Today we were visiting Shannon Falls and Stawamus Chief’s first peak. We packed our lunch in the common area kitchen of the Squamish Adventure Inn and then headed to our first hike of the day.
Shannon Falls
The falls were beautiful, yet the hike was very short. All in all, it took us around 30-45 minutes to get through the area, take pictures and come back. The area near the falls is very crowded, although not as crowded as other areas we’ll soon discover. If I were to do this again, I’d go bright and early in the morning to be able to get the place for myself and admire the falls quietly.
Stawamus Chief’s First Peak
We were told the hike to Stawamus Chief’s fist peak would be around 3h if memory serves correctly. It was much much longer than that for us inexperienced hikers. Starting the hike, all one could see were stairs, never-ending stairs.
We were also told that the hike would be hard, and we had understood that the difficulty came in the number of steps we initially hiked to get to the top. Little did we know, it meant that the higher we got, the more we’d need to use things like small ladders and metal chains to climb.
Then, just as we thought we had neared the top, we realized that there was close to nowhere for us to grip, the climb was very steep and the rocks very smooth. My partner suggested we quit at that point and come back down. After all, the view was quite beautiful where we were already, the water of a turquoise so bright, it felt like a dream. I was inclined to agree but changed my mind at the last moment and decided, heck, we were going to get to the top if it meant we had to crawl our way there (and at times, it did!).
We had a great sense of achievement when we got to the top! The view so breathtaking and so otherworldly. Things I’d seen in travel pictures or blogs but that I never thought I’d have the pleasure of experiencing or seeing myself, were right in front of my very eyes and no picture could ever compare to the magnificence of seeing it all for myself.
Taka Ramen + Sushi
Once back down to earth, my partner and I went to Squamish village and got ourselves a hearty bowl of ramen each and I, of course, had to get more aburi sushi at Taka Ramen + Sushi.
Today, was a good day, I thought to myself, excited to see what the next day would bring along, as we were headed to Whistler!
Want to read more about our Western Canada Adventures? See our next day in Whistler here or go back and see what one can do in Vancouver here!
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