I'd been hankering for a trip up to Squamish for a while so when Bob suggested it, I got all over it like a fat kid on smarty. Awesome riding and a pretty sweet brew pub for after. What was not to like about the idea. Too bad Bob decided not follow up on his own great idea. We dialed up our friends, Chris and Rich, our Squamish outpost hosts, and set up our Saturday for riding.
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| Our bikes waited patiently for some decisions to be made |
We arrived around 9:30 and took some time to discuss our options. There are a shwack of trails in this small town so one must plan wisely. We ended up breaking our day up into 2 chunks. A morning riding in the Highlands area, then over to the other side for Crouching Squirrel, Hidden Monkey.
In the Highlands area we drove to the best start and stop location. We pedaled up to Angry Midget. A fun swoopy trail with some awesome techy roots and A-frames to keep you honest. It was a good start to the day. Sorry, no pics. We were all too busy ripping this super fun trail. For 45 minutes climbing, Midget offered up big returns.
We got back to the car, drove back to Chris and Riches to make decisions for the second part of the day. With Riches help, I dropped off my car at the bottom so we could avoid some nasty climbing back up. We'd then start up the Mashiter and head down Roller Coaster and LumberJacks.
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| Chris rolls some tech on Jacks |
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| Nic had one of those days where it seems roll nicely. |
Upon finishing Jacks it was decision time. Did we have enough or was there more in the tank? I expressed my opinion first, that even if we had to push at the end then at least we could all say we had left it all on the hill. Rich seconded and girls chimed in with their support. Sometimes I try to kill my future wife. Sometimes she surprises me. Maybe she was having the best day of all.
Less than 30 minutes later we arrived at Alice lake, as we had many times before. Instead of carrying on our way, we stopped for a swim. The water was murky but felt so good. We dragged our refreshed carcasses out of the water, put out clothes back onto our soggy bodies and started pedaling up to the next trail head.
I wouldn't say Crouching Squirrel offers as much as entrails, but its still a fun rip for anyone who doesn't mind techy roots and lots of line choosing.
Most of my pics from the day are from this last trail we rode.
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| The top of our last trail, Crouching Squirrel |
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| The girl is smiling |
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| Steeper than it looks |
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| Some lines..... |
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| roll easy |
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| Others require negotiation |
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| Some couples |
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| choose the smoother path |
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| Nice light broth |
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| Chunky Soup |
After 11 years in the biz, its nice to have days that remind you of how huge this sport is. No one can ride all the trails in BC in one lifetime. Squamish offers up so many trail options for relatively few riders. (On the shore, it's the opposite). It was nice to have a day to remind me that I haven't seen it all, that there are trails that I haven't ridden enough and friends that I haven't ridden with enough.
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| No ordinary day. |
At the end of Crouching Squirrel, we motored back to my strategically placed Rogue. Back at our friends house, I was done. The legs were wobbly, the head felt sun baked, and I was still breathing as if to replace oxygen to my body. 4 very quick quick showers then off to the Howe Sound Brew Pub for much needed eats and Beers. I was so tired, I started to get hangry. It took a few minutes for our nurse to arrive, but when she did the day was wrapped up nicely.
Otsukare Sama Deshta! We'll be back soon.
