Lynn Peak

Yesterday, we decided to tackle Lynn Peak for the second time. Although we're still new to Vancouver (aside: after what time period can you no longer use the excuse that you're new to a place?), we like to bring visiting friends and family to Lynn Valley, it's a scenic escape that's not too far from the city, but far enough so as to allow you to wander around the old growth trees, ogle the giant cedars, and fill your nose with that fresh forest (cedar) smell that you can't find elsewhere (I can't get enough of that smell).

 Our favourite place to skip rocks

 30 foot pool and the greenest of waters

The Lynn Valley suspension bridge. That forest looks awfully sinister, but it's really lovely on the other side of the bridge.

Sun rays peaking through tall trees

Anyways, Lynn Peak is a nice, little mountain that we first attempted in April when a few of J's friends (the boys) came to visit. Yesterday, we tackled Lynn Peak for round two. We like Lynn Peak, it's a challenging, but doable, hike.  The doable, we've come to learn, is essential. 

When we first moved to Vancouver, it didn't take long to learn a valuable West Coast lesson that went something along the lines of: "an 'easy' hike in Vancouver is not in the same thing as an 'easy' hike in Ontario. To paint you a picture, our first foray into the world of hiking was the Chief, in which we were lulled into a false sense of security having been reassured that it was an easy, little scramble. It wasn't. At least not if you're unaccustomed to climbing mountains. After dragging and crawling our way, panting, to the peak of the Chief (not unlike this), we had no choice but to believe that the Chief must surely be right up there with Everest in terms of difficulty. I'm hoping that that first attempt left us believing it was such a difficult feat, that the second time around simply has to be easier. I'll let you know once we've worked up the courage to attempt it again. 

Anyways, in the interim, we've been exploring Lynn and yesterday we dragged a couple more visiting friends, K and A, to the top. Below are a few photos, if you'd like to see (as an unrelated side note: the photos are actually from our first climb because yesterday I took out my camera only to realize that someone  - ahem J - had conveniently borrowed the batteries for the Xbox, where they remained, while we stood at the top of the mountain):

A beautiful view to make it all worthwhile

Mountaintop raven; he looks so wise, this guy