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Wednesday 22 August 2018

Summer Doesn't Stop - Assiniboine Calling


Did you read my last blog about The Toba Adventure? If not, go and read it! If you don't want to, then just know that only one week before doing this trek I had already completed my grandest adventure of all mountaineering adventures. My mountain stoke was still dialed up high after the Toba, and carried over nicely into our upcoming trek to the famous Assiniboine region.

My friend Francine was checking the reservations for the campgrounds everyday for nearly one whole month before an availability presented itself to us due to a cancellation. She didn't hesitate to book it first, and inform me later.

Luckily the timing worked out well for me. I had to leave a music festival early, on the Sunday, in order to drive almost 12 hours from Squamish to Calgary, so that I could sign the papers the next day to finalize the sale of my condo. What a relief it was to finally be free of home ownership! I just needed one full and stressful day afterward to move out the rest of the furniture, and that night I drove straight to Canmore so that Francine and I could prep for the trek.
All stoked for my second trek in as many weeks!
Sunshine Meadows, from the top of the chairlift, the starting point of our trek
Early the next morning we were off! We dropped off our food at a helicopter service company, and continued on our way to Banff National Park's Sunshine Village, a ski resort in the winter, day hiking hub in the summer.

From the top of the chairlift we began our hike initially through smooth wildflower covered Sunshine Meadows, then skirting along the side of a steep valley, through a winding rock garden, and finally opening up into the meadow with the Assiniboine Lodge overlooking classic lake and mountain vistas. All in all, we hiked 30 km on day one!

It was a long and strenuous slog all the way to our campground. But Francine showed her toughness, while I called up my recent Toba experience as well as past difficult treks, to push me forward. I find during such long hauls I get into a zone where I'm laser sharp focused, moving as if every single step mattered. And I internalize the pain and suffering in my body, choosing to see it as growing pains - as an opportunity to increase my resilience. It allows such long hauls to feel like walking meditations.

We limped in to our campground as the sun was setting, feeling tired but extremely satisfied at our accomplishment. We made camp, picked up our food which was helicoptered to the lodge, then cooked dinner under headlamp light before passing out.
Wildflowers such as Indian paintbrushes dotted the trails, keeping the hike colourful
Walking along the steep slopes of the valley, smoke wafting over from nearby forest fires obscuring the view
Rock Garden part of the hike was dotted with tiny rugged rock formations
 Assiniboine Lodge - you can get helicoptered in from Canmore and skip the hike!
The view from Assiniboine Lodge - Magog Campground was even closer to the lake
We woke up the next morning to quite a view! Magog Campground sits in a sweet spot - directly overlooking Lake Magog and snuggled under a collection of peaks including the classic Mt. Assiniboine, a pyramid of rock jutting into the sky, heads and shoulder above all the peaks.

Day 2 was our day to explore, and after breakfast and packing, we took off for little Nub Peak. I've never seen the clouds move so fast as they did in this region. Grey painted clouds overtook the sky and opened up early in day two to a barrage of hail.

But the rains stopped as quickly as they came, the clouds parted, and the rest of the day saw a wrestling match between grey clouds and blue sky. This provided my near ideal conditions for hiking - not too hot with a cool breeze, and so I moved forward with anticipation.
Beholding the thick glacier chilling below the sharp peak of Mt. Assiniboine. The rains opened up shortly
My inner goat is satisfied
View from Nub Peak - Mt. Assiniboine dominates the skyline, with 4 adjacent lakes lining the smooth valley

Sunburst Peak has a lot of character
Nub Peak provided sweeping views of one of the Mt. Assiniboine region. I couldn't help but make one of my fun time lapses. Excited and sweaty from the day's hike, I bathed in
Skinny dipping in Lake Magog under the watch of Mt. Assiniboine
The next day we decided to get a head start on heading home, so we would only need 2 shorter days to hike out instead of another long 27 km day. We also decided to hike out a different way than we came in, taking the Marvel Pass route. It was well worth the view from the top of the pass towards the lake.

As if we haven't seen enough natural beauty, as we hit Marvel Lake and started walking parallel to it we encountered a rainbow! That night, I went for another dip in the river by our campground.
Marvel Lake - it's quite a... marvelous sight
The closest I ever came to a rainbow!

The final morning, we had a pretty easy day of hiking along a smooth forest road. We stopped several times to pick wild strawberries. I also picked some yarrow and labrador tea to take home and make tea with.

We eventually reached the end of our trek, at the Mt. Shark trailhead. It didn't take us long to hitchhike a ride back to Canmore, where we drove in my car to get Francine's car at Sunshine Village.

While this trek was nothing like the raw adventure of the Toba, I still got my mountain fix, and felt very grateful to see such a beautiful part of the Canadian Rockies, which I had previously lived near for 6 years of my life without knowing existed.
August is wild strawberry season in the Canadian Rockies
I'll just leave you with one more time lapse of Francine and I packing up camp on the final morning :)

Thursday 16 August 2018

From Sailboats to Summits - The Toba Adventure

I could easily write a novella about my recent foray into the wilderness, The Toba Adventure. But I will do my best to compress it into one blog. Unfortunately it's the small details that give a story depth which I will have to leave out for the sake of the bigger story - but it will still blow your mind!

I could also easily write a novella about the individuals I was privileged enough to have bring me along their adventure. There is Red Beard, my sailboat captain, who's summited many mountains and escaped death just as many times; Medicine Man, a true American Dirtbag, hiked the whole Pacific Crest Trail among too many other adventures to count. Then there's the Powell River power couple, including a former MEC Adventurer of the Year. Together they've explored heaps of the coast mountains behind Powell River. Oh, and neither of them own cell phones!
Medicine Man - Instagram @mightyhealthyadventures
I left off from the previous blog with Red Beard and I sailing into Powell River and meeting up with the Dillas, the name of their crew. After brief and energetic discussions, big preparations were set into motion. I was given a vague overview and, besides that, they put their faith in me to be able to keep up with them, and I in them not to get me seriously hurt or leave me behind!

A few days later, we pile hundreds of pounds of gear into Red Beard's sailboat, Rose, hop in and start sailing north of Powell River (which is already a day's sailing north of Vancouver). We sail past serene coastal mountain landscapes, and by evening look for a bay or cove with quiet waters in which to drop anchor.

We instead find probably the coolest docking spot along the whole coast! A 25 x 25 foot floating wooden dock, free for passersby to use. Here we make dinner, make a little fire in the wood stove, unpack and repack all of our gear, and have a cozy sleep.
A floating dock along the BC coast, free to use!
This is what these guys do for fun

And this
Red Beard and the Powell River power couple, sailing up the Toba Inlet
Docking at the end of the Toba Inlet

The next morning we sail up the Toba Inlet. An inlet is a twisting and bending arm of water, extending into the mainland. By this time, there are no more cottages or buildings - only the smooth curves of the hills blanketed with thick green forests or sheer grey slabs of rock.

We eventually reach the end of the inlet, find a loggers dock, and start unloading all of our gear. We create a rickshaw out of two bicycles, trunks of trees, and rope. Then we load all of our gear on it and start pushing!



Before long, a few loggers spot us and inquire as to what we are doing. We explain that we are on a Memorial Climbing Trip for Rob Richards (a side story which I must leave out for brevity's sake) and it turns out the loggers happen to also be friends with this famous local!

In turn, they decide to help us out with our plans, and drive us and all our gear up the forest road to our destination! Their declaration of help leaves us ecstatic and screaming for joy! And to top it off they cook us dinner and put us up for the night in some of their vacant dorms before driving us off the next morning.
The loggers offer to drive us and all our gear, so we don't have to push it!
After the loggers dropped us off at our destination, Red Beard and Medicine Man find two trees to climb up and make a food cache. They've never made a food cache this heavy before, and it takes them almost 5 hours, a complex pulley system and a bit of muscle to loft the dry bags to a height untouchable by bears.

Red Beard and Medicine Man aid climb maybe 40 feet up trees to make a food cache

Some gymnastics required to pull the rope with the cache on the other end of the rope!

Finally, the food cache is in place!
We then cross the roaring Toba River using a boat tied to a highline or tyrolean. Basically the boat is tied to a rope which spans the river. One person has to be on land to pull the rope in order to move the boat across the river.

Finally we start hiking! My backpack weighs about 20 kg, and some of the other guys have up to 35 kg on their backs. The hike begins through a cut-block, or logged area, which is easy. But soon we find the gully and start ascending it. This gully is the most treacherous challenge I have ever hiked. It is steep, uneven and full of loose rocks and gravel. There are a few spots where the gully is impassable with our packs on, and we need to break out climbing ropes and gear to get past it.
A cut-block. The pyramids of scrap wood will be burned with a flame thrower in the winter
The most difficult ascent of my life, up a gnarly gully

On a few occasions we needed to break out the rope where it was too steep

The Dillas taking a break in the gully
We were forced to sleep in the gully that night. Luckily, we found some flat enough sections along the steep gully, using ice axes to expose the soft ground, and sleep side by side in the open air, with the stream rushing by and the stars watching over us.

The next morning we spend another 10 hours ascending the gully. Somehow it became steeper as we neared the top, and there were one or two moments, caught on some steep ledges and looking down, where I feared for my life, my adrenaline nearly pumping my heart out of my chest, and feeling nearly like throwing up. It was both an incredible relief and a miracle when we finally made it to the top of the gully!

During most of the day I was in disbelief that this crew put their faith in me to keep up with them without hurting myself. Now I was in disbelief at the beautiful view, and the fact we were only the second party to ever come here! It was a truly special moment, and the crew celebrated with big smiles and hugs.
View from an adjacent hill. The gully we ascended follows the bottom of the cliff's shadow, just above the far left treeline

The splendid view across the Toba River valley from which we first came

A tent with a view
On the night of our arrival we had time just to make camp, dinner and sleep. Early next morning, the power couple crossed the glacier and with their rock climbing gear, climbed to the summit of one of the surrounding mountains - a rare and awesome feat they will be proud of the rest of their lives.

By contrast Red Beard, Medicine Man and I took it relatively easy. We spent 2 full days in our alpine camp, doing some light hiking, bouldering, stretching, and just enjoying the view and eachother's company, sharing interesting stories and tidbits of wisdom.


Stretching out those sore limbs


The fourth day was a day I was silently dreading ever since we started ascending the gully. It was the descent. I was worried sick about going down such steep slopes and gnarly rocks with 20 kg on my back.

We started early morning, bushwhacking through the forests in order to avoid the steep gully. While safer, this was no simple task. Pushing our way through bushes and branches, stepping through thick, moist vegetation, while descending a 45 degree slope was extremely slow, frustrating and tiring.

At some point we could no longer avoid the gully. We had to set up a rappel system so that we could descend the cliff like slope into the gully. Rappelling down the slope, in simple terms, involved dangling a really long rope, secured at the top, and sliding down the rope with a gri-gri, a tool that allows you to slowly slide down a rope with a controlled grip and safety mechanism.

Back in the gully, moving down it required being very patient and methodical. Every step was prone to slippage, and potentially a rough slide down the steep sides of the gully. A long day's hike like this requires a zen approach. A steep gravel patch gave way one time, and I slid around 10 feet down the slope. Thankfully I was not seriously hurt, but I came away with scratches bleeding down my arms and legs. Oh, I also cracked my cell phone during this accident!

By the time we made it to the bottom of the gully, we were beat up, sweaty and dead tired. However, as it was when we first ascended the gully, we felt a mix of relief and excitement at completing such a great accomplishment. To top off the moment, just after exiting the gully, we saw a cougar! (sorry no pics)

After taking down our food cache, we made dinner, camp, and had a big sleep, recovering from the day's toil. The next morning was a decision point: the enormous food cache was there to give the Dillas the flexibility to refuel and return to the alpine camp multiple times, allowing them to stay for several weeks if they so desired. However, even for this gnarly group of adventurers the gully was more work than they expected and they decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

So we packed everything up and got ready to go. As luck has been on our side this trip, we encountered the loggers, who drove us back to our sailboat, and we eventually sailed back to Powell River, ending The Toba Adventure.

When I look back over the past several years, every new adventure has been bigger and better than the last, and I've been constantly outdoing myself. I'm not sure it'll get any bigger and better than this! If I hang up my hiking boots after this adventure, I'll have no regrets.

But as important as the adventure itself were the amazing people I shared it with. I learned so much and gained so much inspiration from them. I also know who to turn to when there's an apocalypse - these guys are the masters of survival and adaptation. The Toba Adventure will live on in my memory but the Toba crew will forever be in my heart.

Enjoying a beautiful sunset from the sailboat

Sunday 5 August 2018

Learning to Sail Along the BC Coast


For the past few years I have been yearning to learn to sail, with the eventual goal of sailing across an ocean.

This ambition came out of my goal of never flying again. And this goal stems from principles that have strengthened within me to become an environmentally friendly traveler. Luckily enough for me, I've done a bunch of traveling in my life, and with every step on my traveling journey have grown my awareness of the impacts of my actions on our globe. Stubborn and crazy as this all sounds, I am trying to lead by example and show that crazy is indeed possible.

So this summer I road tripped from Ontario back out to beautiful western Canada and reached out to a friend who owns a sailboat, whom I met at a festival a few years ago. I initially reached out to him when we first met, but he had hardly gotten his own feet wet. Now with a few years experience, he was ready to have a first mate join him on board!
Say hello to Rose, a 1976 fibreglass sloop!
Enjoying the view from the bow!
I agreed to help him overhaul his sailboat, docked at a marina just east of Vancouver. I spent the next 2 weeks helping him sand, paint, and assist in miscellaneous tasks. It was rewarding to put in the work and be part of the process, and it made the ensuing adventure feel more like my own, as opposed to just being a passenger along for the ride.

Besides, my captain is an interesting and generous person to spend time with. I barely knew him beforehand, but we immediately got along and I was regaled by countless stories of his adventures. I got used to hearing sailor speak such as "aye" and "yarr." While he has a name, his friends all call him, and I have come to know him as Red Beard. You can follow him on Instagram @rubbertrampinboots

Red Beard and Medicine Man working on the engine which has a crank start
At last the sailboat was ready to go! On her first voyage of the year we took Rose out to Vancouver Harbour to watch the fireworks at night on Canada Day.
Sailing through the Burrard Inlet, Red Beard steering and belting tunes on his harmonica
Vancouver Harbour looking towards Canada Place and downtown Vancouver
Narrows Bridge connecting Stanley Park and North Vancouver
Red Beard's partner Sarah joined us for a few days of adventure, as we sailed aimlessly around Bowen Island. Red taught Sarah and I some basic sailing terms, as well as practice doing some actual sailing.

For instance, the bow is the front of the boat, and the back is the stern. The port is on the left side, the starboard on the right. You have the main sail in the centre of the boat, which catches the most wind to drive the boat forward, and the jib, whose angle can be changed to catch more wind. There is an even smaller jib sail, the storm jib, which can be used in stormy windy conditions.

As a team of three, we got to practice hoisting and packing away all three of these sails. The main sail and jib are connected to ropes which run to the stern of the boat, where the tiller, or steering wheel, also sits. The stern acts as the control centre for the boat. From here you can pull on the halliards, ropes which hoist the sails, then play with another set of ropes to change the angles of the sails.

Hitchhiking is encouraged on Bowen Island a small friendly place without public buses
Salmon berries are in season!

Sarah and Red hanging out in front of the fire with the sailboat in the distance - Bowen Island

Besides learning how to sail, we spent plenty of leisure time on Bowen Island exploring, eating good food and drinking beer and wine. I got to know these two lovely humans very well. Sarah lives in a motorhome on a farm north of Squamish, working at a nearby healing centre, teaching yoga, meditation, and conducting nature education for children. You can follow her on Instagram at @live.love.lila

After Sarah departed, Red Beard and I continued north along the BC coast. Along the way we saw beautiful landscapes, rich houses and yachts, and some marine life, including jellyfish, a humpback whale and a pod of orca whales. At night we witnessed bioluminescence, glowing green light emitted by tiny organisms in the water. It was like staring down at another night sky, lit with green stars. When I moved my hand in the water, it was like setting off green fireworks.
BC Ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island against a beautiful coastal landscape

Storm clouds gave witness to many spot showers, some of which deluged us

The calm and beauty after the storm
We braved a stormy day with big waves, which made me a bit seasick. But overall I adapted to boat life quite well. I've always slept well in moving objects like overnight buses, and the rocking of the boat felt like rock-a-bye baby to me.

Rose has all the amenities one needs including toilet, cooler fridge, kitchen with propane stove. Red Beard added a few touches including a diesel fireplace and a GoalZero battery with folding solar panels. Sharing small spaces came naturally to both Red Beard and I, and the tiny interior of the 29 foot boat provided more than enough room for the both of us.

And while being out on the water is full of thrills, it is also full of worthy lessons. Just like a farmer depends on rain, on a sailboat you become humble to nature because you depend on the wind to move. However, when the wind does blow, you are moving on free renewable energy, which is a beautiful thing.
Red Beard cooking in the cabin
Red Beard diving under the boat to cut a rope that got caught under the propeller
Unlike living out of a van, living out of a sailboat means a literal ocean of possibilities and the world is your oyster. But you're also beholden to an ocean of uncertainties. One day, some rope got stuck in the propeller, so Red Beard dove underwater to cut it out! Another night, we got stuck in a storm, unable to overcome fierce winds to get to shore and anchor. We had to call a rescue boat to tow us in to shore. It was a pretty scary situation to be in and reminded us that we are at the whim of nature, especially when we're out on the water far from land.

Sailboat life seems akin to owning a car but with less rules, and also like a house but with a lot more maintenance. When driving, unlike cars, you're not restricted to the painted lines on the road, and after driving you can park your boat literally anywhere you can drop an anchor and hit bottom. Having a house that floats on water, while cheaper than owning a house on land, requires constant maintenance. Rust is a constant issue, and leaks can drive a boat owner crazy. If a leak gets out of hand, your house can sink! 
Beautiful sunset near Powell River
We eventually sailed in to Powell River, a relatively isolated town, two ferries north of Vancouver along the BC coast. Here Red Beard would meet up with some of his long time adventure pals, and we would start a new land based adventure, which turned out to be the most epic of my life.

Wait for it in the next blog!