Once upon a time, I thought that camping season started on May long weekend. Over the years however, I’ve come to realize that it never really ends. Year by year, each shoulder season excursion I’ve embarked on has pushed a little further against the edges of the calendar – until I ultimately found that late autumn isn’t actually that distant from early spring, and that there really is no off-season in between.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people think I’m crazy – the idea…
Every year, as the calendar flips from August to September, the flow of tourism that descends upon Canada’s natural wonders retreats back to urban comfort. As the wild returns to the wilderness, so do I for my annual shoulder season adventure. This has become an annual pilgrimage for me over the years. With all the wildfires that have been tearing through western Canada this year, my plans were more fluid than usual…and by fluid, I mean that backcountry plan after plan…
Every time I find myself returning home to Canada, I am awed by the vast open spaces we have here. Every. Single. Time. The contrast with the high human density common in most other places around the world is stark, and this uniquely shapes both the land and all of us creatures who call Canada home.
Even today, in our modern world, the word Canada conjures up strong images in our minds of expansive landscapes. In this there is a shared national identity amongst diverse multiculturalism;…
(continued from Part 2: Four corners of the Haida Gwaii by bicycle)
Ferries provide access all the way down British Columbia’s otherwise inaccessible coast. From the Haida Gwaii, this was the peaceful expressway to access southern British Columbia without making a huge diversion inland. Port Hardy, at the northern tip of Vancouver Island, was the port of arrival for the push to southern Vancouver Island and ultimately Vancouver, and it was also where my …
When we hear a reference to “the north” an image of windswept tundra blanketed by snow and ice immediately rises to mind. That, or maybe Santa Claus. Even in the high arctic though, summer does arrive; the land takes on a very different look than that which we imagine and attracts seasonal animals that travel great distances to get there.
This past August I witnessed the brief northern summer for the first time with my own eyes and, of course, my camera. Returning…
This dream began in January of 2015: that is, to travel western Canada by bicycle. I didn’t know where it came from; I had always been into cycling, but never like this. The ultimate destination was one that has been on my radar for a while: the remote island of the Haida Gwaii (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). Travelling this way however is so much more than a destination – it is a serious journey, and filling in the route there and back makes the…