Vancouver General Discussion Thread - Page 6

Klazu · #1 Posted **Jul 26, 2015, 3:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tetsuo

Klazu have you tried talking to him directly? Either write him a note or knock on his door.

He lives on the floor above and I don't have any access there. Anyways, the head concierge already promised to look into this. It was the first time he heard about it, so apparently the normal concierge clerks had not passed on the message.

I hope the issue gets resolved. Not sure if the person above is also a tenant or owns the unit, not that it should matter considering that the strata is often posting "smoking on balconies is prohibited" signs on elevators.

If nothing happens, I will look into escalating this but I got a good reply from the head concierge and trust him on taking action here. Let's see.

Klazu · #2 Posted **Jul 27, 2015, 2:17 AM**

We will be spending the coming long weekend in Pemberton. We were planning to hike up to Upper Joffre Lake and also be driving to D'Arcy. Has anyone been driving the Highline Trail road from D'Arcy to Seton Portage? It is a "4x4 only" road but it doesn't look that bad in the Youtube videos and the weather has been so dry.

I think my X1 can easily make it to Seton Portage, but I am not sure about the stretch onwards to Carpenter Lake and all the way to Lillooet. Has anyone done that stretch in the recent years? Does it require any extra clearance from car?

I am pretty sure my car can do the road, but was wondering if it is so rough that I could be breaking something while in there.

Klazu · #3 Posted **Jul 29, 2015, 2:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klazu

We were planning to hike up to Upper Joffre Lake and also be driving to D'Arcy. Has anyone been driving the Highline Trail road from D'Arcy to Seton Portage?

Nobody has done this road? Am I really the first to give it a try this coming Sunday?

zivan56 · #4 Posted **Jul 29, 2015, 3:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klazu

Nobody has done this road? Am I really the first to give it a try this coming Sunday?

Last time I went to Lillooet, highway 99 to there involved driving over unpaved sections and temporary bridges (late ~2008ish)....and that was considered a "highway."

I was reading some article that said in 2013 that service road you mentioned was declared a highway by a judge, so that would imply they would have to properly maintain the road to provincial standards. I am not sure if the province appealed or not.

Those thinner profile tires probably wont work very well when going over sharp rocks. They also have weaker side-walls, and can take less punishment when you hit potholes or drive over rocks. I would ensure you have a backup plan in case you get stuck.

Klazu · #5 Posted **Jul 31, 2015, 4:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zivan56

Last time I went to Lillooet, highway 99 to there involved driving over unpaved sections and temporary bridges (late ~2008ish)....and that was considered a "highway."

Highway 99 from Pemberton to Lillooet was re-paved few years ago and is now one of the best drives in the province. Many bridges are still just one lane, but there is very low traffic and the road itself is both spectacular and joyful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zivan56

I was reading some article that said in 2013 that service road you mentioned was declared a highway by a judge, so that would imply they would have to properly maintain the road to provincial standards. I am not sure if the province appealed or not.

Yeah, I saw the same article. The road is still a gravel road but based on Youtube videos they have been grooming it and it looks like a normal road.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zivan56

Those thinner profile tires probably wont work very well when going over sharp rocks. They also have weaker side-walls, and can take less punishment when you hit potholes or drive over rocks. I would ensure you have a backup plan in case you get stuck.

Noted, but I think I will give it a try. Just need to keep it to low speeds. I am mostly worried about clearance requirements on these service roads, as X1 is not a proper 4x4 car with high clearance. But I think we will be fine on this road.

If you don't hear from me after Sunday, you know that I didn't make it.

cornholio · #6 Posted **Jul 31, 2015, 7:09 PM**

The road is fine. There are comunities up there and it is a major road connecting them. It gets maintained. You can average 80kmph down that thing.

Klazu · #7 Posted **Aug 2, 2015, 2:48 AM**

Greetings from warm Pemberton! I have been to the Lower Joffre Lake many time before, but never hiked up to the two upper lakes. WOW! Just WOW! How come is that place not more famous than it is? It is, like, totally on par if not better than Lake Louise in Banff!

I was expecting a nice hike but that place blew my mind. Those turquose lakes, tall rocky mountains around you, the glaciers... Oh man, it was SO much better than I was expecting!

Lots of photos to come later on. It was VERY busy up there with cars overflowing the two parking lots, but that place really deserves to be seen by as many as possible. Easy hike to the Middle Lake thanks to new trail but reaching the campground behind the Upper Lake takes some effort. Must be amazing to stay overnight in there.

Perhaps then one could also hike up to the glacier, as it is a bit too much to do in one day. Maybe one day!

Tomorrow I will try the service road to Lillooet.

Klazu · #8 Posted **Aug 3, 2015, 7:37 PM**

Drove the Pemberton - Seton Portage - Lillooet - Pemberton loop yesterday. It's a long 240km drive mostly on gravel roads, but boy was it spectacular! I felt like I was not in BC anymore as there were close to 3000 meters peaks towering besides the road. I couldn't believe how different the landscape could be so nearby.

The road (Highline Trail) from D'Arcy to Seton Portage is a very bumpy and narrow gravel road with some steep sections. I would say 4x4 is recommended to make it up the steep hills, but you should be able to make it with a 2WD as well. But it is a rough road and you cannot drive fast. There are also many sections where you are driving next to a cliff with hundreds of meters of sheer drop.

The road from Seton Portage to Carpenter Lake is also steep, but wide and in good shape. No problem with any car.

I took countless photos, so it will take me some time to post anything, but it was well worth a day trip!

Klazu · #9 Posted **Aug 10, 2015, 9:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klazu

In Vancouver we have the choice. Either stay in the city and enjoy no snow on streets and nice non-freezing temperatures OR drive 15 mins up the mountains you you have meters of snow and -10 Celsius. Vancouver is the only city in Canada where YOU decide which weather you want to enjoy and you can switch in between two climates several times a day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beedok

It's also the only city (apart from Victoria and some other nearby cities) where you don't get to live in the metre of snow and -10 degrees. If you're like me and don't drive then you're in trouble. Either way I don't want to have to commute to get to decent weather.

This isn't the weather thread though, so we should stop discussing Vancouver's troubles with winter. (At least you have okay summers. A bit dry for my liking, but fairly cool.)

Klazu · #10 Posted **Aug 12, 2015, 5:21 PM**

Interesting map of different soil types in Metro Vancouver: http://ftp2.cits.rncan.gc.ca/pub/geott/ess_pubs/209/209909/gscof_3511_e_1998_mn01.pdf

Klazu · #11 Posted **Aug 13, 2015, 1:37 AM**

Anyone care to explain to me why some television channels air a repeat of the show immediately after it ends. The National on CBC and Prime on BC1 seem to always air twice and I don't get the point.

Also what's with some American channels beginning to air an show and after 30 seconds they restart it. This seems to happen very often at least with The Big Band Theory on one of the challenls (Fox something). What's with that?

s211 · #12 Posted **Aug 13, 2015, 3:41 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klazu

Also what's with some American channels beginning to air an show and after 30 seconds they restart it. This seems to happen very often at least with The Big Band Theory on one of the challenls (Fox something). What's with that?

Actually you are watching the end of a Canadian feed placed over a US feed, or the beginning of a Canadian feed over a US feed. That happens a lot for shows simultaneously broadcast in the US and Canada. The Canadian feed replaces the US feed, but they're not synchronized down to start (or end) at the exact same time.

dreambrother808 · #13 Posted **Aug 13, 2015, 4:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by s211

Actually you are watching the end of a Canadian feed placed over a US feed, or the beginning of a Canadian feed over a US feed. That happens a lot for shows simultaneously broadcast in the US and Canada. The Canadian feed replaces the US feed, but they're not synchronized down to start (or end) at the exact same time.

Yes, the Canadian channel has the national and/or local rights to the program airing that time, and therefore simultaneously broadcasts its signal over the American channel and its own, so that all commercials visible to anyone watching are Canadian rather than the American.

Klazu · #14 Posted **Aug 13, 2015, 4:45 AM**

Thanks guys. Mystery solved.

Pinion · #15 Posted **Aug 16, 2015, 3:51 AM**

Addicts are addicts. He can't stop smoking even if he wants to most likely.

Klazu · #16 Posted **Aug 16, 2015, 4:03 AM**

Yeah. I guess it is lucky that they are also renting and not owning their unit. I am pretty sure their landlord doesn't want to see smoking in his or her unit, so there is a good chance that something will happen. I just need to catch them in action one more time...

Klazu · #17 Posted **Aug 18, 2015, 2:56 AM**

Anyone know what's the deal with the small residential area nearby the Deering Island in southwest Vancouver? I happened to find this area only recently and was surprised how EVERY single house in there has its own horse stables! There are at least 20-30 stables in the area.

Is that area subject to some special zoning or what's the history? It is so strange to see these huge new mansions with horse stables. Horse droppings everywhere.

Quite an unique little area, so I am interested to know what's its background?

https://goo.gl/maps/mRB5O

PaperTiger · #18 Posted **Aug 18, 2015, 4:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klazu

Anyone know what's the deal with the small residential area nearby the Deering Island in southwest Vancouver? I happened to find this area only recently and was surprised how EVERY single house in there has its own horse stables! There are at least 20-30 stables in the area.

Is that area subject to some special zoning or what's the history? It is so strange to see these huge new mansions with horse stables. Horse droppings everywhere.

Quite an unique little area, so I am interested to know what's its background?

https://goo.gl/maps/mRB5O

That is the area known as Southlands. It's history is one of "Dolla Dolla Bills Ya'll".

Vin · #19 Posted **Aug 26, 2015, 9:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klazu

Anyone know what's the deal with the small residential area nearby the Deering Island in southwest Vancouver? I happened to find this area only recently and was surprised how EVERY single house in there has its own horse stables! There are at least 20-30 stables in the area.

Is that area subject to some special zoning or what's the history? It is so strange to see these huge new mansions with horse stables. Horse droppings everywhere.

Quite an unique little area, so I am interested to know what's its background?

https://goo.gl/maps/mRB5O

Brittiläinen Kolumbia, Kanada

squeezied · #20 Posted **Aug 18, 2015, 3:04 AM**

That neighbourhood is called Southlands. Some history here: http://www.friendsofsouthlands.org/history.html