Is Revelstoke paradise? If not, it's darn close.
Begbie Falls
A short walk down a slope on switchbacking trail led through temperate rain forest with sweeping ferns and towering cedar trees to this pretty waterfall. Large volume of water pouring through a narrow gap in the rocks.
So many mountain bike trails
Must ride them all!
Our first ride here
Dan's bike blew up on a trail called "TNT". Seriously. He managed to fix it though and we headed to one of my favourite trails here so far - Flowdown. It lives up to it's name. Beautiful flowing trail!
We even had a few beach days!
We don't usually enjoy sitting around on a beach but we've had some super hot days here. This is an off leash area for the dogs so they can run around and cool off in the water too. That river is cold, make no mistake. I managed to swim for about three seconds! But the sun warmed me up quickly afterwards.
Mountain bike skills private lesson
We decided to take a lesson with a mountain bike instructor. Brooke from Wandering Wheels was amazing! She spent three hours with us riding a trail and doing drills. I can't believe how much better I'm riding and how much more fun the riding has become.
We went back to that same trail, Stimulus Loop, the next day to practice what Brooke taught us.
Dan and Uma
Racing down Stimulus Loop. Dan got some air off that small ramp in the middle of the bottom half of the photo.
Another day, another mountain bike ride
So many trails, well constructed and well signed. From smooth and flat to steep and loose, to rocky and rooty, this area has it all.
Time for a climb
And then Dan started feeling like his ankle had improved to the point where maybe he could try some rock climbing. Hooray! We went to Mulvihill Canyon, only 2 km down the road from where we're staying, and found this beautiful rock. There are many bolted routes in this area, only a 5 or 10 minute walk from the road. Here I set up a top rope and Dan tried some moves. Good news! His ankle held up really well!
Another climbing day
We went back to Mulvihill Canyon, hiked in a bit further and found these two routes. In the centre of the photo, that large corner that sticks out is called an arete. If you look closely, you will see a line of bolts gonig up on either side of the arete. We climbed both lines. Such fantastic routes! I thoroughly enjoyed these climbs. We did a couple more at an area back down the trail. This time Dan led too, no top ropes were set. A great climbing day.
Another mountain biking day
We checked out a new area called Boulder Mountain. We rode up gravel roads to the top of a trail where we could look down on the town of Revelstoke.
Here the start of the trail, Man Quads. It was quite a challenge with steep technical sections.
Rock Climbing Day at Begbie
We climbed this beautiful arete, thr first bolted route in the Revelstoke area. It is a classic.
Back to Flowdown
Another mountain biking day and I really wanted to ride Flowdown again. Here you see the trail switch backing down the hill on the right side of the photo. Town of Revelstoke in the background.
One Last Climbing Day
We went back to Begbie and climbed at the Cool Wall. It was a very hot day and this wall promised shade. We were disappointed here. The climbs were rated 5.9, 5.10a, and 5.9. At home, climbs with these ratings would be warm ups for us. But here we could tell just by looking that these climbs were way harder. I struggled on a 5.9 here when at home I climb 5.10c first try with no falls or takes. Man!
Mountain biking at Mount Revelstoke
We had a blast mountain biking at the ski hill. We bought lift tickets and rode the gondola up the mountain. The downhill trails are great! I preferred the Free Ride trails to the technical trails. Lots of banked corners and flowing terrain. Super fun!
A hiking trail near our campground
Our favourite place to stay in Revelstoke - Blanket Creek Campground - is actually about 25 km outside the town. It's set in a beautiful temperate rain forest with nice hiking trails.
