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Iceland - Ring Road 2023

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ICE LAND - The Country of Ice and Fire Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon   I recently returned from a seven-day trip to Iceland (July 16–22, 2023). Hopefully, this blog will ease your preparation a little bit :) The moment our rental car left the city of Reykjavik, I felt like we had accidentally entered an uninhabited but enchanting planet—complete with the newly erupted volcano we had seen from the airplane. Vibrant, pristine fields of lupines bursting with life lined both sides of the road. Geothermal vents emitted ethereal smoke (which inspired the name Reykjavik, or “smoky bay” in Icelandic). And one cannot forget the countless awe-inspiring waterfalls scattered across the country, each one openly inviting you to stop and marvel. That said, the cost of living there hit me hard. Everything was double or triple what I normally pay in Vancouver (which is already the third most expensive place to live in North America). So here’s some updated info and tips that you may find helpful—and pos...
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Joffre Lakes - Into the Winter Land

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Forget the turquoise water! It's the winter vibes that you are hardly to get from somewhere else. Distance: 10km (round trip) Elevation gain: 370m Hiking time: 3-5 hours (break included) Pace: Intermediate Hikers are crossing the frozen third Joffre lake Joffre lakes are located in Pemberton, BC. It usually takes 3 hour drive one way from Vancouver but definitely can do for a day trip. These lakes are known for their turquoise water which is caused by "rockflour" reflecting green and blue wavelengths of sunlight, according to BC Parks. In summer, this destination attracts more than 100,00 thousand visitors. It's not too hard to bump into 40 hikers/tourists entering the trail at the same time. In order to beat the crowd and get a parking spot, you may try to stay over night somewhere nearby and start it early. Flocks of people from Vancouver often arrive at the trailhead at 10AM no matter what they transport. What about winter, then?  Is it still b...
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Iceberge Lake Skywalk

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Mountain ranges covered by snow in combination of a flowery meadow makes this trail becomes one of its kind. To be honest, I am a big fan of Google Maps. For this trail, however, Google Maps does not do its job properly. In order to get to the trailhead, I had to use Mapsme and Alltrails. The trailhead of Iceberge lake started from a small parking lot which seemed to like a back yard of a private property, which is called "Skywalk trailhead".  We left Vancouver at 6:30 AM and arrived at the trailhead at around 8:30. There were already 6 cars at the parking lot by the time we arrived. What early birds!! :) There were 1 pit toilet right at the parking lot at trailhead and another when the skywalk started. These toilets were new and clean. The cleanest pit toilet I have ever used in the past 2 years of hiking. :) We took the shortest trail following the 19 mile creek and then the North Skywalk trail. It took us more than 3hrs at the moderate speed to ge...
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St Mark's Summit Day Hike

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If you have been living in Vancouver for a while but have not done this hike, your loss is big! Distance: 11km (round trip) Elevation gain: 460m Highest point: 1370m Hiking time: 3-4 hours (break excluded) Pace: Intermediate (micro-break) St Mark's Summit trail is part of the Howe Sound Crest trail that stretches for 29km from Cypress Bowl to Porteau Cove. From the Cypress downhill parking lot, head towards the nearby skilift  and look for the How Sound Crest trail. I first took a group of hikers up to this trail in June. Unfortunately, when we got to the viewpoint, we could barely see anything. It was completely cloudy even though the weather forecast said it was partly cloudy -_- The St Mark's summit's viewpoint was not high enough so we were trapped in the middle of the cloud blanket. After waiting for an hour for the clouds to clear, we eventually decided to head back without any proper views :( A month later, I decided to give it another try. This time...
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