Heatwave on the Sunshine Coast, BC
Paddling, hiking, and sweating. 🥵 - Val's Vlog #10
The theme of this newsletter is heat! Hot heat! Record setting heat! Environment Canada said that over the weekend, Gibsons and Sechelt recorded their highest temperatures EVER. The previous record was 35.6ºC but we hit 39.6ºC. And that’s not including the humidity which adds something like another 5 degrees. It’s so hot that even the deer were hiding in the shade!
We spent the last week doing our best to keep from overheating. That meant taking a break from our morning walks, cooking outside, eating ice cream, and going to the beach! I also had to keep an eye on my little garden because it’s getting blasted with heat.
My little garden is OK
I planted my garden a little late and I think most gardens are much further along, but mine looks OK. It’s mostly green and yellow bush beans, as well as a few pea plants (even though only half of them came up). I go out early in the morning or late in the evening to water them. Gibsons is already on water restrictions but I’m allowed to water my garden, provided I water by hand using a spray nozzle with a trigger.
Daily walks put on hold
We did start the week with a walk to the water but soon realized our mistake. After marching up Gibsons Way in +30ºC weather, we decided to hit pause on that regular morning activity until temperatures return to something more reasonable. We did have a real estate job that we worked through because we’d scheduled it before it got so hot. But more on that later.
We didn’t want to turn on our oven so Paul bought a big tray of chicken and barbecued it all at once. We cut it up into chucks and threw it in the fridge so we’d have something quick and easy to grab for at least a few days.
Paul’s tips for BBQing chicken
Get the grill hot and clean.
Oil the chicken and add salt and pepper. He likes course salt.
Put the chicken on the hot grill and then leave if for a few minutes before flipping it. The barbecue’s heat should still be on high.
Once both sides are nicely seared, he turns the heat down to about half. He says this keeps the chicken juicy.
Shooting real estate photos
We’re heading over to Ocean Beach Esplanade for a real estate job. Ocean Beach Esplanade is a gorgeous beach spot just outside of Gibsons. Technically it’s considered Gibsons but you need to drive a few minutes out of town to get there. The property is a beach cottage that’s right across the road from the beach. I wanted to show you footage of the job, but there was just so much going on, Paul and I just didn't have a chance to video each other for the vlog. It’s a beautiful property but I can’t share any photos as it’s not officially listed as being for sale as I write this. 😞
The day is scorching and while the work isn’t heavy or backbreaking, the heat and our COVID masks make it grueling to move around cameras and tripods and gimbals. When we wrap up at the property, we grab the drone and shoot some images of the nearby beach!
Cold treat on the way home!
After sweating away for a few hours, we treat ourselves to gelato at Mike’s Place in Lower Gibsons before heading home. It’s a nice reward for a job well done but we’re tired tired and hungry and ready to get home. Now we go home where I’ll edit photos and Paul will edit a video.
Beach Day
It’s still record-breakingly hot the next day. The weather app on my phone says it’s +35ºC, which means it feels like +38ºC. Crazy hot! Too hot to not go to the beach!
Oh, the water feels so nice! It’s definitely on the chilly side but that coolness is welcome on a hot day like this. We just bob around in the ocean, enjoying how incredibly refreshing it is.
Time for food. Again!
Now I want something equally cool and refreshing for lunch so I order veggie rolls from Sushi Bar Nagomi in Lower Gibsons. Yum yum! I had a list of things I wanted to do today, and veggie rolls was one of them – it’s my treat to myself. Paul has a less refined palate so he decides to have tacos. It’s so hot that the cheese for Paul’s lunch is all melty before he even puts it on his tacos.
Hiking Mount Elphinstone
I wake up the next morning and it’s still insanely hot. I decide that the best activity for this extreme heat is a hike up Mount Elphinstone! Because it’s forecast to be another broiler, my friend Donna and I decide getting an early start is probably a good plan. We want to be realistic about how we’ll handle the heatwave during a hike so we decide we’ll take the day as it comes. Maybe we'll make it to the top of Mount Elphinstone, maybe not.
A half-an-hour into the hike up and we're already all sweaty. But other than that, so far, so good.
At around the halfway point, we stop to cool off beside a creek. I won’t go into a ton of detail about this hike up Mount Elphinstone because I’ve already done a video where I show you the entire trip. You can click on the thumbnail if you want to see it. In this vlog, I'm just showing you a few clips of the mountain.
It is hot. We stop at every stream to wipe our faces and our legs and our arms with cool, fresh water. We were well prepared for the hike and brought bug spray, but we’ve sweated it all off already.
Despite the temperature, we eventually make it to the top of Mount Elphinstone. It’s very, very hot, and by hot, I mean, it's probably +30ºC. It’ll probably be closer +35ºC by the time we get to the bottom of the mountain.
Paddling in an outrigger canoe
I close out vlog #10 with a paddle in the outrigger canoe. It’s always good to be on the water with my friends. I decide to jump out of the canoe to cool off in the ocean and it’s a great idea until I need to get back in the canoe.
I’ll blame my inability to pull myself up out of the water and into the canoe on the combination of the heatwave and a full week. It’s definitely NOT from a lack of upper body strength! 😜
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