First time into Canuck Country for this hobo and it did not disappoint. The west coast has so much to offer once you venture across the Washington border. Our first stop was Whistler for some mountain biking and general sun basking as we were missing out on the late Indian Summer in San Francisco this year. We met up with some fellow hobos and were lucky enough to score some bed space in a cabin rental just west of the mountain lodge. Ironically, we ended up supplying dinner for everyone from the van - Hobo Sandwich Specials all around - and we settled in for our first night out of the van since leaving home.
WHISTLER CREW: MARSHALL, ALEXA, MEGAN, JOHNNO, JAMIE, SAM
Whistler, named for the high pitched "whistle" of the local Hoary Marmots, is a resort town situated on the Girabaldi mountain range. We jumped right in the next morning for a peak to peak tour with the crew and it did not disappoint. With a Peak to Peak pass, which you can buy at the lodge, you hop on a series of lift and gondolas (one of which has a glass bottom for bear watching) across the peaks at Whistler Blackcomb. The views are stunning and with good company on sunny day you can easily kill a few hours on this tour.
Beyond the mountain, which is set up for downhill mountain biking that fuels a lot of the summer tourism, Whistler is a lot like Lake Tahoe in the summer. Great hiking, bike paths and smaller but equally charming lakes. We posted up at Rainbow Lake for an afternoon hang and swimming session - just make sure to do a rinse after diving in. The area is known for potentially causing swimmer's itch (I'll let you look that one up on your own).
We started to plot our next adventure as the days in Whistler flew by - debating between Vancouver Island and heading back into the states to visit the Olympic Rainforest in Washington state. We decided to extend our stay in B.C. and began the journey towards downtown Vancouver to catch a ferry the islands - Marshall, Alexa and Bongo in tow!
Getting to Vancouver Island was a lot of work but well worth it. The ferry from Vancouver brought us to Nanaimo, a town on the southeast side of the island. Equipped with our van home we headed west for about 3 hours through the mountains to arrive in Tofino. Both Tofino and its southern neighbor Ucluelet are tiny and cater to the surf community with miles of beach, crystal clear waters and some pretty epic beach camping. What's cool about this part of B.C. - what was also great about Oregon - are the beautiful beaches hiding behind thick forest waiting to be discovered. The other thing that makes the beaches on this island special are all the little "beach forts" made with driftwood and tree stumps along the beach.
Because our trip was last minute we landed in an overflow lot at the Surf Junction Campground where we were warned of wolves, bears and COUGARS. Yikes! Luckily we didn't encounter any of these forest monsters and we made sure to keep Bongo close by on our excursions. We spent three nights here hanging at the beach, hiking and surfing, eating camp dinners and fighting over the single power source in the van for changing iPhones. The van definitely gets cozy with four (four and a half including Bongo) but it makes our adventures that much more special!
Alexa and Marshall bought us a nice dinner on the last night at a great spot, Wolf in the Fog. The Spanish Bombshell (pictured below) certainly lived up to its name and after a few cocktails and full bellies we all declared our love for this place and started adding Wolf merchandise to our tab.
Vancouver Island - you haven't seen the last of us!
- Megan, HOBO 1