Travel - 2016 North America - Vancouver/Seattle

After finishing the trail and resting up at Manning Park for the night it was time to get back too it. Rusty and Lisa were able to get me part of the way to Vancouver and then I had to get public transport for the rest.

When you've basically spend 152 days being g able to go to the bathroom pretty much anywhere anytime 2.5 hours on a bus/train seems like a very... very long time..

On the bus I could see a few people give sideways glances. Hiker or Hobo game in a city had most people putting me squarely on the hobo list I think... if only they knew what I finished just 1 day prior...

When I finally arrived in Vancouver a very kind friend, Justin, met me and gave me keys to his house and put me on the right bus to get straight there. A bed, ensuit, space... All to myself!

I was expecting to rest up for a day or 2 but Justin had another idea. One of his friends was going out for some downhill mountain biking for his birthday. Quite a mixed group was going so despite having zero experience I was offered an invite. Jo was pregnant and couldn't use her bike/gear so it worked nicely.

It was a really awesome time. After a quick warm up on some green runs we headed off for the black ones... Canadian black runs... The first one through seemed ok and I was able to ride most of is. Some narley 2 m roll overs and some small drops but it was fun.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1920"] No Chicken run for this guy.[/caption]



The second black run proved to be a bit more difficult causing me to walk the bike down a good chunk (40%) of it. Lots of steep tight turns and drops. I also managed to get a pinch flat on the very last drop... and when Justin put a new tube on the rim something none of them (the very experience included) had ever seen before happened...



The next 2 days were spent exploring the city a bit more. Yup, looked like a city. I also had probably the most expensive clothes shop in my entire life... not that it was a hard to beat record. .. I headed into their big chain camping store (like I need more gear...) and ended up getting some seam sealer and a duffle bag for all the new clothes :p

Then it was onto Seattle. Had to get to the train station for customs at 520 am so Justin gave me a lift down before he headed to gym. Thanks again for your amazing hospitality! Really made a difference at the end of the trail!

Despite a long line they seemed to move fairly fast and they didn't seem to care much as soon as they saw my Australian passport. Didn't even ask to see my flight out or ask any questions about my stay...

Train rides aren't as smooth as a plane so the 5 hours took a while. Lots more leg room though! I watched a movie but was getting a little motion sick (which has never happened on a plane) so switched to the view out the window. The train cruised down the coast line so there was actually some pretty good views of the ocean.

In Seattle I dropped bags at the hostel and headed into the city. Yup, more tall buildings. I expected the Pike street market to be a little bigger... but I'm not sure why. Did see a few fish being thrown around and looked at a few nick-nacks... all far to heavy to carry :p

For dinner I met a friend from trail. The pub we picked was close to the hostel and a sports stadium... which happened to have a Soccer match that night... so it was a little crowded... Bfast the next morning with another friend and then wandered back through the city past the old gasworks and stopping off at a park known for its views of the city skyline.
Visited the EMP museum which was pretty cool and considered going up the needle but there was a crowd and it was getting late. I also think the underground tour might be good to do... maybe when I'm back in town.

I had enough of the concrete jungle though... time to get back to a real one. I hired a car to see more of Washington with the first destination to be Olympic Park!