Day 13: Boats, Birds, Bikes, and Bears

Wednesday was by far the best weather day we've had! The sky was sunny and completely clear and the temperature was high (~80). We started out with a guided canoe trip meandering down the River of Golden Dreams from Alta Lake to Green Lake. I was a little unsure of this adventure, being that I'm not the best watersport person. But when our guide, Amanda, said she would be in the canoe with Kim and I, I felt much more confident that we would not end up in the ice-cold water. (Besides, Amanda was pretty cute.) Robert and Carolyn were each in their own kayaks, and everyone made it without incident. Actually, it was quite nice and I'm glad we did it. We saw beaver dams, ospreys in flight, and wild roses growing on the banks of the river. At the take out (that's the new phrase I learned for where you pull your boats out of the river), four mountain bikes were waiting for us. We spent the remainder of the afternoon pedaling around Whistler. We ate lunch at the base of Whistler mountain at Black's and saw a mama bear and her cub on the mountain. Lots of people were around, and they didn't seem to care at all. We've seen signs all week about how Whistler is bear country, and even the trash cans in the village area are bear-proof. Other than the sunburns, it was another great day!

Alta Lake - starting point for our trip down the river


Robert mastering his kayak


Carolyn mastering her kayak