Starting the New Year in the Forest

A nice way to start 2020 with a walk through Pacific Spirit Regional Park

Last night New Year's Eve was a complete washout non-stop heavy rain forced several local mountains to cancel special events planned.
 However, by around 10pm the rain had stopped, though we were expecting more rain this morning for the start of 2020.

But the weather cooperated and we woke up to fantastic blue skies and warm weather -- up to 11 degrees, perfect for a walk outside.

In the late morning we headed out to Pacific Spirit Regional Park and enjoyed the fresh air, and immersed ourselves in the forest. The latest trend is "forest bathing", to be in nature and appreciate the beauty, inhale the clean oxygen and relax.

The new trend is to call this "forest bathing"

There were lots of puddles though from the heavy rain, which my younger nephew particularly enjoyed, walking through them in his yellow boots.  

We went walking for about an hour, encountering many others on their regular walks with their dogs and children, wishing each other a Happy New Year. What a nice way to start 2020 in Vancouver -- no rain!

Picture of the Day: Pacific Spirit Park

Enveloped in lush greenery with shades of blue above

Today is Christmas Day and after many days of rain we had an unusually sunny day.

So we took advantage of the blue skies, though chilly temperatures in the late morning by going for a walk at the nearby Pacific Spirit Park.

Also out were many other people with their families and lots of dogs -- lots and lots of canines keen to get some exercise in the woods.

A closeup of moss and fungus growing on a branch!

Seeing the dogs sniffing each other out and being well behaved was a far cry from the dogs in Hong Kong that snipe at each other and worse -- are carried by their masters and mistresses! Dogs are for walking!

We took in the crisp clean air and enjoyed the green scenery before tucking into another big Christmas meal...

Pictures of the Day: Pacific Spirit Regional Park

It's fun wandering through this forest!

During my visit in Vancouver I have been regularly going to Pacific Spirit Regional Park for walks. It's great to wander in the giant forest and feel like you're communing with nature.

Lots of moss and fungus growing on trees

It's 763 hectares of forest and foreshore that stretches from the neighbourhood of Point Grey to the University of British Columbia. The park even touches the Fraser River, the Strait of Georgia and Burrard Inlet. My brother even suggested that it is more than twice the size of New York's Central Park.

After some Googling, I see he's correct. 763 hectares is 1,885.41 acres compared to Central Park's 778 acres, so Pacific Spirit Regional Park is 2.4 times the size of the Big Apple's park, though many of the forested areas don't have paths.

Once you enter the park there are many routes to choose from, each with different names such as Imperial, Hemlock, Admiralty, Salish and Camosun. For the most part the trails are flat, only a few have an incline that isn't impossible to walk up.

A mini tree growing within a dead one...

The trees are very tall and covered in lots of moss and in many cases fungus as well. It's a great place to photograph trees though we have yet to find any creatures inhabiting the area.

The other fun aspect of this place is encountering the dogs that are walked here by their owners. The canines love the park because of the natural paths and in many areas they can freely roam and investigate with their sharp noses. They also seem to like to approach me...

The neon-green moss brightens up the path

We also love the fact that we can breathe in fresh oxygen! Coming from Hong Kong, walking through the park is a wonderful way to get a boost of clean air. Too bad I can't transport it back to Hong Kong. It's also the complete antithesis of the city -- pretty much in my backyard.