Having recently moved to B.C., the famous Grouse Grind hike was one of the first things on my bucket list.
I'm an avid hiker, so brushed off the warnings from friends, and thought to myself, "It's only 2.9 kilometres, how bad could it be?"
My question was unfortunately answered within the first two minutes of the journey — pretty bad.
The trek is basically straight up a mountain, with an elevation gain of 853 metres. The beautiful scenery along the way would have been nice, if not for the fact that I was staring at the ground for most of the hike, focusing on breathing.
As soon as you make it to the top though, and get the most gorgeous view of the city I have seen so far, you know it was worth the climb.
The Start
As we parked I was filled with optimism, a water bottle in my hand and friends by my side — who were soon cursing my name for making them join me.
When we came across this notice at the start, we knew we were in for a long haul.
The first quarter of the hike is just as the notice warns — steep. There are stairs on stairs, and you get exhausted pretty quickly.
As soon as you feel like you've gotten the hang of it though, you're hit with this sign.
Halfway Through
At this point, there were collective sighs. Since we did the hike on a Saturday, it was busy with fellow travellers, and we were all bonding through sweat and pain.
With each water break, I could hear people swearing under their breathe while passing me. There was even one little girl who was joining in, yelling "Sweet Jesus!" as she stepped onto yet another staircase.
The markers along the way keep you somewhat motivated, and looking down at the incredibly steep mountain makes you feel superhero strong.
Beware of the steepness though. Just over the halfway point I tragically dropped my water bottle, helplessly having to watch it tumble down the incline.
Needless to say, there was no way I was going to backtrack to find it.
The End
In what feels like years later, you reach the top with aching legs and dripping in sweat.
To congratulate you they have a shirt pinned up on a tree with the perfect wording to reflect how you feel.
Once you round the corner and see the epic view of the sea, mountains and city, it's all worth it.
You can also have a bite to eat at the restaurant and explore some of the activities. They have a ton of tourist attractions, which were fun to see while we cooled down.
While we were enjoying our much-deserved meals on the outdoor patio, people were literally flying by us. It made the view even better.
Luckily, you have to take the gondola down the mountain. It's awesome to ride down and look out the window to see how far you climbed.
Make sure you bring cash with you because going down will cost you $20!
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
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