the Sea to Sky

We took the scenic route from Kamloops to Pemberton stopping to enjoy the numerous views that presented as we crossed out of the dry arid interior and into the colossal coastal range. Arriving late in the afternoon, we didn’t want to miss a day of riding so we headed straight to the Mackenzie Trails, swiftly unloaded the bikes and geared up to explore. We climbed a trail named Happy to the forest service road, and followed a route that took us back down via Hawaii, a fun flow trail with berms and a few rock rolls. The next day we set out to ride Live Like Lisa, a 3.2 km rocky decent that was well worth the climb up Nimby. 

Excited to check out the trails in Squamish, a trendy mountain town known for the most incredible outdoor adventures, we headed south on Highway 99. Squamish has world-class everything – climbing, hiking, a gorgeous river that feeds into Howe Sound, and great sushi. Squamish is also a mecca for mountain bikers. We rode at Diamond Head, one of Squamish’s most popular riding areas and took the long Climb Trail pedalling up 876m from the parking lot to the Meadow of the Grizzly trailhead. The Meadow of the Grizzly trail, starting at 925m and filled with speed inducing berms that provide the rider with dazzling views, is truly a trail builder’s masterpiece and is a must-do for riders visiting the Sea-to-Sky area. 

Inspired by the beauty of the trail, we quickly ate lunch and decided to try to climb the forest service road to hit 19^th Hole. As we headed up to the top of the trailhead the laziness that always follows a big lunch and a hard ride set in and we slowly picked our way up the road as cars and trucks sped by, covering us in dust and leaving us with a yearning to throw our bikes in the bed of a pick-up. Fortunately, mountain bikers are generally known to be cordial folks and it wasn’t long before a Quebec family with a very cool Sprinter Van offered us a lift. We gratefully loaded up our bikes and crammed into the back of the van to share stories of trails, sleeping spots, and the unplanned adventures that occur when you drive a van across the country. 

Thanks for the lift!

19^th Hole was a favourite – very steep roots that require the rider to stay focused and aggressively push the bike through to the next root section. We love roots! Exhausted, we ended our ride with Half Nelson, another Squamish classic, and a trail that is basically built like a big downhill pump track that weaves through old growth cedars and massive ferns leaving the rider with the feeling that you are riding through a deep jungle. 

Diamond Head may be one of Squamish’s most popular riding spots but the rock slabs of Alice Lake can’t be missed. The following day we rode Rupert, Entrails and Boney Elbows, technical trails that highlight the uniquely grippy rock faces that Alice Lake is known for. 

With the dry dust of Diamond Head packed into our pores and the sun beating down we needed to cool off and clean up so we headed down to the Squamish River. We were pleasantly surprised when a couple of joyful seals joined us in our attempt to conquer the frigidity of the rushing water. 

Having a few kilometers under the saddles of our trail bikes, we were eager to head north on Highway 99 to the famous Whistler Mountain Bike Park and get back on the DH bikes. We slept in a gorgeous spot along on a forest service road and woke up early to score bike park tickets and a spot in the lift line. 

We warmed up with a few laps on A-Line, Whistler’s most famous jump trail before checking out Dirt Merchant and hitting some of the more technical trails like Schleyer and Joyride. FX followed Tanya through A-Line and Fade to Black, a double black flow trail with interesting wooden features and a road-gap. Although Fade to Black was on Tanya’s list of must rides, the ease of the jumps left her wondering what was next – after watching FX send his bike to the sky she decided to try the first jump on Crabapple Hits, a trail that boasts the biggest jumps in the park. 

Taking the second chair up to the Garbanzo Zone we rode Freight Train and Original Sin, eventually making our way back down to take a look at D1, the most technical jump trail in the park. D1 is built like a dirt jump line for DH bikes. While D1 is fairly short it is tight and filled with hips, blind drops, and big step-ups that challenge the rider to make precise landings in order to maintain speed. The trail is gorgeously set in the midst of the enormous coniferous trees that canvas the mountain. FX spent some time working the jumps and successfully cleared the line. 

While we spend most of our days on the bike, occasionally we decide to take a rest day or explore on foot. Nearing the end of the week our bodies were getting tired and we decided to end our ride early and find a spot to swim. We drove up Cheakamus Lake Rd to the parking lot and hiked in to the lake.  Like most of the lakes in Garibaldi Provincial Park Cheakamus is a glacier fed mountain lake and that means the water is pretty chilly but we were grateful to refresh our worn out muscles in the naturally icy bath. We hiked back to the van and arrived as dusk was beginning to set in. There is nothing that leaves you hungrier than a long week of hard riding, a hike, and a cold swim and as our hunger grew with the smells of FX’s chic pea curry we knew we would be enjoying a satisfying end to our day. Satiated, we slowly drove back down the forest service road and planned our excursion to the B.C. ferry… but that’s a story for another day.