Well first of all it is called "the grind" for a reason. I kind of knew what to expect but Jeremy and Karen weren't quite sure I don't think. Anyway, it was an hour and a half hike straight up Grouse Mountain. And when I say straight up that is exactly what it is!! It has been referred to as a stair master by some of my co-workers. It took us 1.5 hours of climbing to make it to the top! Pretty good timing I thought. They say average is 1.5-2 hours. Now the Grouse Grind is the number one activity to do when visiting Vancouver as stated in many guide books and reviews. It is a very popular activity attempted by all ages and most tourists. It's a grueling hike but extremely beautiful and enjoyable especially once you reach the top. Jeremy seemed to cruise up this mountain without much effort while Karen and I dragged behind him (he carried the back pack full of water bottles and clothes too). It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time.
The starting point
about half way up
Karen taking a break
notice the switchback of stairs
Once we reached the top we watched a Lumber Jack show, ate lunch, saw a birds in motion show where birds such as a turkey vulture, hawk, owl, bald headed eagle and one more I can' remember flew over us so low that a few people were hit by their wings! Did you know that a turkey vulture can projectile vomit 10 meters and it smells 10x worse than skunk!! Gross I know! That is what the bird expert told us. We also briefly saw the bear that lives on the mountain. After this we took a chair lift even higher up and got a few more pictures.
Vancouver from the top
the view at lunch (we had an awesome view from our table)
After taking the gondola back down the mountain we returned home to shower! We were sweaty and smelly. We had a great day though. It was so much fun. Karen and Jeremy really enjoyed themselves too.
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