You Can’t Do This Sitting in Traffic on the 405

Part 3
In praise of wrong turns - the other day I was driving to work and I missed the turn. I ended up driving way up the road trying to find a decent place to pull over. Turns out, there’s a whole mountain up there with a beautiful park and miles of trails to explore.

The next chance I had, I put on my hiking boots and set off. This is one of the great things about living in a northern city – it stays late till at least 10pm, so if I get out of the office at a civil time, there’s plenty of day left to have a life.

I set off from the car at about 7:30 but it felt like early afternoon. The trail ahead of me climbed into the trees and along a ridge overlooking Deep Cove to the north. For the first couple of kilometers I followed a wide gravel trail winding through the forest. I was occasionally passed by panting mountain bikers covered in mud. I took a left turn up a single track trail that climbed into the woods. Before long I was scrambling over muddy roots and wading through giant ferns. The trail curved around in a big arc circling the top of Burnaby Mountain before emerging into a clearing at Simon Fraser University. From there I followed a path back to Burnaby Park and my car. The sun was just setting over the Pacific, shining off the harbors of downtown Vancouver below me.


It was a great 8k loop and next time I’m bringing my bike! There were tons of cyclist out there and these trails look great. I’m sure these are considered the bunny slopes of Vancouver – the North Shore is where the hard core riders tear it up – but you can’t beat the convenience of being at the back door of work. I might be leaving earlier and earlier on these summer evenings.