Giants Head Mountain and Dirty Laundry Vineyard

SUMMERLAND, BC - On a warm and windy September day we jumped on our bikes and rode from the neighbourhood of Trout Creek up to the top of Giants Head Mountain (910m) - a popular park and defining natural landmark of the town. 

The mountain is a large and dramatic rock outcropping which many say resembles a man's profile. It was formed thousands of years ago by a glacier and is also a former volcano.

The ascent took us about 45 minutes, including a few breaks along the way. We usually take our Canon or Sony cameras along but this time we captured the trip on our iPhone.



You can access the park gate along Giant's Head Road (ask anyone in town and they'll point you in the right direction.) From the gate, a winding road leads up to a parking lot. This takes about five minutes by car. If you're on a bike or walking - prepare for a good sweat. Once you've reached the parking lot, it's a short, but steep scramble to the summit. And believe us - it's worth the effort! (Also at the top you'll find a time capsule marking Canada's 1967 Centennial.  It will be opened in 2067.)



Along the road to the top - there are several benches and picnic tables offering equally beautiful views of Okanagan Lake and surrounding valleys.


Following an exhilarating ride down, we rode around the back side of the mountain along Victoria Road. This takes you along part of Summerland's famous 'Bottleneck Drive,' a route linking the town's 11 wineries. On this trip, we stopped at one of our favourites Dirty Laundry Vineyard. A beautiful patio with a stunning view, friendly staff and great wine await your arrival. We parked our bikes (and yes - they have bike parking!) and relaxed with a tasty glass of 2009 Cabernet Merlot.






Dirty Laundry Vineyard (dirtylaundry.ca)

-erick


Strathcona Provincial Park

STRATHCONA PROVINCIAL PARK, BC -Here are some pictures from our latest adventure. We joined our friends Peggy and Roger for a weekend in the backcountry near Mt. Washington. We hiked more than 40km and climbed two mountains over three days. Peggy and Roger are members of the Alpine Club of Canada and wanted to practice their guiding skills. We accomplished what we set out to do; climb Castle Crag and Mount Frink.
We started out at Paradise Meadows and hiked in about 7km to Kwai Lake where we set up camp.


The next morning we set out for a 23 km hike that took us about 12 hours to complete. There was a lot of snow but the hike was well worth it.
The view from the top of Castle Crag.
This photo shows the ridge we climbed to reach the summit of Castle Crag.
Climbing up Mount Frink.


The view from Mt. Washington after hiking back to Paradise Meadows.

-erick