March 18, 2018
I planned to go hiking during the spring break and thought that I was going to be alone, yet I was wrong.
When I mentioned my hiking plan in our public speaking group chat, one guy said he also wanted to go for a hike during the spring break. Before knowing this, I had a difficult time preparing myself to go for a hike alone, since I don’t like to hike by myself.
I replied him delightfully: Qintu, why don’t we go together. Where do you want to go?
At 9 o'clock on Sunday morning, I met Qintu at Waterfront station. We planned to take the Seabus first, then take the bus to the start point of the trail, and at last, start hiking to Rice Lake.
The sky was a little bit gloomy. “We might not be going to see the sun today. It sucks.” Qintu warned me. Sunny days are always good for hiking. He is a hiking expert, at least to me.
I learned from his words that he has hiked many times during the past two summers. The longest hike took him 6 hours if I remembered correctly. “The sun might not be coming out, but the view of cloud and mist lingering around the mountains is also worth to see, isn’t it?” Qintu was trying to cheer me, a beginner to hiking, up. I nodded with a smile. His words made me looking forward to the rest of the day.
However, soon, it started raining. Raindrops hit the windshield of the Seabus that we took heading to North Vancouver, weaving a big net covering the glass through which I could barely see the opposite bank. Qintu said once when he was on a Seabus, the Seabus had to make a detour because a giant cargo ship was in the way. That was kind of interesting.
We didn’t wait too long for the bus. After 10 minutes on the bus, we arrived at the starting point of the Rice Lake trail.
“Do you have food and water in your bag?” Qintu asked, looking at me.
“Only water, man. But plenty of them.”
“Ok, hopefully, we will be fine. You may want to be prepared for a lunch at 2~3 pm."
I peeked at my phone screen: it's 9:40 am now.
“Well, I can find some worms or leaves to eat at the worst before I die of starvation.”
“Hahahaha, you sure?”
“Oh yeah, of course! Let’s taste the nature!”
We headed to the narrow trail with laughers.
This is what we saw after 20 minutes' walk. Rice Lake is smaller than what I expected. What surprised me more were those swimmers.
“This is not what I expected to see. Did Rice Lake get its name because it's small like a grain of rice?”
“Hahaha, I guess you are right Nick!”
Qintu suggested a new route, “We don’t have to go along the shore like this. If you want, we can change our plan and go onto the BP trail (The Baden-Powell Trail is a rugged but well-maintained 48 km hiking trail, that traverses from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Deep Cove in North Vancouver, BC). We will arrive at Deep Cove Park and have lunch there.”
“Sounds good!” I agreed, even though I had no clue about what he was talking about as I knew none of those places he mentioned.
I had never felt this comfortable to walk on an asphalt road before. Most parts of the trial were muddy and slushy mountain roads with countless cobbles and branches against my feet. Finally, my feet had some rest at this moment.
We found a stream after we went off the asphalt road. It was an appealing stream. It attracted our attention.
“Wait, Qintu, why don’t you sit on that rock and I will take a wonderful photo of you as if you are sitting in the middle of the stream?” I asked.
He agreed, and I stepped on a rock while I was talking to him, “I am going to test this rock’s stability.”
Suddenly, I slipped, and after a brief time, an ice cold feeling climbed up to my ankle from my tiptoe. I was shocked. My right foot was soaked in water between two slippery rocks covered with moss.
No matter what, the picture that I took for Qintu was wonderful. I would also like to share one tip with all adventurers who like to hike in forest trails: wear a pair of water-resistant shoes if you don't want to get your feet soaked!
“The darkest hour is that before the dawn.” The hardest part was that before lunchtime. We were starving, but time went by slowly.
We went off the BP trial and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant. I ate a little, but my stomach was surprisingly full. We were exhausted. Maybe that was the reason.
Before we headed to our final destination, a high school appeared in our sight. Deep Cove Park was where we ended our hike.
What a gorgeous shore!
When I saw this view, I thought everything, my soaked shoes, wet socks and ice cold feet, even the hunger, was worthwhile, just to see this magnificent view.
I am looking forward to another hike with a pair of waterproof boots :)
All photos cr Nick Lin
I planned to go hiking during the spring break and thought that I was going to be alone, yet I was wrong.
When I mentioned my hiking plan in our public speaking group chat, one guy said he also wanted to go for a hike during the spring break. Before knowing this, I had a difficult time preparing myself to go for a hike alone, since I don’t like to hike by myself.
I replied him delightfully: Qintu, why don’t we go together. Where do you want to go?
At 9 o'clock on Sunday morning, I met Qintu at Waterfront station. We planned to take the Seabus first, then take the bus to the start point of the trail, and at last, start hiking to Rice Lake.
The sky was a little bit gloomy. “We might not be going to see the sun today. It sucks.” Qintu warned me. Sunny days are always good for hiking. He is a hiking expert, at least to me.
I learned from his words that he has hiked many times during the past two summers. The longest hike took him 6 hours if I remembered correctly. “The sun might not be coming out, but the view of cloud and mist lingering around the mountains is also worth to see, isn’t it?” Qintu was trying to cheer me, a beginner to hiking, up. I nodded with a smile. His words made me looking forward to the rest of the day.
However, soon, it started raining. Raindrops hit the windshield of the Seabus that we took heading to North Vancouver, weaving a big net covering the glass through which I could barely see the opposite bank. Qintu said once when he was on a Seabus, the Seabus had to make a detour because a giant cargo ship was in the way. That was kind of interesting.
We didn’t wait too long for the bus. After 10 minutes on the bus, we arrived at the starting point of the Rice Lake trail.
“Do you have food and water in your bag?” Qintu asked, looking at me.
“Only water, man. But plenty of them.”
“Ok, hopefully, we will be fine. You may want to be prepared for a lunch at 2~3 pm."
I peeked at my phone screen: it's 9:40 am now.
“Well, I can find some worms or leaves to eat at the worst before I die of starvation.”
“Hahahaha, you sure?”
“Oh yeah, of course! Let’s taste the nature!”
We headed to the narrow trail with laughers.
This is what we saw after 20 minutes' walk. Rice Lake is smaller than what I expected. What surprised me more were those swimmers.
“This is not what I expected to see. Did Rice Lake get its name because it's small like a grain of rice?”
“Hahaha, I guess you are right Nick!”
Qintu suggested a new route, “We don’t have to go along the shore like this. If you want, we can change our plan and go onto the BP trail (The Baden-Powell Trail is a rugged but well-maintained 48 km hiking trail, that traverses from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Deep Cove in North Vancouver, BC). We will arrive at Deep Cove Park and have lunch there.”
“Sounds good!” I agreed, even though I had no clue about what he was talking about as I knew none of those places he mentioned.
I had never felt this comfortable to walk on an asphalt road before. Most parts of the trial were muddy and slushy mountain roads with countless cobbles and branches against my feet. Finally, my feet had some rest at this moment.
We found a stream after we went off the asphalt road. It was an appealing stream. It attracted our attention.
“Wait, Qintu, why don’t you sit on that rock and I will take a wonderful photo of you as if you are sitting in the middle of the stream?” I asked.
He agreed, and I stepped on a rock while I was talking to him, “I am going to test this rock’s stability.”
Suddenly, I slipped, and after a brief time, an ice cold feeling climbed up to my ankle from my tiptoe. I was shocked. My right foot was soaked in water between two slippery rocks covered with moss.
No matter what, the picture that I took for Qintu was wonderful. I would also like to share one tip with all adventurers who like to hike in forest trails: wear a pair of water-resistant shoes if you don't want to get your feet soaked!
“The darkest hour is that before the dawn.” The hardest part was that before lunchtime. We were starving, but time went by slowly.
We went off the BP trial and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant. I ate a little, but my stomach was surprisingly full. We were exhausted. Maybe that was the reason.
Before we headed to our final destination, a high school appeared in our sight. Deep Cove Park was where we ended our hike.
What a gorgeous shore!
When I saw this view, I thought everything, my soaked shoes, wet socks and ice cold feet, even the hunger, was worthwhile, just to see this magnificent view.
I am looking forward to another hike with a pair of waterproof boots :)
All photos cr Nick Lin
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