Category Archives: Explore BC

Othello Tunnels + Fieldhouse Brewing

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Othello Tunnels – Hope, BC 

Difficulty: Easy

Distance: 3.5kms / 2.2 Miles out and back

Elevation gain: Minimal

Time: 2 hours

Just east of the town of Hope you will find a very impressive piece of British Columbia history tucked away in The Coquihalla Provincial Park. The Othello Tunnels were built in the early 1900’s as part of the Canadian Pacific Railway. A series of 5 tunnels were carved out of granite through the gorge with a raging river below. It’s truly a sight you have to see to believe and imagine the challenges they must have faced all those years ago.

For those movie buffs out there. The area has been used a number of times for some blockbuster movies. If you have seen; Rambo: First Blood, Shoot to Kill, Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog, Cabin in the Woods of War for the Planet of the Apes, you’re probably going to recognize some familiar locations.

We initially had planned on completing a much longer version of this hike but we were unaware after driving an hour and a half to get there, that the park was actually closed for the season. We cautiously ventured in as many others were on this day and only did the tunnel portion.

Once we completed the short hike we decided to head towards home and find some lunch at Fieldhouse Brewing in East Abbotsford. The trail itself is 89 kms from the brewery but we go right by it heading back to town and its a quick 5 minutes off of the Sumas Exit of Highway 1.

As always on weekends, the brewery was packed and the outdoor heated patio was also nearly full even though temperatures were just above freezing. My wife, Theresa really enjoyed her salad and The Sour Wheat Gose while I went for my usual chef special Grilled Cheese and Housemade Tomato Soup which I paired with A delicious Wild Farm Ale. A collaboration between Fieldhouse and Dageraad in Burnaby. It was so good I bought a bottle to go!

Check out the video of our day!

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Buntzen Lake > Brewers Row

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Photo Credit: Corey Bradder @beertifulbc

Craft Beer Tourist Group Hike #1 – July 16th, 2017

Can you think of a better way to spend a day, than to meet up with 30+ like-minded people who share your love for hiking and craft beer so you can enjoy an afternoon navigating a scenic trail and then converging on a local brewery to chat the day away while sipping on the latest IPA release? Me neither!

On July 2nd, 2017 I had an idea to invite my local Instagram followers to join me for a true BC Ale Trail experience hiking around Buntzen Lake, followed by a little brewery hopping in Port Moody’s Brewer’s Row, located a short distance from the trail. I pumped it up through Instagram and Facebook and by the day of the hike there were over 30 people signed up to attend. In the days leading up to the event, I got in contact with the four breweries that make up Brewer’s Row (Twin Sails, Yellow Dog, Parkside and Moody Ales) and asked if they would be interested in donating a prize to be awarded to some lucky hikers. All four of them thought it was a fantastic idea and generously contributed a prize. As the hike was a free event, I asked everyone to come with some canned goods or a cash donation for the Langley Food Bank for a chance to win some beer swag.

Nametags - Craft Beer Touirst

The morning of the hike arrived and for the first time in what seemed like a month, it was raining. I was worried that this would discourage people from attending. I had set the hike meetup time for 8:30am on a Sunday morning too which, given the location, might have been a bit early. I was starting to second guess how many people were going to show up. When we arrived and already saw a few faces, I breathed a sigh of relief. Then a few more showed up and once the crowd had fully formed there were nearly 40 of us! Donations were made, Craft Beer Tourist name tags were on and we were ready to hit the trails.

Group Photo - Craft Beer Tourist

Photo Credit: Corey Bradder @beertifulbc

Buntzen Lake Loop Trail is 8kms long and is listed as “Easy” with a total elevation gain of only 110 metres. It follows the edge of the lake in and out of the trees. With many levels of ability among the group we all set off at our own pace and over time began to spread out. Just over half way around the trail there is a beach that we had all agreed to regroup at and enjoy a trail beer or two. It was the perfect spot to get a great group shot and spend some time meeting everyone. Once our last hiker caught up with the group, we finished the second leg and met back up at our first spot where I gave away the prizes which consisted of a growler and fill at each of the four breweries. Along the way I had encouraged everyone to take pictures of their trail beers and share them on social media using the hashtag #hikeforbccraft. It was actually a great opportunity for me to show my wife that I’m not the only one that takes pictures of all my beers before I drink them!

Fuzzy Wuzzy Peach IPA – Craft Beer Tourist

It was now time to converge on Brewer’s Row. We didn’t have a plan of attack from there. Everyone was on their own to visit the breweries at their own pace. We spent the next couple hours sipping on delicious craft beer and getting to know our new friends as we eventually hit each of the breweries. With everyone wearing their nametags it was easy to spot those that attended the hike.

Twin Sail – Craft Beer Tourist
Yellow Dog – Craft Beer Tourist
Parkside Brewery – Craft Beer Tourist
Moody Ales – Craft Beer Tourist

It was such an amazing day enjoying nature and socializing with so many new friends. I knew immediately that I would definitely be doing this again.

A couple of days later I went to The Langley Food Bank and dropped off 3 big boxes of food and $150 in cash thanks to the generosity of the people who donated that day. The community that surrounds the craft beer industry is a very caring and charitable group of people and I am proud to be a part of it.

Sea to Summit Trail & A-Frame Brewing

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The Sea to Summit Trail – Squamish, BC 

Difficulty: Intermediate

Distance: 7.5kms / 4.6 Miles one way

Elevation gain: 918m /3011ft

Time: 3.25 Hours

The Sea to Summit trail starts out in the parking lot for the Sea to Sky Gondola ride in Squamish, BC. Before you start your hike, make sure you have money with you to pay for the ride back down! The trail wastes no time introducing you to the elevation gain you are about to experience as it begins on the same trail as the world-famous Stawamus Chief with steady uphill climbs and steep staircases. After reaching the turn off point for the Sea to Summit trail we left the masses behind and only saw a few other hikers the rest of the way.

 

 

The trail is a nice break from those hikes that are constant steady uphill grinds. This hike has several spots where is flattens out or heads downhill briefly and allows you to catch your breath and reduce your heart rate. The scenery amongst the trees is stunning, so be sure to slow down once in a while and look around, inhale slowly and deeply, taking it all in! Soon you will be back to a rigorous uphill section that will require your best effort.

 

 

The trail is very well-marked and has a bit of everything including some scrambling and sections where climbing with the assistance of existing ropes and chains is required. Along the way you will pop in and out of the trees and enjoy sweeping views of Howe Sound and beyond but the view once you get to the top will prove to be worth every ounce of sweat.

 

 

Always pack your reward beers
Suspension Bridge at the top The Sea to Summit Trail – Squamish, BC 

After taking some time to explore around the top of the gondola area and participate in an axe throwing challenge, we headed to the gondola for the ride down. From there we set our sights on a visit to A-Frame Brewing to rehydrate and relax.

A-Frame Brewing is just a quick 6 minute drive away from the trailhead so we hopped in the car and headed over. (Directions) A-Frame is a fairly new brewery that opened in December of 2016 becoming just the second brewery in the small town of Squamish and is locally owned by Jeff and Caylin, a sweet couple passionate about craft beer and community. All of their beers are aptly named after lakes from around the naturally diverse region and meticulously crafted by their talented brewmaster, Andrew Sawyer. I decided on a flight consisting of Okanagan Lake Cream Ale, Shuswap Lake IPA, Sproat Lake Dry-Hopped Pale Ale and Magic Lake Porter. Each beer offered something deliciously different and were all enjoyable. The cream ale and the porter we both stand outs for me. We enjoyed the serenity of the afternoon sipping our beers on their newly constructed patio and soaked in the sunshine while enjoying some food from a local food truck. It was a perfect post hike spot to indulge in some of BC’s finest craft beer.