Week 59 - The road trip has started

So far, so good. But of course, not everything could go smoothly.

In the evening, we noticed a splashing sound outside when we let the water run. Julian checked outside to see what was going on and noticed a larger hole in the pipe of the water heater.

Immediately, we contacted the seller and arranged to meet with him the next day. The damage is due to frost, which was definitely not caused by us.

However, the seller was immediately willing to help us.

So on Monday, we headed back to Vancouver... We disassembled the heater together with the seller and decided to order the part and install it again the next day. The seller also directly said he would cover the cost of the part. He was also unaware of the damage.

To make good use of our waiting time, we went without running water to Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver. We went for walks and camped just outside the park.

In Canada, wild camping is allowed, except in national parks, provincial parks, etc.

Then it was back to the seller, and Julian and he spent 3 hours reassembling the heater. Franzi was useless, reading her book and providing everyone with coffee :-)

The heater is all fixed now. Only the hot water isn't working yet, but we don't urgently need that, so on Tuesday evening, we set off again for Britannia Beach without that function.

Now the road trip could really begin :-)

The next morning, we headed to Quercus Point. A lovely little hike with a view.

Since we wanted to do another hike near Squamish, we camped nearby at Raffuse Creek Recreation Reserve.

Recreation reserves are small rustic campsites that are sometimes free and sometimes cost $18. They definitely save money and are often located in the midst of nature.

Here, our truck could finally show what it can do. We drove up a steep gravel path into the forest, and of course, there were potholes too. But that was no problem at all!

The next day, we struggled up Stawamus Chief Mountain. After 2 kilometers mostly consisting of stairs, we had a fantastic view of the surroundings.

Let’s keep it going like this!

One thing we definitely have to get used to: bears.

On some hiking trails, there are signs showing when the last sighting occurred. Most of the time, the date is only a few days old. There are also signs along the road indicating that you are in bear country. We have bought bear spray, but since it only has a range of 10 meters, we hope we never have to use it. Additionally, we bought a bell for the backpack, as bears usually take off on their own if you’re not quiet. Talking, singing, or even the bell can make a significant difference. We’ll see when we encounter our first bear ;-)

Wildfires are also a topic that will accompany us. We have already heard that it is expected to be a hot, dry summer...

This morning we directly received the first warning message on our phone: there is a wildfire 150 kilometers away from us, and a town is being evacuated. Fortunately, we are not heading in that direction. However, it shows us that this issue is ever-present.

From now on, we are always heading towards the Rocky Mountains! We are using the weekend to cover some distance. The dimensions in Canada are just so vast. We haven't quite gotten used to it yet.

By the way, we are also in the middle of summer here; we are back in the Northern Hemisphere, experiencing the same seasons as you :-)

This week we consistently had over 25 degrees (felt like 30 degrees in the sun), and the nights cool down significantly. For our taste, it's a bit too much, as we froze during the first nights and are now sleeping in long clothes.

We feel comfortable in our camper. We're not sure if we like the pop-up tent. It likely saves quite a bit of fuel (we are still using about 20 liters, though), but without raising the tent, you can hardly stay inside. Also, we have less storage space.

Fortunately, we didn’t buy the camper forever, just for a year, and we won’t be living in it during the winter...