Took me a while to put together, but here it is, video/slideshow part two, featuring the 2 plus months I spent exploring, hiking, and van camping on the great isle of Newfoundland last summer.
The Great Trans Canada Road Trip slideshow part 1
Finally getting it together to edit pics from last year’s trip and turning them into a three part video slideshow. Here’s Part 1, which covers the trip east from the Kootenays to Cape Breton. Part 2 is already in the works and will cover the time I spent in Newfoundland. Enjoy.
The Great Trans Canada Road Trip – Home
After 6 months on the road, I arrived home nearly two weeks ago [my stationary home here in the Kootenays as opposed to my movable home 🙂 ]. For the most part it was an incredible and wonderful journey of exploration, with over 21000 kilometers driven, and quite a few kilometers hiked. Vehicle problems made the last couple of weeks of travel rather stressful, so that I breathed a sigh of relief upon pulling into my driveway, but even those last two weeks still had their special moments.
My initial intention was to update this blog every week or two, but I found that spending time on the computer, trying to find adequate wifi connections and taking the time to edit, upload and caption pictures was interfering with my enjoyment of the journey (especially after spending a frustrating several hours early on uploading and then losing all my work to some technical glitch). I did however keep a daily written journal, as well as taking a lot of photos (way too many), and will make an attempt to post more about the trip over the course of this winter.
Since this post is about being home, I thought I would leave you with pics of a few of the amazing places that I called ‘home’ on this trip (most of them free camps).
May 25/26: near Narrows Lock, Rideau Canal system, Ontario (this is also where the above picture of me relaxing by the van was taken) 
May 29/30: Matapedia River, Quebec 
May 31: Hay Island, New Brunswick 
June 3: Seacow Head Lighthouse, PEI (with the 13km Confederation Bridge I crossed earlier that evening in the background) 
June 6-9 – Cable Head, PEI (sadly I expect that this entire northern shoreline looks quite different now after the damage inflicted by Hurricane Fiona in September) 
June 11 – Cheticamp Beach, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 
June 12-14: Corney Brook CG, Cape Breton NP, Nova Scotia (I set up the tent to indicate that the campsite was taken while I went off exploring) 
June 16: a lovely oceanside spot off the Cabot Trail south east of Cape Breton NP, Nova Scotia 
June 18: Grand Bay West beach (I was camped in the parking lot), just a bit north of the ferry landing at Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland (another place hit hard by the hurricane) 
June 20 (and again on June 30): Arches Provincial Park, Nfld (theoretically a day use park but used by many travellers as an informal campsite. The pic is from June 20th; I had the same spot on the 30th with many more vehicles parked next to me) 
The view of the Arches from my camping spot at Arches PP 
June 25: Parc Goodchild, Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, 5km west of the Labrador border (the ferry from Newfoundland to northern Quebec/Labrador arrives near this lovely free campground with a tragic history; it used to be a subdivision where two people lost their lives when 15 homes were wiped out by an avalanche in 1995) 
June 27: 1st Pond Municipal Park, Forteau, Labrador 
July 5/6: Dildo Run Provincial Park, Nfld (provincial park campgrounds in Newfoundland where a nice surprise and I stayed in several as at $20/night they were relatively cheap and all had showers available) 
July 7-10: Crow Head, north of Twillingate, Nfld 
June 11/12: Brimstone Head RV Park, Fogo Island, Nfld 
July 13: pond up a random gravel road, Fogo Island, Nfld 
July 21-23: gravel flat by lake northeast of Argentia, Avalon Peninsula, Nfld 
July 28-Aug 4: La Manche Provincial Park, about 50km south of St. John’s, Nfld (I explored several sections of the East Coast Trail from this base camp) 
Aug 8/9: powerline right of way by small lake near Lead Cove, Nfld 
Aug 11/12: Little Harbour, Nfld 
Aug 17/18: Boutte Du Cap Park, Cape St. George, Nfld 
Aug 21: Ben Eoin Provincial Park, Nova Scotia 
Aug 24-26: Five Islands Provincial Park, on the Nova Scotia side of the Bay of Fundy 
Aug 28: by small dam and lighthouse near Riverside-Albert, New Brunswick 
Sept 1: Grassy Lake, off Shepody road, north boundary of Fundy Nat’l Park, New Brunswick 
Grassy Lake 
Sept 5: Camping Cote Surprise, Perce, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec (this was an expensive campground, but I decided to splurge for the view of Perce Rock; also no real options for free camping nearby) 
Sept 12/13: Madawaska River near Griffith, Ontario 
Oct 3: old gravel pit north of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario 
Oct 4: crown land on Lake Superior, south of Agawa, Ontario 
Oct 4: crown land on Lake Superior, south of Agawa, Ontario (another view) 
Oct 5: Little Pic River Scenic viewpoint overlooking Lake Superior about 30 km west of Marathon, Ontario 
Oct 7/8: Adam Lake CG, Turtle Mountain Provincial Park, Manitoba (I cooked dinner in this day use area by the lake the first night, but ended up moving to an actual campsite since, even though the campground and shower house was officially closed, it was possible to drive in. Did some lovely hiking here.) 
Oct 9: rest area, Parry, Sask 
Oct 13/14: almost home, Tie Lake Recreation Site, near Jaffray, BC
The Great Trans Canada Road Trip – weeks three and four
At Wawa, I decided to leave behind Lake Superior and explore inland. I didn’t get too far before I stopped to check out Potholes Provincial Park. The access road was partly flooded, but manageable. It’s just a small day-use area and trailhead, but it was a nice forested spot and out of sight of the highway. Seemed like a good spot for a long break and a leg stretch. The trail to the potholes was still partly snow covered but worth the short walk to see the water carved rocks and pools. I ended up spending the day just hanging out in the parking area, mostly reading and enjoying the trees. At one point a couple came in to walk the trail, but otherwise no one, so I decided I might as well spend the night.
The next day’s drive started out quite lovely, but at some point after the junction to Chapleau, it became kind of tedious – with a rather monotonous boreal forest landscape and many signs of resource extraction and too many large trucks, with everyone except me driving well over the speed limit. Passing on a double line appeared de rigueur, at least among the smaller vehicles, though thankfully no semis pulled that stunt. Timmins was a large dusty town with really bad potholed roads and had nothing to lure me beyond taking care of a couple of errands.
By the time I arrived in the Tamiskaming Shores area, south and east of Timmins, I was feeling beat and decided to try camping in a Walmart parking lot. Definitely the least pleasant camping experience of this trip, especially because when I asked where I was allowed to spend the night, I was directed to the part of the lot directly adjacent to the highway. I didn’t get a great sleep, but it was okay.
By shortly after noon the next day I was at the west gate of Algonquin Provincial Park. The highway winds through the park for about 55 km, and I spent most of the rest of the day exploring, doing a few shorter hikes and chilling at a couple of picnic sites. And sweating up a storm as it was the hottest day so far by a long shot – 30 degrees celsius. Which also meant dealing with nasty biting flies in a significant way for the first time this trip. Especially that evening and night. I had hoped that by camping on a bit of a hill by a cell tower I might get enough of a breeze to mitigate the flies but no such luck.
The next day I had a shortish drive to my brother’s house, where I have now been for nearly 2 weeks. It’s been a good visit (our first in 2 1/2 years) and an opportunity to finally meet his current partner. And to fall in love with their absolutely adorable 6 month old puppy, Flow. Also a couple of days ago my long time friend, Jessie, who lives in Toronto and who I haven’t seen in nearly a decade, and I met up at Presqu’ile Provincial Park. We had a lovely time catching up and walking and sitting by Lake Ontario.
Tomorrow I continue my travels east.
Monday, May 9: ▲Potholes Trailhead, Potholes PP (145km)
Tuesday, May 10: ▲Walmart Parking Lot, New Liskeard, ON (492km)
Wednesday, May 11: ▲Cell tower clearing off Hwy 127, south of Whitney, ON (422km)
Thursday, May 12 – Monday, May 23: ▲My bother’s house, Consecon, ON (189km)
The Great Trans Canada Road Trip – week two
Leaving the Cypress Hills area, I ventured further into Saskatchewan, stopping to wander through the original prairie and badlands of Grasslands National Park. From there I continued east into the Big Muddy badlands, then northward past the mostly still frozen lakes and snowy environs of Moose Mountain. Crossing into Manitoba, I ventured still further north east into the winter landscape of Riding Mountain National Park and the flooded fields (and sometimes roads) beyond the Lake Manitoba Narrows. At the Narcisse Snake Dens, I had hoped to catch the garter snakes emerging from hibernation in their dens and forming the massive mating balls for which they are famous, but the late winter snow storms that hit this part of Manitoba in April, followed by fast melting and flooding, have delayed this annual event. In any case the dens and even trails to them were inaccessible for anyone not wearing hip waders.
In general, between the lingering snow and flooding it wasn’t always easy to find places to hike. I did go for a relatively short hike through a still bare of leaves aspen forest just south of the snake pits. But the best hikes by far were once I reached the granite outcrops of the Canadian Shield at Whiteshell Provincial Park (in the far east of Manitoba), and a couple of days later in Pukaskwa National Park on the shores of Lake Superior.
I’ve had some amazing camping spots on this trip so far (many of them entirely to myself), but nothing to match the five star view I had at Hurkett Cove on Lake Superior, where I settled in for the night at a Fisheries and Ocean dock (complete with the hulks of several old boats). On the dirt access road I had the privilege of seeing a mama moose and calf. Then once at the cove I was surrounded by what felt essentially like a water bird sanctuary. The cove was home to white pelicans, herons, huge numbers of ducks and seagulls – some drifting by on ice flows – and at least one beaver (likely more).
Other memorable wildlife sightings were a bear crossing over the snow and road in front of me at Riding Mtn NP, and multiple moose browsing in the ditches along the Trans Canada Hwy between Pukaskwa NP and the town of White River. That many moose sightings so close to the highway in such a relatively short stretch of road was definitely unnerving, especially because their fur is kind of mangy and mottled at this time of year, making them hard to spot against the background.
Monday, May 2: ▲Gravel Dump along Hwy 18 northwest of the East Block of Grasslands NP (298km)
along Hwy 18
Tuesday, May 3: ▲Kennett’s Kitchen Rest stop near Wawota, Sask (527km)
Wednesday, May 4: ▲Eriksdale municipal park and campground (556km)
Thursday, May 5: ▲Whitemouth Lions Park and Campground (259km)
Friday, May 6: ▲small gravel pit off Rush Bay road (90km)
Saturday, May 7: ▲Hurkett Cove (on Lake Superior) (595km)
Sunday, May 8: ▲behind the White River info centre (338)
The Great Trans Canada Road Trip – week one
After driving nearly 5000 km (4940 to be exact) in a not particularly straight line, I’m currently taking a long break at my brother’s place in Ontario. With a few exceptions it’s been a fairly awesome trip so far. I’m working on editing the way too many pictures I’ve taken – here’s a look at some highlights from my first week of travel, along with each night’s campsite location.
Before leaving home, I spent quite a bit of time rebuilding the interior set-up of my van. So far I am really happy with the functionality of my new build. I’d been particularly uncertain about the swivel table I put in, but it’s proven to be incredibly useful.
I’ve experienced all kinds of weather, including rain and snow – rain from the sky, snow lingering on the ground – but most days have been sunny, though also very windy. I’ve been able to go hiking in a few awesome places, with week one’s highlight definitely being the trails through the hoodoos in Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai’pi Provincial Park in southern Alberta, closely followed by some off-trail hiking through the Red Rocks Coulee Natural Area (also in Alberta, south of Medicine Hat).
I’ve also had the privilege to camp in some really amazing spots.
Monday, April 25: ▲Kootenay Bay Boat Launch (11km from home)
Tuesday, April 26: ▲Gravel Flats, Elk River, west of Sparwood (308km)
Wednesday, April 27: ▲Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai’pi Provincial Park (344km)
Crowsnest Pass
Thursday, April 28: ▲Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai’pi Provincial Park – a day spent exploring the hoodoos and petroglyphs.
Friday, April 29: ▲Red Rock Coulee Parking Lot (141km)
Saturday, April 30: ▲Cypress Lake Rec Site (225km)
Sunday, May 1: ▲Cypress Lake Rec Site – rest day
Wildlife spotted during week one: a completely white deer (I’m assuming an albino) spotted not too far from home; three elk; a small herd of Rocky Mtn sheep in the Crowsnest Pass area, hawks, lots of geese, magpies, blackbirds (including red wings and yellow headed), prairie hens, ducks, doves, and various song birds; gophers (a real challenge to avoid hitting them on prairie roads); rabbits; pronghorn antelopes by the dozens.
the road to nowhere: 2021 edition – part two: the Rockies
As promised, here is part two:
the road to nowhere: 2021 edition – part one: local trips
To reminisce about and share pictures from this year’s camping and hiking trips, I decided to do something a little different and make a couple of slideshow videos. This first part is of my more local trips in the Kootenay and Boundary regions.
Part two, covering my two trips into the Rockies, is coming soon. Stay tuned.
Rolling with the punches and keeping it local
I’ve learned a great many things from my years of long hikes and cycle tours, but perhaps one of the most important is to roll with the punches. You can make all the plans you want, but if you aren’t able to adapt to what the environment, other people, and your own body throw at you, you won’t get far and you will be miserable.
So this year has been all about rolling with the punches.
Spring started on a high note in early March as most of the snow had melted off my favorite nearby low elevation trail (along Pilot Bay). I got in a few hikes there over the next couple of weeks and also spent a wonderful day hiking through the Creston wetlands. But then, as the seriousness of Covid-19 became known and all BC provincial parks and trails closed down, I was left scrambling to find places to hike. So I started exploring up the various secondary and tertiary logging roads close to my little community.
It did however become quickly apparent that my larger travel plans – to hike Newfoundland’s East Coast Trail and all or part of the T’railway, to explore other parts of Newfoundland and elsewhere in the Atlantic provinces, to visit my brother in Ontario and hopefully hike the Ganaraska trail and the northern half of the Bruce trail, and to spend the Canadian winter months in New Zealand – these plans were no longer feasible or something I felt I could responsibly undertake.
So, foreseeing a summer of staying close to home, I planted a garden. Not exactly an original act, but one that certainly made sense at a time when food security was anything but certain. (As did signing up for bi-weekly deliveries from a local organic farm to supplement whatever my small garden might produce.) Despite minimal effort on my part (other than the initial digging and soil preparation), my garden proved surprisingly productive. And watching it grow made me happy.
Even though BC Parks opened up the Berg Lake trail just before my reserved dates in late June, I chose not to do the Mt. Robson backpack this year. Instead I concentrated on exploring more locally, getting my alpine fix along Ripple Ridge and Top of the World Park (my only backpacking trip of the summer), taking several shorter road/van camping/hiking trips, and enjoying the trails around my village. I also acquired a folding bike. I didn’t end up using it much, but still, it’s a great thing to have along in my van travels (and much easier to stow than my full sized bike, especially when the van is rigged out for camping).
Unfortunately during a late September trip – another foray into the Creston wetlands, this time for three days of hiking – my van started acting up. What I hoped was a minor problem, ended up being a major one that would have cost more to fix than I paid for the van 4 years ago. So I’m sad to say that the Silver Pig has been retired to the scrap yard. I did however manage to find a replacement quite quickly. At 7 years old, my new minivan is the newest vehicle I have ever owned and hopefully will last a good long while.
As fall moves into winter, I continue my local rambles, mostly along familiar paths. Even along these oft trod paths there are always new discoveries.
I’m holding out hope that I will be heading out on a long adventure beginning next spring, though I will keep it closer to home and leave my east coast travels for another year. But even so, with so much uncertainty around Covid-19, I am taking it one day at a time and keeping my plans very tentative.
However things shape up, I am extremely grateful to live where I do, to have the privilege of secure housing in a beautiful and relatively unpopulated corner of the world, and the leisure time to enjoy it.
Update from base camp
Yesterday was the first significant snowfall here at my new home on the East Shore of Kootenay Lake. Even though most of it has melted, it serves as a reminder that winter is on its way. And also a reminder that an update is overdue.
Mid-summer, after tying up my parents’ affairs in Victoria (which all took a bit longer than expected) I bought a house in a tiny former mining town in southeastern BC. Since then I have been fairly occupied with setting up and settling into my new home. With an endless number of potential projects that come with home ownership, I pretty much wrote this year off for any major adventures and have mostly focused on local day hikes. There are several kilometres of lakeside trail and old forest roads within a half block of my front door which I regularly make use of. As well a number of other trails are but a short drive away.
I took a week in early September to do some van camping and hiking at some favourite old haunts in the West Kootenays, then did another shorter trip with my brother, who visited me from Ontario for a good chunk of September. It was fun doing the tourist thing on my home turf with him. We mostly visited museums and ghost towns – the SS Moyie in Kaslo, the museum and hydro plant in Sandon, the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre in New Denver – all places I hadn’t been to in a couple of decades (the museums, not the towns). It was also our first visit in two and a half years that didn’t revolve around our parents and that didn’t feel like work (we had spent almost 3 months together in Victoria earlier this year sorting and packing up and getting their house ready to sell).
I’ve been taking advantage of some beautiful cooler fall days to get in as many longer hikes as possible before winter closes in. Though a long hike these days isn’t really that long, ranging somewhere between 8 and 12 kilometres; the spirit is raring to go further but the feet and knees say otherwise.
I’ve also been thinking about how this new home is supposed to be a base camp to facilitate my adventures and not to tie me down with endless chores. I do plan to be here through most of the winter, but have started coming up with a loose itinerary of trips for next year. For the next few years actually. Starting with some of the harder but scaled down bucket list items that I think my body is still up for. To keep me hopeful and on track I have already reserved campsites along the Berg Lake trail in Mt. Robson Provincial Park for the week of June 21st. (I’m hoping to get a few easier early season backpacking trips in before then, but have kept my Mt Robson itinerary very easy, taking 3 (partial) days to reach a campsite at the pass, spending a day there, then returning over 2 days – kind of pathetic for someone who not that long ago could still grind out 30k days, but I don’t want to set myself up for failure).
Some parting shots from a few of my recent day hikes: