TCT Social Club 2012

Here are the tracks for the Burnaby, Port Moody, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam sections of the Trans Canada Trail.

Late yesterday I finalized plans to run the Burnaby sections of the TCT with Pat.  Even later, Action Jackson emerged from his home improvement projects and wondered if he could tag along.  

Fast forward to 4:00 am this morning. Rain is falling hard outside the bedroom window.  A drowsy RainNoTrain Jackson mumbles that he is bailing since it's raining. Suck it up, buttercup.  I rolled out of bed shortly after 5:00am.  The rain had abated somewhat and I snug into the kitchen for some early morning me time and a cup of coffee.  I was surprised to see Action slink into the kitchen in time for the run.  We finalized our plans and agreed that he would run the same section Pat and I had planned, but continue until we'd pick him up.

We met Pat in Burnaby and continued to the Burnaby-Port Moody town border to drop one car off on Suncor Drive where the TCT crosses the Barnett Highway and continues north of it towards Port Moody.  We left our dry gear for the end of the run in the car and drove back west to New Brighton Park, the start of today's run.  The logistics of running the TCT are a tad convoluted, but with three people in the car, we made it worthwhile.

Fleeing some home improvement projects involving sweat, dust and noise, Wendy and I tackled the Port Coquitlam sections of the TCT Social Club yesterday afternoon.

We dropped one car off at Coast Meridian Road and Patricia at the eastern end of our planned run and drove back to our start at the Port Moody Rec Centre.    I had no idea what to expect as I didn't have time to plan the route or even just look at the map.  I don't usually let the planning up to somebody else, as I like to know what to expect.  So, in Wendy I trusted as we set out through the Port Moody town centre following the TCT markers.  I had told Wendy that I didn't want to get more than 14km or so in and her route was supposed to be pretty much that length.

Wendy is a faster runner than I am in the best of days, but after a morning of bustling around the house, prepping dinner and helping with above mentioned home improvement project, I already felt pooped before we even started.  Poor Wendy had to deal with my huffing and puffing and we finally decided that my troubles were asthma related (I think I am just not in good running shape).  The sun was beating down on us, no, I am not complaining, but after a week of sunny skies and brisk temperatures, yesterdays heat came as a bit of a surprise.  

The route, unlike the sections I have run so far, was extremely well marked.  We lost the trail briefly only once.  After leaving the town centre, we were running along busy and noisy Guildford Road and I resigned to that fact that this would not be the most scenic part of the TCT...especially since Wendy had warned me about lots of road running.  Soon however, we veered left onto a well groomed gravel trail, gently undulating through a forested park.  I later looked up on the map that this section was called Holy Creek Trail.  Eventually and after passing a huge recreational complex we found ourselves running along the Coquitlam River.  Again, the trail was beautifully maintained and very runable.  The last section found us on the Trabouley Trail in Port Coquitlam, a trail that circles the city.  

I finished running the Vancouver sections of the Trans Canada Trail yesterday.

It was a glorious sundrenched day and after my "date" bailed on me, I decided to head out alone.  I drove to Kitsilano, parked the car in Kits Point and started heading north east across Burrard Street Bridge.  No signs for the pedestrian route of the TCT, so I cut down the stairs on the north west end of the bridge towards the seawall, where I encountered the first of a grand total of 3 markers.  

Everybody and their cousins was out walking, inline skating and cycling along the waters edge.  The water of English Bay was sparkling in the sunshine and there was not a cloud to be seen in the sky.  I enjoyed weaving through the happy crowd, but faster runners might want to consider doing this stretch on a cloudy weekday.  Things didn't thin out as I headed towards the park...in contrary.  I have never seen this many cyclists on the seawall.  Most of them actually looked like they hadn't cycled in 20 years and just rented a two wheeler on Denman Street on the spur of the moment.  

Here's the TCT section 3 Vancouver track recorded on 2012-04-29.

Here are the tracks from the West Van and North Van sections I completed on 2012-04-13 recorded with a Garmin Forerunner 305.

It took a lot of sleuthing to figure out the correct TCT hiking route across the North Shore. The most accurate and complete information seems to be in the Google Earth kmz file found on trailsbc.ca which I have converted to gpx format. The interactive map on the national site tctrail.ca is inaccurate and incomplete as are some of the other sources on the provincial site. The TCT continues south down Mosquito Creek bypassing the marina and eventually intersecting with the Spirit trail to the east.

Better get your running shoes on, Wendy set up a new challenge on her favorite kind of running terrain.... the Trans Canada Trail from Horseshoe Bay to the Coquihalla Summit.  Fasten your seat belt and be ready for a season of scheming and scamming to see who takes the trophy!  More details at the TCT Social Club page.