Lost

I set off to hike the Baden Powell trail this morning.  

For the life of me I could not find the trail head at the Horseshoe Bay end.  I wandered up and down the highways, battled pricker bushes and crossed streams, but the trail head never showed itself...

After a bit I just started to run.  I ran along the highway with swarms of road bikers headed north.  After a few km it seemed my only option was to start up route 99 to Squamish.  Thats not a smart place to go for a jog, so I turned toward the ocean. 

Running along the top of the highway dividers

I stumbled upon the the CN Railway that stretches from Vancouver all the way up to Prince George, BC.  So I continued my jaunt from Horseshoe Bay up to Lion's Bay via rail!

Somewhere along the CN Railway

At Lions Bay Marina I was met with another rail traveler.  Unfortunately for me, it was a train.   I peeled off the track, ran up to the highway and hitched a ride homeward.

The Train

At the on-ramp for Lions Bay I stuck my thumb out and the first car to come by picked me up.  Shirley, a late 70 something ball of fire regaled me with her plans to drive into town and find a new sudoku book, how she was getting a new puppy soon and how a super senior pass at Whistler is a whooping $140!  We weaved down the sea-to-sky and into North Van and over to Park Royal.  It was still early so I ran some more.

Back across the Lion's Gate Bridge, through Stanley Park and finally over the Burrard Bridge back into Kits, I made it home.  After a failed attempt at an early spring hike I still managed to get a good 20+km run in, meet a new friend and have an excuse to demolish a Michael Phelps-sized breakfast and take a 3hr nap!