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Vancover Island

Well as all good things must come to an end, I am currently heading home due to shortage of funds. Im dissapointed that i did not make California, but it will have to wait till another time. After Alaska, we stopped in Kluane Nat. Park and did some white water rafting, which ended up being a really good time. We stayed at the lodge wear the guide's stay after for quite a few drinks and had a pretty cool encounter with a grizzly bear, that was getting a little close to camp for comfort, but when the beast stood up on it's hind legs and seen what he was messing with (me) he scampered off. From there we wasted no time heading south to Vancover Island. Here we spent a few nights in Tufino kickin it on the beach, we also went somewhere along the west coast trail and spent a few nights camped on the beech. This has been a good end to the trip for instaed of hiking all day into the bush, we simpily drank on the beech. Last weekend we met up with Vern's old friend, and had a pretty good time. We went on a big zip line adventure, that took us all through the forest. This was exceptionaly cool, because we decided to do it at night. Pretty intence. We also went sailing for an afternoon on the sail boat that pretty much just got abandoned at the harbour. So it's wesnday now, and we're just outside of regina. I expect to be home this weekend. It's been a really fun trip, the bus has truly been magic, for it's come over 25000km and given me no trouble....well very little trouble, and the weather has been great the entire trip. Thanks everyone for reading my blog, glad people have enjoyed it. Tune in next year when I hitch-hike to South America.

The Stampede Trail

This was a very impotant part of Alaska to see for me. I have gotten a lot of inspiration from Chris McCandleles's story, and wanted to see the bus, and spot where he lived, and died. This was a tough hike. It was 30km there and 30km back. It wasen't a technical hike other then a couple places the beavers have flooded, and the famous Teklanika river crossing, which can be very tricky if you don't know where to cross. I'll save that story for another time. It took us just under 9 hours to make it back to the bus, which i thought was pretty good time. The way there I got wet boots, and hiked for the last 6 hours in them, and i don't think I'll ever do that again. The way back the next day I took great care to keep dry feet. Once at the bus soon to follow us were 4 boys from alaska who managed to bike back. Brandon, Nick, Aaron, and Carter. We came into the camp strangers, but quickly warmed up to each other and left friends. We all put our food together and had a feast. I can't say enough good things about these guys. They were some of the nicest, and fun people we've met on the road. This was the most I've hiked in 2 days, and it kicked the shit out of me, but it was also one of the most rewarding hikes, because of the history the site has. It's not quite the way hollywood depicted it, but thats to be expected. The locals have very mixed views of the site. Alot of them think that Chris was ill prepared and didn't know what he was doing, and are sick of all his followers going back to the bus. They've had to rescue a lot of people from it, and are now talking about towing it out of there. It will be a sad day if they do that. I think there are better soulotions such as running a cable across the river to help people cross, but who knows what the future will hold for the bus. I am just happy to have gotten to see it.

Denali National Park

This is an amazing park. Very touristy, and taking after my dad I get very angry around a lot of tourists, but the park has a very good back counrty set up. There is a long road that only the park buses can drive on, and 85% of the people see the park through a bus window. Cool, but not my style. To back country camp you meet with a ranger, and they make shur you're not a complete idiot that might try and feed wild life, or store food in your tent. Then they show you a topographical map, that is sectioned off into huge quadrents. You tell them roughly where you want to go, and as long as no one else is in that section of the park you're good to go. You jump on a camper bus it takes you into the mountains, anywhere between 3 and 6 hours. Once you're dropped off you are on your own. To get out you just hike back to the road and thumb a bus down. I picked a spot where we hiked 15km along a river to a glacier which fed it. We then took a day and expoled the glacier. It is very cool, but an erie, and unsettling place. Luckily I laugh in the face of danger. This was an amazing place, and I must come back to explore more of it.

Tombstone

The Demster

So we spent a good 5 days in Dawson City before hitting the Demster. It was a blast with the music festival in town. All the locals spend there time at a bar called the Pit, which is where I ended up spending a lot of my time. I didn't think there was a place where people drank more then the Bruce County folk, but i think these people have us beat. It was really wierd looking out on the street at 11 at night, with the sun up, and people just bombed everywhere. I fit right in. A group of local Indians approched me, knowing I wasen't from around here, and proceeded to tell me that us southerners can't handle our liquor. I was a bit takin back never being called a southerner before, but tough to deny here. Anyways they quickly warmed up to me when I gave them a run for there money drinking their whiskey striaght. The festival was also a riot, tickets were expensive so Vern and I volenteered, and got free passes. They were not impressed with my security skills, being as I spent most of my time in the beer gardens. None the less it was a good time.

Ahhh the Demster, what a highway, over 700km of pure hell for anyone with a nice ride. You see a lot of people with flat tires on this road and smashed windshields. The windshields is because the truckers don't slow down for no one. Once i learned this niether did I. 100km per hour the whole way, leaveing a giant rooster tail of dust behind us. I couldn't get enought of it. The highway goes through many differnt kinds of mountians, and the scenery is breathtaking. For all my friends back home the 15th ain't got shit on this road. Once we got to Inuvik, we found a few people and all chipped in to taking a little 6 seater airplane to Tuktoyaktuk. There a little Inuit lady who was halarious took us around the village, showing us the communal freezer caves they dig into the permafrost, and the history of the little town. But the reason I went there was to swim in the Arctic Ocean. You'd think that it'd be freezing and it was, but i don't think it was as cold as lake superior. So now all I have to do is swim in the Pacific, and I've swam the 3 oceans of Canada. And by swim I mean run and jump in, and then run out.

On the way back on the demster we stopped at Tombstone territorial park and did a couple nights of outback camping. It was a 10km hike in to Grizzly Lake, where the mountains swallow you up. The hike was probably the toughest we've done yet. You kind of feel like a mountain goat climbing over mountains, and following ridges to avoid the thick bushes, and bogs below. This hike will kick the shit out of you and step on your neck when you're down, but it's worth the pain. Once at grizzly lake, I set out one a mission after supper to climb to the top of a mountain I thought was called mount monolith, which I later found out was the mountain behind the one I climbed. It took me a little over 3 hour to get to the top, but i made it, and felt like was on top of the world. Shortly after I was up there enjoying the view, a rough looking german fellow had climbed up. We were both a bit dissapointed that we were not the only ones to reach the top, but we ended up having a good chat, and were able to take pictures of each other. The only thing i couldn't figure out about him was that he carried a big axe with him. I could see a pick axe, cause there's gold in dem der mountians, but a big axe in a country side where there's no trees anywhere to cut down. The only thing I could think was bear protection. But he had a GPS with him and informed me that we were 7000ft up. On my decent i decided to take a differnt route, called glacia gliding, where you basicly start a landslide of rocks, and ride them down. It was fairly intence, but I made it down in an hour. There was a group of expierenced mountian climbers at the base who were quite impressed with my feat. On the way back to the demster it hailed on us and got quite cold, and I've learned with my time in the mountians that the weather is very unpredictable. It can be sunny one minuite, and the next there's a storm that just rolls right over top of you. Anyways I am back in dawson city and tommoro we head up the Top of the World Highway into Alaska the final frontier.

To the Yukon.

Calgary was a blast, I had a realy good birthday. Four days in that city though took a good chunck out of my wallet. It's an expensive place when you're celebrating your birthday, and you know you don't have to go to work the next day, week, or month. After leaving Calgary we headed north through banff and jasper. These places are amazing with the glaciers, and crystal blue lakes, but it's very touristy. If there was a black bear or any animal for that matter on the side of the road there'd be 20 cars parked on the side of the road to take pictures. That black bear must be sittin there muttering "no respect these people have no respect". That or "one of these days im going to eat one of these picture taking bastards". Avoiding the tourists here is easy though. All you have to do is pick a hike thats more than 2 km, and the p-lot we be empty. Just people pulling in, looking at how long it is, and then pulling out. There is some really cool out back camping here, enough to keep you busy for a couple months at least. We only spent about a week due to the fact that it wouldn't stop raining, and that the north calls, but I will definitly be back. After Jasper we eventully made it to the Alaskian Highway. This is a must see highway, and by far the coolest road i've ever driven on. It winds every which way through these mountains, which flourish with wildlife. The winding roads at cliffs edge, can be quite dangerous when you're gaulking at carabou, and thinkings is that a elk. Or seeing a herd of bison and wondering if they're buffalo. It must be easy hunting around here, because i think i've seen more animals on this highway, then I've seen on the whole trip. In one day we seen 8 black bears, 2 herds of bison, 8 moutain goats(shifty eyed things they are, don't trust'em), a heard of carabou, and a moose. I also seen a grizzly for the frist time. Very cool, they are very...grizzly. In Calgary our side view mirror got smashed (don't know how...seriously i don't), but the guy at speedy auto glass put a new one in for free, just cause he liked our stories, and told us about some hot springs in northern BC. Needles to say they were amazing. After swimming (more like jumping in and out) in atlantic waters, and glaciers lakes, this was a nice change. If you're planning on drinking till it gets dark and taking a few to drink in the hot springs, make shur you have alot of booze, because it takes a while to get dark, haha i think it was 1 30 or 2 00. All this day light takes some adjusting. 4 in the mourning looks like 2 in the afternoon. Makes the coffee and cigerette a little less enjoyable if ya can believe that. Im heading to Dawson City for a music festival this weekend, and then it's up the dempster, where the magic bus will earn her soul. It's come some 15000km now and is running like a top.

Prairies

Crossing the Prairies

Crossing the prairies, has been fun. There's not a lot to do, but enough to keep it interesting as you make your way to the west. In Manatoba we went to Spruce Woods Prov. Park, to a spot called spirit sands, which is pretty much a desert. I felt like i was at the southhampton beech, but there was no lake. From there we made our way over to Cypress Hill Prov Park, and took a whindy dirt road -that was impasable when wet- all the way through to and into Alberta, it was quite a scenic drive. In Saskatawan we drove though a lot of gravel roads, which is a lot more fun then the trns canada. We stopped somewhere in the back counrty, where at night, a pretty narly thunder storm blew past us. Through a lot of pataince Vern was able to snap some pics of the lightning. Once in Aberta we headed through the very borring landscape to dinasour prov. park to celabrate canada day with some fellow campers. It was a good time. It's a pretty neet spot to go wandering. I am currently in Calgary staying with Ryan and Carol for the weekend where we will be celabrating my birthday, and checkin out the stampede which just happened to be in town. Good timing. Ryan and Carol have been too nice giving us a spot to stay for the weekend, which will be a nice break from bus living.

Thankyou everyone for the birthday shoutouts. It's good to hear from you all. Thanks for keeping in touch.

Western Brook Pond