Finding Inspiration in the City : Stanley Park to North Vancouver

It was a cold, grey, overcast morning  in downtown Vancouver as we headed back to Sunset Beach to resume our trek around English Bay.  Although we are now so close to the completion of this journey, it was a little difficult to make our sore bodies and threadbare gear get motivated to set out onto the crowded, rain soaked sidewalks of the noisy and bustling city.  Perhaps it was made more difficult by the completely incorrect feeling that because we have walked many of the trails we will cover today already, there is little left to discover.  Yet as anyone who walks extensively in their own community knows, there is still much to discover even after years of exploring, but when you're tired it can sometimes be difficult to remember this.

Indeed today’s route along the Trans Canada Trail would itself be proof of being able to have new experiences in your own backyard. Despite decades spent on the west coast and countless trips to Stanley Park in the past we have never walked the complete loop around the seawall.  So as with so much on our #Hike4Birds today would give way to new experiences once again.

As we approached the long sandy beach at English Bay, one of the first things we noticed was the long, graceful, curving, rust-oxidized panels of the Vancouver AIDS Memorial.  The names of over 800 people were engraved under a poem by George Santayana:

"With you a part of me has passed away,
For in the peopled forest of my mind
A tree made leafless by this wintery wind Shall never don again its green array.  Another, if I would, I could not find,
And I am grown much older in a day
But yet I treasure in my memory
Your gift of charity, and young heart's ease, And the dear honour of your amity,
For these once mine, my life is rich with these,
And I scarce know which part may greater be, What I keep of you, or you rob from me."

Today is Remembrance Day, a memorial day celebrated throughout the Commonwealth countries since WWI to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. Although this was a memorial of a different kind, somehow it seemed appropriate to begin the day with thoughts of those who have passed on before us.

We continued around the bay on the Great Trail following Vancouver's famous seawall.  This paved cycling and walking pathway is 28 km long, and has become one of Vancouver's top tourist attractions.  It is used by cyclists, walkers, and rollerbladers, is fully accessible for people in wheelchairs as well as those pushing strollers, and it features heritage landmarks, outdoor art, beaches, vendors, playgrounds, and more. The historic Stanley Park Seawall and extended paved trails have become the longest unbroken urban waterfront walkway in the world.  Despite it being a chilly and somewhat overcast day, it was already full of people when we set off.

Despite the cool morning, as we made our way around the sandy beach at English Bay, we were amazed to see a lady in a bikini calmly walking into the water for a swim.  Not only was the temperature this morning hovering very close to the freezing mark, but she had ridden a bicycle to the beach for her morning swim.  Brrr! Clearly, this intrepid swimmer was made of much sterner stuff than either of us. Perhaps she was preparing for the annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim, which has been held at English Bay since 1920.

A short while later we passed the saltwater swimming pool located just above Second Beach.  The pool first opened in 1932, and in summertime this area is a very popular spot for locals and tourists alike.  However, on this damp, chilly November morning the only ones enjoying the pool were large flocks of Mallards.

After Second Beach the paved cycling trail was no longer bordered by residential areas and small urban greenspaces on the inland side, but rather by the towering trees of Stanley Park's coastal rain forest.  This 405 hectare public park is Vancouver's oldest and largest urban green space.  Stanley Park was originally called Coal Peninsula by settlers, and set aside for military fortifications used to guard the entrance to Vancouver Harbour.  The park was established in 1886, just after the City of Vancouver was incorporated, and it was named after Lord Stanley, the 16th Earl of Derby, and a British politician who had recently been appointed Governor General of Canada.

Prior to European settlement, the land now incorporated in Stanley Park was home to the Squamish and Musqueam Nations.  A large village called Xwayxway, or Whoi Whoi, once stood in the park, with one of its longhouses measuring 61 meters long and 18 meters wide.  Longhouses were occupied by large extended families, and the larger houses were used for ceremonial potlaches. These celebrations involved singing, dancing, storytelling, games, and honouring of the spirit world. They were also gift-giving ceremonies in which wealth and valuable items were destroyed or given away to demonstrate a leader's wealth and power.  Tribal negotiations and other business also took place at these gatherings. From 1885 to 1951 the Government of Canada criminalized potlaches, but the practice persisted, and since it was decriminalized it has re-emerged as an important part of Indigenous governance, especially in the Haida Nation.

Today there are exhibits and kiosks throughout Stanley Park providing information on the First Nations that once occupied the land.  The park also features many other attractions, including the Vancouver Aquarium, the Lost Lagoon, which is a fantastic spot for watching birds, Malkin Bowl, where outdoor concerts are held, the Teahouse, and many gardens and art installations.

For a birder, one of the best parts about Stanley Park is that much of it remains as densely forested as it was in the 1800's.  It is home to coastal rain forest, and some of the trees are as tall as 76 m (250 ft)!  Thousands of trees have been lost during three major windstorms over the past 100 years, the most recent of which was in 2016, but many more trees have been planted, creating lush new undergrowth.  Between the protected lagoons, old growth forests, wetlands, landscaped gardens, sandy beaches, and waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, over 255 species of birds have been reported in the park!  It is also part of the English Bay, Burrard Inlet, and Howe Sound Important Bird Area.

As we made our way along the seawall we were pleased to see a small group of Black Oystercatchers foraging along the rocky shoreline.  These stout shorebirds are easily spotted foraging among the mussels and barnacle rich inter-tidal zones of the Pacific Coast, and they have amazing yellow eyes which have an orange ring around them, and uniquely-shaped black pupils.  So beautiful!

Continuing onward the pathway meandered along the Pacific shoreline and around the foliage and growth of the forest around us.   We soon we came to Siwash Rock, a 32 million year old sea stack.  It was standing like a lone sentinel at the entrance to the Narrows, just off the seawall between Third Beach and the Lions Gate Bridge.  According to a Squamish legend related to the poet Pauline Johnson by Chief Capilano, the rock represents a warrior who, in order to ensure his child's future, was turned into a stone to stand as a symbol of his purity and dedication to fatherhood.  It certainly is a beautiful rock outcropping, and from a certain angle it does indeed somewhat resemble a cloaked figure standing guard.

We'd been seeing small groups of cormorants and gulls, Common and Barrow's Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Mallards, Common Mergansers, American Wigeons and a single Horned Grebe out on the inlet as we made our way along the seawall ridge of Stanley Park.  However, as we rounded a curve in the path, we were surprised and delighted to come upon a huge raft of waterbirds!  On closer inspection it turned out to be a mixed group of more than 700 Surf Scoters and perhaps an equal number of Barrow's Goldeneyes.  It was interesting to see that while the two species formed a relatively continuous group, they mostly stayed segregated within it - the larger and smaller birds only mixing along the shifting dividing line between them.

For much of the walk our view over the water had been of the forested slopes of Bowen Island and the mountains that rise up along the edges of the Straight of Georgia.  As we rounded the end of Stanley Park, past Siwash Rock, we began to see more of West Vancouver on the opposite banks of the Narrows.  A layer of low hanging clouds obscured the upper reaches of the mountains, but we could just see the snow clinging to the lower parts of the forested slopes.

Along with the cityscape came an increased awareness of the traffic out on the water.  We had seen huge ocean liners and barges parked off shore as we made our way along the seawall, and we began to notice the huge ships moving in and out of the Narrows.  The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada, and the fourth largest in North America by tonnes of cargo.  Goods and passengers are moved through 27 deep-sea terminals in the port, facilitating around $240 billion in trade between Canada and 170 economies around the world every year.

Just before we passed under the Lions Gate Bridge we came to a small brass historical plaque for the 'Beaver' on the side of the trail.  On July 25, 1888 the steamship 'Beaver,' which had first been used by the Hudson's Bay Company, then the Coast Guard, and finally to tow barges, log booms, and sailing vessels, slammed into Prospect Point and sank.  The story of the 'Beaver' is often viewed as a reflection of development on Canada's West Coast.

Three months after the wreck of the 'Beaver' the Prospect Point Lighthouse and Signal Station were established. For many years, the light and accompanying fog horn were the only signals mariners had to guide them through the narrow channel into Vancouver's inner harbour.  The Beaver National Historic Site is now located just uphill from the trail at Prospect Point.

We have crossed the Lions Gate Bridge many times on our way to Horseshoe Bay, but we hadn't seen its graceful arches spanning the waterway from below.  The Lion's Gate is a 440 m suspension bridge that opened in 1938, spanning the First Narrows of Burrard Inlet and connecting Downtown Vancouver to North and West Vancouver.  It was named after 'the lions', which are a pair of mountain peaks that north bound traffic heads towards as it crosses the bridge.  In reference to these a pair of cast concrete lions, designed by the sculptor Charles Marega, also adorn the south end of the bridge.

Even though today was grey and overcast, the seawall had been full of people out jogging, cycling, and sightseeing, especially closer to the Second and Third Beaches.  As we rounded the more remote tip of Stanley Park there were fewer people out on the trail, making it easy to enjoy the peaceful forested waterfront.  One of the highlights was stopping to watch a large group of Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants gathered on the concrete pilings as we passed under the footings of the bridge.

As we made our way back towards the city we began to see large groups of people walking back from memorial day services. We passed the Fox's Den Splash Park, which was wedged between the water and the cycling path, and seemed to be very popular with children, even in winter.  A little farther on we came to an impressive carved wooden dragon, which seemed to be breathing fire (or mist) out over the harbour.  We later realized this was a replica of the figurehead on the SS Empress of Japan.

We also came to another seawall landmark - the Girl in a Wetsuit.  This life-sized bronze statue of a woman wearing a wetsuit, swim fins, and a diving mask pushed up on her forehead, was designed by sculptor Elek Imredy, and was unveiled in 1972. It was born from the desire of a Vancouver lawyer, Douglas Brown, to commission a statue similar to the famous Copenhagen Mermaid.  It was independently funded and it is intended to represent Vancouver's dependence on the sea.  I may not be adept at understanding art, but it was a compelling figure that did indeed bring mermaids and fantastical adventures to mind.

As we made our way into the harbour we walked through a small tunnel under the Brockton Point Lighthouse.  A light was first established in this location in 1890, but was replaced with the current structure in 1914.  The light atop the square white and red tower has been inactive since 2018, except for special occasions.

Also located at the lighthouse, and housed in a thick wire mesh cage, was the 9 O'Clock Gun.  This 12 pound muzzle-loaded cannon was cast in England in 1816 and brought to Stanley Park in 1894.  It was fired for the first time on October 15, 1898 at noon, but was subsequently used by the Department of Marine and Fisheries to warn of the 18:00 Sunday close of fishing.  The 21:00 firing was later established to aid mariners in accurately setting their ship's chronometers.  It has been fired more or less every day since its installation, except during WWII and when Engineering Students from UBC play pranks that incapacitated it.

At this point we decided to step off the seawall and visit one of the most popular Indigenous art exhibits in Stanley Park.  There are nine totem poles located near Brockton Point, some of which were carved in the 1880's.  The totem poles were originally brought to Stanley Park in the 1920's from other parts of BC, and they were relocated to Brockton Point in the 1960's.  Totem poles are unique to the north west coast of BC and lower Alaska, and they serve as a kind of 'coat of arms' for the First Nations and Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, including the Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian communities in southeast Alaska and BC, the Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-chah-nulth communities in southern BC, and the Coast Salish communities in Washington and BC.  They are carved from western red cedar, and each one tells of historic or mythical events, commemorates ancestors, and celebrates cultural beliefs that recount familiar legends, clan lineages, or notable events.  They can also be placed to welcome visitors to a village, or serve as mortuary vessels.

For example, one of the poles in the group at Stanley Park is a replica of the mortuary pole raised in honour of the Raven Chief of Gida'nsta, or Skedans, which is a Haida phrase for 'from his daughter' which is a mark of respect for a person of high rank.  The amount of information or wisdom a person can garner from the carvings on a totem pole depended on their knowledge of the area, the culture, the legends, and the peoples who created it.  This one was carved in honour of the Raven Chief.

There was a gift shop and a centre offering additional information on First Nations cultures in BC, but it was very crowded with tourists and locals as we passed through.  Before returning to the trail we briefly stopped to check out the nearby Shore to Shore sculpture, which was created to commemorate the ancestral connection between the area's aboriginal and Portuguese communities.  The sculpture shows Joe Silvey, a Portuguese pioneer, his two wives who came from the Musqueam and Sechelt First Nations, and their 11 children.  The artwork also shows the seine nets and whaling harpoons that they used to make their living.

After this brief break, we continued on past Brockton Point, soon spotting a harbour seal just off shore.  It looked like it was struggling with something as it floated in the water, and we soon realized that it was trying to eat.  It was gripping something large, white, and extremely stretchy in its front paws, and trying to rip chunks off with its teeth. Suddenly it pulled up a long tentacle, and we realized it was eating a huge octopus!  Watching the harbour seal struggle to swallow the 2 ft long tentacle whole, suckers and all, was disgusting, but at the same time it was impossible to look away.

Harbour seals are the most frequently seen of the two-dozen or so marine mammal species that inhabit the BC coast.  Their glossy, rounded heads can often be seen floating just off shore, or they can be seen lounging on rocks or logs along the beach, or basking in the afternoon sun. Weighing 60-80 kg, and measuring up to 2 m from nose to flippers they can dive up to 180 m and stay submerged up to 20 minutes.  They are often very curious, swimming over to take a look if you are paddling a canoe or kayak, or walking on the shoreline.

Shortly after our fascinating and slightly disgusting seal encounter, we heard someone call our name, and saw a young athletic woman coming towards us on the trail.  It turned out that Suzanne had walked out to meet us all the way from Horseshoe Bay, not once, but twice!  She has walked all over the Vancouver and Burnaby areas, and has an in depth knowledge of the trails, which she very kindly shared with us.  Perhaps most exciting of all, she is planning to walk across Canada on the Trans Canada Trail herself in a few years! After struggling with the realities of life on the trail, and the difficulties of trying to share an authentic account of our own experiences with a world increasingly focused inwards and unwilling to challenge accepted assumptions, her enthusiasm, optimism, and fresh perspective were so inspiring for us!  One of our goals when we set out on this #Hike4Birds was to inspire others to explore this vast and beautiful country for themselves, and it was absolutely amazing to think that we might be walking with the next person to set out on this trail!

Given our current level of exhaustion after another year of pushing more than 3700 km across three provinces (and an extra 1100 km while leading a birding hike in Spain) is what we needed most was a boost of energy, motivation, and inspiration.  Today that came in the form of Suzanne, a local angel, whose own excitement boosted our lagging spirits.  As always the trail again provided when we needed it the most!

And so, engrossed in conversation we made our way together into the downtown Vancouver waterfront.  The trail took us around Canada Place, with its iconic white sail shaped roofs.  Prior to its existence, Pier B-C was a terminal for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and its primary purpose was to serve the CPR, Royal Mail, NYK, OSK and other shipping lines trading with Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.  It was also used as a terminal for moving people, vehicles, and cargo to all portions of the Pacific Coast and Vancouver Island.

Canada Place was built as the Canadian Pavilion for Expo '86, and inaugurated by HM Queen Elizabeth II, the Right Honourable Pierre Trudeau, and BC Premier William Bennett.  It was one of the largest and most elaborate pavilions at Expo '86, and hosted over 5 million visitors during the event.  Today it serves as a cruise ship terminal, houses the Vancouver Convention Centre East, the Pan Pacific Hotel, FlyOver Canada, the World Trade Centre, and West Park.

We approached Canada place along the paved waterfront trail that was lined with tall glass condo towers on one side, and offered views of snow capped mountains across the harbour on the other.  We soon noticed a very, very long line of people snaking along the trail.  Suzanne kindly explained that the people were waiting to get into a 70% off sale for Arizia that was being held in the convention centre.  Suddenly we realized we were definitely back in the city, where standing in a lineup that was more than 1 km long for a clothing sale was considered an acceptable activity.  It seemed difficult to imagine people being willing to wait in line that long for a nature viewing opportunity, but perhaps long-weekend lineups at our most popular national parks would indicate differently.   Regardless, as we trekked past these masses of people endlessly scrolling on their phones and waiting for hours in line we felt very far from the wild spaces of Canada that we have enjoyed for so many weeks and months.

We stopped for chai tea lattes at a small café, and sat talking and watching the crowds of people go past.  Suzanne shared a wealth of local knowledge about the history and geography of the local region, showing us just how much you can learn by exploring in your own backyard.  For example, as we made our way into the SeaBus terminal she shared stories of the ghost who inhabits the old station - something we would never have discovered while just passing through on our own.

With our day’s trek nearing its end, we said our goodbyes to Suzanne and boarded the busy ferry bustling with holiday shoppers and their multitudes of shopping bags.  The sea bus took about 10 minutes to cross Vancouver Harbour, taking us from Downtown to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.  The waterfront on the far side was also highly developed, with wooden boardwalks skirting around docks with enormous yachts, warehouses that had been converted to restaurants and pubs, and the Lonsdale Quay Public Market, which is home to around 60 locally owned and operated businesses, selling everything from fresh produce, to gourmet baked goods, fresh flowers, toys, locally produced cosmetics, and products from local artists.

We found ourselves something to eat and sat for a few moments watching the city lights appear as the sun set over the harbour in a blaze of oranges and pinks.  It feels like we've walked back into civilization, bringing a return to the routine of job applications, desk jobs, deadlines, funding applications, and a re-immersion into the world of daily news a little closer.  It also feels unbelievable that tomorrow we will reach the western end of the Trans Canada Trail on mainland Canada.  When we completed our hike across the T'Railway Trail in Newfoundland four years ago, and stepped off the ferry in Sydney, Nova Scotia, it seemed inconceivable that one day we would reach the Pacific Coast on the far side of the continent.  It was too far away to imagine, yet we continued to take one step after the next, and now here we are, so close to finishing the east-west part of this journey!

 

 

See you on the trail!

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