Jasper, solo.

I stayed in the only hostel in Jasper which sat 8 kms out of town so I had to make use of the daily shuttle bus into town at 0800 and back out at 1800. This gave me ample time to sample the excellent cafes and then head out onto the hiking trails. On my first day I covered 12 kms heading out to Pyramid Lake and then Patricia Lake. I did get slightly concerned about the warnings of bears as I didn’t see a single person on the entire trail! I managed to find out that I had to make lots of noise and look scary, not difficult I hear you cry!!

On my second day I hiked to the top of Old Fort Point for 360o views of Jasper and the surrounding lakes and mountains, on my way back to town I followed the trails around a few of Jasper’s many lakes.

At 1630 I sat at the train station waiting for Hanna to arrive on the train ready to embark on a week of driving around the Rockies from Jasper through to the Icefields Parkway, Lake Louise, Banff and finally Calgary.

The Skeena

I arrived at the train station at 0700 ready to check in for the Skeena train. Boarding commenced at 0800 and as there were very few passengers we departed at 0815. The first day was a long 12 hour stretch from Prince Rupert to Prince George. The scenery along the way was stunning and was a great way to prepare for what I was going to see in the Rockies. We also had a few bear sightings and a couple of stops in tiny villages along the way.

I had to stay in a bed and breakfast in Prince George as there isn’t a hostel. I booked the Olive Tree B&B and was greeted at the train station by Norman, the proprietor who drove me out to their very nice family home. After tea and a chat I had a lovely nights sleep in the big double bed, a rare treat!

The following morning I had to be up at 0600 in time to enjoy Norman’s scrambled eggs before he drove me back to the station ready for the Skeena, part 2.

Today was a slightly shorter day, departing at 0730 and arriving in Jasper at 1630. Along the way, the scenery was constantly changing until we started to travel through the Rockies, an amazing sight.

Arriving in Jasper, I found a really nice town with an incredible backdrop of snow-capped mountains, I had a feeling I would like it here!

Prince Rupert

Due to the fact that the Skeena train only departs on certain days, I had 4 nights in Prince Rupert. Hanna was with me for the first 2 days during which we explored the small town, visited the Cannery and treated ourselves to drinks and dinner in the towns best restaurant. Needless to say that after 3 martinis and a bottle of red wine we slept well!

After Hanna left to go to Alaska I headed off to the outskirts of towns to make use of the trails and see the Butze Rapids and Golden Bay. My final day was spent catching up on the mundane day to day stuff like laundry and re-packing my rucksack yet again ready for my 2 day train journey to Jasper.

Port Hardy and the Inside Passage

I caught up with Hannah again on the bus to Port Hardy, our departure point for the Inside Passage ferry to Prince Rupert. Along the way we met Tasmin, Chris, Fibi and Marcel who were also taking the ferry. After getting an early night we were all up at 4am the next day to get the shuttle bus to the ferry.

The inside passage is a 15 hour ferry journey along a series of passages between the mainland and the coastal islands. It departs Port Hardy and goes all the way through to Skagway in Alaska. However we were going to Prince Rupert, 29kms south of the border with Alaska.

The journey was incredible, it is common for the journey to be wet, grey and foggy but we were lucky, the sun shone all day allowing us to sit out on deck taking in the views. The views varied from open sea to thick forests and waterfalls to snow capped mountains. We saw lots of whales which again was very exciting. Hannah and I enjoyed a few beers, raising a glass to Dad.

We docked in Prince Rupert at 2230 tired but happy. We were picked up and taken to our hostel, I fell into bed and enjoyed a long nights sleep.

Tofino, Vancouver Island

It was great to escape the city and head to the west coast of Vancouver Island, the 5 hour bus journey took me through some stunning scenery and gave me a taste of what was to come in Tofino.

I arrived mid-afternoon and found Whalers Guesthouse, a YHA affiliated hostel with an amazing location over-looking the harbour. I went off to explore the small picturesque town and booked a day trip to the Hot Springs for tomorrow, I had considered another whale watching trip but decided against it!

I was very relieved that I did, as 10 minutes later I stood on the harbour and watched 2 whales swim through the middle! It was an incredible sight and was completely free!

Back in my room, I met Hannah from Dublin. We were both very excited about the whales and decided a celebratory drink was in order, any excuse!

Hannah also managed to get booked on the trip to Hot Springs Cove so at 9am the next morning we boarded our boat and took the 2 hour boat trip, along the way we saw more eagles, stunning scenery and, you guessed another whale! So we arrived at Hot Springs Cove and walked the 2km trail through the forest and found the hot springs. They were maybe 3m from the freezing cold sea water so we doubted the definition of Hot Springs but were amazed when we were almost scalded by the hot water pools! 2 hours later, hot and wrinkly we headed back to the boat! Once again, on our return journey we saw a whale, it was still very exciting to see and something I could watch for hours.

Back in Tofino Hannah and I walked for an hour out of town to find a roadside shack that apparently sold the towns best fish and chips, we were very impressed!

In order to walk it off we thought we’d take the long route back along the beach. Unfortunately we only made it 100m along the beach before we found Pointe Bar and Restaurant. Situated on the rocks overlooking the beach, it was too perfect to miss so we found ourselves in a very swanky bar drinking fine wine, sat by the fire taking in the views,. It was a lovely evening even if we did then have to walk for an hour in the rain to get back!

Tofino is a lovely town and I wish I had spent more time here and less in the city but it was already time to move on.

Unfortunately you cannot get from Tofino to Port Hardy in one day so I had to stay overnight in Port Alberni, a very small little town with little to see so I won’t bore you with the details!

Victoria, Vancouver Island

I arrived in Victoria and spent my first afternoon exploring the city and a market near Chinatown. I walked around the harbour area and to be honest was fairly unimpressed with the city. On my second day I walked to Craigdarroch Castle with a plan to spend a couple of hours there. How they can call it a castle I’ll never know! It’s basically an old house, a big house to be fair, that was built by Robert Dunsmuir in the 1890s. I decided against paying the entrance fee just for the privilege of seeing a rich guy’s house!! Instead I took a walk around the gardens of Government House. On my way back to town I walked through Cook Street village and St. Ann’s Academy. By now it was pouring with rain so decided to go to the cinema and saw Don’t Mess With Zohan, maybe the most bizarre film I’ve seen in a long time!

My final day in Victoria was spent whale watching, or at least that was my plan. We saw some amazing scenery, eagles, sealions and porpoises, but still no damn whales!! It was also freezing cold so I warmed myself up with a late lunch at Willies Cafe!! Amazing eggs benedict and good hot English tea!!

Nanaimo, Vancouver Island

I started off by getting the bus from Downtown Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay, where I got the ferry to Nanaimo. It was still grey, overcast and wet so again the views weren’t great. I arrived in Nanaimo and found the Painted Turtle Guesthouse which is probably the nicest place I’ve stayed in so far (obviously excluding Hotel SO!). A brief walk around the small town made me wonder what I was going to do for 3 days! However, at least the weather was forecast to improve and there was going to be a Farmers Market the following day and a Boat Show on all weekend.

That said, the Farmer’s Market consisted of about 10 stalls and took about 10 minutes to see, and the Boat Show was the harbour area turning into what I would expect to see in any UK marina.

But, the sun was shining! SO I took full advantage and got the ferry to Newcastle Island, a small island which is now a marine park. It was a nice area to walk around ad finally see some of the stunning scenery that BC has to offer.

I then got the ferry from Newcastle Island to Protection Island, home to about 300 permanent residents but more importantly to the Dinghy Dock Pub! Apparently North America’s only floating pub. A perfect spot to soak up the sun and enjoy a nice pint!! Back at the hostel, I met Tina who was visiting from Oz and working for the British Red Cross, we went out for a couple of drinks at the Oxy Pub which I can only describe as a local place for local people!!!

On my last day in Nanaimo I got the ferry to Gabriola Island, unfortunately it is difficult to get around without a bike or car. I was surprised to find there wasn’t anywhere within walking distance to hire a bike. So I managed to cover one end of the island by foot and seeing a few of the artist studios before returning to Nanaimo. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the park, soaking up the sun and reading my book.

Vancouver

I arrived in Vancouver and was greeted by wet, grey and cold conditions! No point in being upset by this, as Vancouver is not known for it’s sunshine. I spent the afternoon getting my bearings downtown and visiting Canada Place for views of Stanley Park, it’s also a good spot to view the mountains but not today as there was too much cloud.

In the 3 days here I have covered most of Downtown and Gastown. I have visited Granville Island which has some great artist studios and an excellent market. I spent a day at Stanley Park and walked the 10knm perimeter, stopping for lunch by Beaver Lake.

I also met up with Chris, one of the notorious Wilson clan! It was nice to see a friendly and familiar face, we enjoyed a few beers and had some good food at the Steamworks Brewery.

Sadly I haven’t been able to truly appreciate the scenery here as the wet weather has continued, I am hoping things improve for my stay on Vancouver Island which starts tomorrow.

Seattle

Having forced myself to leave Portland, after stocking up on cheap books and dvds, I headed north to Seattle. My hostel was on the corner of Pike Place, home to the famous Pike Place Market and the world’s first ever Starbucks. Needless to say my first afternoon was spent checking out both the market and Starbucks!

On day 2 I visited the University of Washington. On my way back to Downtown Seattle I visited Seattle Centre and the Space Needle, a tower and observation deck overlooking the city. The sun was finally shining o I thought it was only right to enjoy a pint or two in a local beer garden.

My final full day in Seattle was a Saturday and the first day of the Pike Market Festival. There was a parade, live music, BBQs, the huge market and a great atmosphere. I also managed a visit to the Seattle Art Museum, mainly due to the rain!!!

Although there’s not a huge amount to see and do in Seattle, its a great place to kick back and relax and sample the delights of everyday life here.