For this trip, we head up north to do some transit hiking in and around Vancouver, B.C. Details will be announced later, but I want to get the dates out now, so that people who need passports or visas have time to get that taken care of.
To reach Vancouver, we will ride the Amtrak Cascades, leaving Seattle on Friday evening and returning Monday evening. This trip is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, so we'll have three full days in Vancouver, without missing work.
Vancouver has an excellent transit system, featuring the SkyTrain plus tons of buses that go pretty much everywhere. The exact set of hikes we will do will be decided as the day gets closer, but you can use this list to get an idea of places we might go:
https://happiestoutdoors.ca/vancouver-hikes-on-transit/
The general plan for each day is we will meet somewhere near downtown around 8-9 AM, ride to the day's trail, hike, come back, have a group dinner, then go to sleep and explore a different area the next day.
Some logistical things to be aware of, as you make plans:
1) Everyone must have a passport, along with an immigration status that allows entry into Canada. It is your responsibility to get all paperwork taken care of in advance. If you want to go, but do not have a passport, or your passport will expire before September 7, I strongly suggest applying for a passport *now*, rather than waiting until the last minute.
2) Everyone is responsible for their own train ticket. We will be taking the Friday evening Amtrak train to Vancouver, and the Monday evening train back, allowing us to get to know each other during the journey. If, for some reason, our train is sold out, you are welcome to buy a bus ticket and meet us there.
3) Everyone is responsible for their own lodging accommodations. You can either get a hotel or rent an AirBnB. To make it easier to meet with the group each morning, I strongly suggest somewhere that is either centrally located, or near a SkyTrain station, as we meet as a group each morning somewhere in or around downtown to ride transit together to the day's trail. Feel free to post comments if you are interested in sharing accommodations with other people and splitting costs.
4) If you have been to Vancouver before and have a Compass Card (their version of Orca card), please bring it. If not, you'll be buying one at a SkyTrain station when you arrive.
