TCT Social Club 2012

I claim Section 1, #6 and #7.  Completed with a broken big toe, in the rain, as part of the KneeKnacker training run on Sunday 17 June! 

I already claimed this verbally, but here I go: As part of the XTC I ran the Skyline Trail last Saturday.  Claiming:

1. Skyline Trail (7.8 km) SL

​Also noticed that I did not get credit for the "Capilano Regional Park Trail (to the Fish Hatchery) (1.0 km) CR1" section that I ran way back when (I might not have realized when claiming that part of my bag was in West Van...)

Parked the car at New Brighton Park. The TCT follows the Burnaby Heights, and Scenic View trails eastward only occasionaly coming out of the woods onto the road. I grew up on the hill above the 2nd narrows bridge and it's very cool to see how all these trails have been connected now. I was around 8 when the train tunnel went in and can still remember all the worry around the hood that the houses were being damaged by the blasting. Didn't turn out to be a problem except in a few isolated incidents along Boundary road. Got slightly off route in a few spots even with the GPS but generally fairly easy to navigate and reasonably well signposted. I was surprised that the trail went through woods next to Barnet Highway rather than following it directly. It's hard to see that on the track but close enough to hear the traffic. A very pleasant walk through Rocky Point Park in Port Moody and then stopped for a coffee break at Gallagher's in Newport Village. There is an open wifi hotspot here. The trail continued on extensive greenbelts all the way through the tri-cities until it opened onto the DeBoville slough and the mighty Pitt River with it's rural charm. This area will soon fall victim to our continued urban sprawl with significant construction in progress.

Caught the 701 bus on Lougheed Highway (at Sherling Ave) to Coquitlam Station and then the 160 to the Kootney Loop. Note that the 160 goes to downtown Vancouver. Get off at Cassiar St (1 stop past Kootney Loop) if returning to New Brighton Park.

Total distance was 42km. Time was 6 hours plus a 45 minute stop at Gallagher's. Still managed to cut the grass when I got home so that may have helped the legs recover. 

Next trip will be the Pitt River to Fort Langley section which appears to be the eastern edge of Translink's bus system. Transport logistics will become more difficult beyond there.

It strikes me that this whole trail could make a fascinating multi-day fastpacking trip with interesting urban camping challenges. There are lots of food sources en route.

SECTION 4 - Burnaby

1. Burnaby Heights Trail (2.3 km) BH
2. Scenic View Trail (2.2 km) SV
3. Hastings Trail (2.0 km) HA
4. Burnaby Mountain Park Trail (5.6 km) BM

SECTION 5 - Port Moody

1. Inlet Trail (4.8 km) IN
2. Shoreline Trail (1.7 km) SL
3. Moody Centre Trail (1.4 km) MC

SECTION 6 - Coquitlam

1. Guildford Way Trail (2.0 km) GW
2. Hoy Creek Trail (1.0 km) HC
3. Town Centre Park Trail (1.4 km) TC
4. Coquitlam River Trail (2.9 km) CoR

SECTION 7 - Port Coquitlam

1. North Traboulay PoCo Trail (4.7 km) NT
2. Northeast Traboulay PoCo Trail (5.8 km) NET

1. Seaview Walk Trail (3.5 km) SW
2. Nelson Creek Trail (1.5 km) NC
3. Cypress Creek Trail (2.4km) CC
4. West Cypress Creek Trail (5.7 km) WC
5. East Cypress Creek Trail (4.1 km) EC
6. Skyline Trail (7.8 km) SL

I'm not a CFA member. (Would join but can't afford it). Hope that's alright.

Ran the Burnaby sections of the TCT with Pat today. Please mark us down for:

SECTION 4 - Burnaby

1. Burnaby Heights Trail (2.3 km) BH
2. Scenic View Trail (2.2 km) SV
3. Hastings Trail (2.0 km) HA
4. Burnaby Mountain Park Trail (5.6 km) BM

​I also finished the last of the Vancouver section in the process (New Brighton to the Vancouver-Burnaby border).

And you can add teh following to Ean's tally:

SECTION 4 - Burnaby

1. Burnaby Heights Trail (2.3 km) BH
2. Scenic View Trail (2.2 km) SV
3. Hastings Trail (2.0 km) HA
4. Burnaby Mountain Park Trail (5.6 km) BM

SECTION 5 - Port Moody

1. Inlet Trail (4.8 km) IN
2. Shoreline Trail (1.7 km) SL
3. Moody Centre Trail (1.4 km) MC

SECTION 6 - Coquitlam

1. Guildford Way Trail (2.0 km) GW
2. Hoy Creek Trail (1.0 km) HC
3. Town Centre Park Trail (1.4 km) TC

Plotting to run:

SECTION 4 - Burnaby

1. Burnaby Heights Trail (2.3 km) BH
2. Scenic View Trail (2.2 km) SV
3. Hastings Trail (2.0 km) HA
4. Burnaby Mountain Park Trail (5.6 km) BM

Looking for a partner in crime for Monday. Slow pace, some walking.

Thanks to Wendy for dragging me out into the suburbian wilderness of PoMo and PoCo.  I was pleasantly surprised by the trails in PoCo.  Nice, runnable, forested trails.  Unfortunately, I was not feeling all the bouncy and slowed Wendy down.  Luckily, Wendy's calculations were slightly off and we emerged at our dropped off vehicle much sooner than expected.

Claiming:

SECTION 5 - Port Moody

Moody Centre Trail (1.4 km) MC

SECTION 6 - Coquitlam

1. Guildford Way Trail (2.0 km) GW
2. Hoy Creek Trail (1.0 km) HC
3. Town Centre Park Trail (1.4 km) TC
4. Coquitlam River Trail (2.9 km) CoR

SECTION 7 - Port Coquitlam

1. North Traboulay PoCo Trail (4.7 km) NT  (Wendy, I think this is were you miscalculated, this section is only 2.5km long according to the TrailsBC website)

Perfect day for a run on the TCT trail.  Started at home and headed over the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge to the start of the Burnaby Height Trail.

SECTION 4 - Burnaby

1. Burnaby Heights Trail (2.3 km) BH
2. Scenic View Trail (2.2 km) SV
3. Hastings Trail (2.0 km) HA
4. Burnaby Mountain Park Trail (5.6 km) BM

SECTION 5 - Port Moody

1. Inlet Trail (4.8 km) IN
2. Shoreline Trail (1.7 km) SL

Hi Wendy,

I ran around a sun drenched Stanley Park today, started in Kitsilano and went to Water Front Station, completing the Vancouver sections:

1. Coal Harbour Trail (2.4 km) CH
2. Stanley Park Trail (8.2 km) SP
3. West End Trail  (3.6 km) WEP

Only managed to do part of South False Creek Trail portion of TCT done the evening of May 5th. From Cambie Street bridge to Burrard Street Bridge using the 'Seaside' path and over the Bridge to Downtown.

Can't tick off SF portion of Section 3 yet...

Parked at New Brighton Park. Ran to Waterfront station to meet the trail. Had a nice leisurely run around Vancouver. Continued finding the signage for the cycle and hiking routes confusing since they are in such close proximity to each other. There are a number of spots where there are large signs showing a change in direction for the cycle route when the hiking route goes in the opposite direction and has no signage at all. This is particularly true when coming off Burrard Street bridge at Cornwall and when coming down Wall street back to the New Brighton Park parking lot. The hiking path goes over the bridge and through the park where the cycle path heads straight through the parking lot. The day was overcast and dry, very pleasant for running with lots of people out walking and running. Distance: 28km. Time: 3:24. New Brighton to Waterfront Station: Distance: 5.7km Time: 0:37. Will do a lunch break in Chinatown next time.

SECTION 3 - Vancouver

1. Coal Harbour Trail (2.4 km) CH
2. Stanley Park Trail (8.2 km) SP
3. West End Trail (3.6 km) WE
4. South False Creek Trail (4.3 km) SF
5. Chinatown and Portside Trail (8.8 km) CT

Here's the track: http://www.clubfatass.com/files/TCT3Vancouver.gpx

Next: Start from New Brighton Park. Do Burnaby, Port Moody, Coquitlam, and PoCo sections. Lunch/snack/muscle break at Newport village. Bus back to Kootney Loop. Distance: 37.8km Estimated time: 6 hours.

I'm going to do the Vancouver section of the TCT tomorrow as a loop starting from New Brighton Park.

http://www.trailsbc.ca/southwest_region/van.asp

Approx loop distance is 32km. Estimated time is 3.5 hours.

Start at 8:30 at new Brighton. Will run down to Vancouver sea bus terminal to join the trail.

Let me know if you're interested.

Had a short run on the TCT today.  Completed the Shoreline Trail section in Port Moody.

Shoreline Trail (1.7 km) SL

Wendy and I can check off part of SECTION 3 - Vancouver:

• South False Creek Trail (4.3 km) SF
• Chinatown and Portside Trail (8.8 km) CT

Routefinding was interesting and we are learning that some of the trail has either not been marked or leaves option for various routes.  read my blog post here: http://clubfatass.com/blog/sibylle/tct-social-club-vancouver-new-brighton-park-kitsilano

OpenStreetMap is a global mapping initiative for the people. Tens of thousands of map editors around the world have been contributing to the global map since 2006 and it is becoming very mature. It provides free open source map data for anyone's use and there are literally hundreds of mapping applications which use this as their core data. If you have recently downloaded mapping software to your iphone, ipad, or android device you have probably seen openstreetmap data. A specific rendering of this data showing contours is called opencyclemap and is used by cyclists and backpackers all over the world.

I recently became an openstreetmap contributor and have been filling in or correcting missing bits and pieces of the map on the North Shore. In particular, there were missing sections of the Trans Canada Trail in Capilano Park that I've added or corrected. This includes Big Fir Trail, Second Canyon Viewpoint Trail, Cable Pool Bridge, Coho Loop Trail, and Chinook Trail. There was also a section missing in Horseshoe Bay on the way up to Marine Drive.

To clarify, OpenStreetMap doesn't show the route that the Trans Canada Trail follows but it should have all the underlying roads and trails on it. This is now the case for sections 1 (West Vancouver) and 2 (North Vancouver).

See http://openstreetmap.org for more info.

I completed one lap of the Burnaby Mountain course on Saturday.  It included part of the TCT, so I'm going to claim it!

April 15, 2012

Waited till SunRun was finished with the down town core.

Afternoon run downtown. Having done part of the Portside subsection from East to West on Day 3, I decided to work on the Vancouver Part from the "other direction". Started at Waterfront/Seabus status and ran my way counter-clockwise around the TCT to the Downtown end of the Burrard Street Bridge -- calling it a day for the TCT portion of my Sunday run.

So I'm still working on the Vancouver Part of the TCT, but I did actually complete the sub-sections

Part of SECTION 3 - Vancouver

1. Coal Harbour Trail (2.4 km) CH
2. Stanley Park Trail (8.2 km) SP
3. West End Trail  (3.6 km) WE
4. not started
5. not being claimed yet

Cool/breezy -- partially cloudy...transitioning to mostly sunny!

Claiming 3.1 to 3.4. I ran some of 3.5, but my real destination was the JJ Bean's in the middle of 3.5 (Powell and Victoria) to buy green coffee beans, and I couldn't really run further while carying them, so I hopped on a bus. Will have to finish 3.5 in a later run.

 SECTION 3 - Vancouver

1. Coal Harbour Trail (2.4 km) CH
2. Stanley Park Trail (8.2 km) SP
3. West End Trail  (3.6 km) WE
4. South False Creek Trail (4.3 km) SF

​I recommend a street map for the 3.5 section in Chinatown/Strathcona. The written instructions on trailsbc.ca are not always very clear on which way to go when turning on a street (North or South, say). With a map it's a lot easier.

Also, I'd like to run Section 1 and 2 next week-end. David and Bill make it sound like so much fun! Anyone interested? It's clearly not going to be easy nor fast.

I completed sections 1 and 2 on Friday. Expected time was 4 hours, actual time was 8.3 hours, ugh! Cycled to Lonsdale Quay, bused to Horseshoe Bay. 7km on snow from km 8 to 15 (counting from Horseshoe Bay). Snow line began at 700m. Followed Crerar tracks on the west side of Cypress creek to the Raven Ridge chair. Made fresh tracks on the east side back to Cypress Bowl road. Post holing to knee depth in many places. Had gaiters so avoided blood. Lots of creek crossings slowed things down. Didn't bring snowshoes but would highly recommend them for the snow section which is not very consolidated yet. Didn't run much towards the end. Too bagged and soar soggy feet. In another couple of months this should be do-able in 5 to 6 hours. Would definitely hold off on the Cypress Creek sections until late June/July. The TCT is well signposted most of the way, even on the road sections but definitely bring the route descriptions. Ice cream and drink at Quay, then cycled home so no car involved door to door. Would like to do the bike variant of this as well. You have to be careful of the signage because its often not clear whether its pointing to the bike or hiking route which are quite different in many places.

SECTION 1 - West Vancouver

1. Seaview Walk Trail (3.5 km) SW
2. Nelson Creek Trail (1.5 km) NC
3. Cypress Creek Trail (2.4km) CC
4. West Cypress Creek Trail (5.7 km) WC
5. East Cypress Creek Trail (4.1 km) EC
6. Skyline Trail (7.8 km) SL
7. Capilano Regional Park Trail (to the Fish Hatchery) (1.0 km) CR1

SECTION 2 - North Vancouver

1. Capilano Regional Park Trail (1.7 km) CR2
2. Edgemont Trail (2.2 km) EM
3. Mosquito Creek Trail (2.5 km) MC
4. Waterfront Trail (2.8 km) WF

Dear Participants,

In order to make it easier on me to post results quickly and without errors, please include, full subsection name, subsection codes and distances. 

Thank you!

April 12th, 2012

Late afternoon/evening run westward...

ran to where I had left on 'TCT Trail -- Day 1' at E. Hastings & Sperling (approaching Kensington Park) journeyed westward through Burnaby along the TCT into Vancouver completing PART of the Portside Trail part of TCT (as far as the junction of Lakewood with E. Hastings). There were a couple of creative routefinding/excursion/sightseeing runs in the area North of Confederation park, as well in Brighton Park (west of the Iron Workers' Memorial Birdge).

Rain/drizzle followed the same trajectory all evening... I was treated to a lovely sunset through the drizzle though. Temperature not excessively cold, but then again I was quite layered as usual.

Happy to say I have the WHOLE of the Burnaby TCT Section DONE including the Burnaby parts claimable for points ;)

SECTION 4 - Burnaby

1. Burnaby Heights Trail (2.3 km)
2. Scenic View Trail (2.2 km)
3. Hastings Trail (2.0 km)
4. Burnaby Mountain Park Trail (5.6 km)

+ part of Vancouver (part of Portside) & part of Port Moody (part of Inlet)... not enough to lay claim to those points yet yet though.

Took advantage of a sunny day to finish off Section 2 over my lunch hour on Monday.  Griffin gym to the Cleveland Dam.

Anyone interested in joining me for sections 1 and 2 on Friday? The plan is to start from Lonsdale Quay taking the 8:02 bus to Horseshoe Bay via Park Royal (239,257) and then running / hiking back along the TCT. Distance: 35.2km. Expected time: 4 hours from HB.

April 10th, 2012

Section of Burnaby Section + Section of Port Moody Section

Heading East this time...

From junction of TCT with Cardiac Hill on top of Burnaby Mountain to where TCT diverges reconnects with Barnet Highway just NW of intersection with Clarke in Port Moody.

Another lovely no rain afternoon/evening

April 8th, 2012

Section of Burnaby Section

5km on TCT from intersection of TCT with Cardiac Hill to Intersection of E Hastings and Sperling

I had operator error with my Garmin: so I mapped the section with gmap-pedometer.com ... the single track pedestrian section of the TCT on the west-side of Burnaby Mountain is 'roughly' mapped.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5396475

Lovely day, no rain...except lesson 1: bring mosquitoe repellant, either that or don't stop to take pictures or video!

This looks cool. I have a question: Is there a "no bike" rule? Big sections of the trail are on pavement and would be optimal to do by bike so it should be stated if it's not allowed.

Nice little run down Mosquito Creek following the TCT to Marine Drive, then along 3rd and Forbes to the marine walk to the Seabus.  On the return trip I ventured onto the Spirit Trail only to find it to be the most uninviting stretch of urban trail I ever have run on.  Trail was nice enough, also I found it strange that a big gate (closing at dusk) guarded it's entrance.  The trail heads west through a marina, but ends after only a few hundred meters a marina building and big fences with "No Trespassing" signs.  Disappointed I turned around and followed the, in these parts, relatively uninspiring TCT, back to Mosquito Creek and back home.

I am claiming:

Mosquito Creek Trail to Bewick Avenue = 2.5
Waterfront Trail - Bewick Avenue to Lonsdale Quay and SeaBus = 1.5km

Thus, with yesterdays run, I covered the entire length of the North Vancouver TCT.

Photos:
 

The boys beat me to it...but I ran part of the Capilano section yesterday.

Set out from the Yellow Beacon heading west and connected with the Trans Canada Trail at Eldon and Capilano Road.  Dipped into Capilano Canyon following the TCT along Chinook, Coho and Grand Fir trails.  Emerged at Cleveland Dam where the hiker route veers left up into the British Properties and followed the east bound cycling route (not part of my claim) back down Capilano Road to Eldon, where it picks up the eastbound hiker route again.  Homeward bound on the TCT to Edgemont Boulevard, along Queens Ave to Griffing gym.

So, I am claiming:
West Van trails from Cleveland Dam to Fish Hatchery
Capilano Regional Park Trail from the fish hatchery to Cleveland Road at Eldon Road = 1.7km
Edgemont Trail from Eldon Road to West Queens Road through Edgemont Village to Mosquito Creek = 2.2km

Photos here:
 

Got in a mixed bag of trails and pavement on a super, sunny day today.  

Ran the Baden Powell to St. Georges then down Lonsdale to the north shore terminus of the Seabus where I picked up the TransCanada trail.  Got a short section of the TCT in from the Seabus to Edgemont so I could claim being in the game.

Came across 2 Easter egg hunts, lots of folks out walking and enjoying the stunning weather.  The trees were starting to bud and the stink cabbages were in full bloom.  Ahh, spring! 

On Good Friday: Seaview Walk Trail; Nelson Creek Trail (1.5 km); Eagle Creek Trail (2.2 km); West Cypress Creek Trail to downhill ski parking lot.

Caution: still huge amounts of snow: I left a track of blood-soaked postholes.

Let the lateral bagging begin!

DAC