Vancouver and the Lion's Gate

 


North Vancouver


Downtown Vancouver from Lion's Gate bridge




Tuesday, September 15

Only two days of progress on the TCT this year.  The route went through North Vancouver, then uphill along the Capilano River to Capilano Lake.  The lake is formed by the Cleveland Dam, and downstream is the Capilano footbridge, which is a very popular tourist landmark.  Then the trail descends to sea level through the town to the SeaBus terminal.  The SeaBus is a ferry which crosses the Burrard Inlet which separates North Vancouver from downtown.  The SeaBus wasn't running so that meant the end of the trail for me this year.  The stopping point was 16th Avenue.

Not part of the official TCT, but now I had to return to my car somehow.  What separated me from the car was the Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River.  In order to cross the Burrard Inlet, I had to now take the Lion's Gate Bridge to get to the downtown area.  It is a massively high bridge  with the deck over 200 feet above the sea level to permit ships to gain the Burrard Inlet.  There was a sidewalk on the bridge that I was able to ride on, and I got some great views of the skyscrapers and the famous Stanley Park. (Named after the same guy with the Stanley Cup).

The Fraser River was a more substantial challenge to cross.  There is no bridge over the river in this area; the only way to get back was through a tunnel!  Riding on the road in the tunnel was courting suicide. Finally around 10:00PM I found a bus stop and on the last bus of the night, I was able to travel through the tunnel, and back to the car.



  Stanley Park from Lion's Gate

            Downtown Vancouver from the bridge.


Stopping Point for 2015
         Lake Capilano formed by the Cleveland Dam




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