The Grind

July 22, 2010

We did a challenging hike in Vancouver. The Grouse Grind, as or “The Grind”, as it was called by the disc jockey on the radio, is a Vancouver staple. It's a 1.5 mile hike, straight up, to the top of Grouse Mountain.

Lindsay and I hiked straight up it, and straight down it. I was proud to make it to the top in 60 minutes. The Grind is an interesting way to see the city. At the top, there's a perfect view of the city, and the wide expanses of water that surround the city on each side.

On the way up, though, there's a fairly even mix of intense exercise buffs in spandex, locals who bring their friends from out of town, and tourists.

While we were there, we stayed in the biggest hostel we've been to, with around 200 spots for travelers. HI Jericho Beach was a big enterprise.

The nice part, it was right by the beach and the water. The last night we were there, the city was beginning an international fireworks “competition” downtown. Fireworks teams from the US, Canada, France, and China were putting on weekly shows. We'd missed fireworks on the 4^th of July because we'd been camping in a national forest. Almost exactly one month later, we ended up listening to swing music and seeing a huge fireworks show over Vancouver, synchronized to the swing music and just a 5 minute walk from our hostel. We loved it.

A bit of trivia: One of our main aims was to see downtown, see the harbor, and see Stanley Park. We ended up having to pay $29 for a single day of parking – the most either of us had ever paid.

And finally, a building Mark liked. The soil and the grass create fine insulation, and look beautiful. A leak in the roof could create a bit of work, though :).