April 2nd - 4th, 2011 - The Journey North

The trip to Haida Gwaii started at 7 am on Saturday April 2, 2011. Somehow Bonnie and I were able to fit everything into my car in a neat and organized fashion. Bonnie and I definitely have a different approach to packing and preparing for a trip, so I had been concerned that I might have had to abandon some of my items in the last moment, which I was relieved I did not have to do. As we took off from Vancouver, I could feel my stress levels decrease the further and further I got from the city. I was finally leaving the life I have known for many years behind and starting the life I have been dreaming and planning for months. After saying all my goodbyes I knew I had to recognize that some people I will never see again, while others will indeed be a part of my life forever. Though this is always a sad realization, a friend of mine did share with me that this is the life of a travelor - you must leave people behind to open up the doors to new people and new experiences. As a consolation, I do have the best companion a person can ask for in my passenger seat, so I really can't complain.

Our first stop was in Hope. There we learned that highway 1 up to Cache Creek was closed because of a slide, so we had to take the Coquahalla highway up to Merritt and then the 97c back through the countryside to Cache Creek to join up with 97N. Bonnie and I made a point of switching the responsibility of driving every two hours. Honestly, on day 1 we drove through every weather condition imaginable while trekking through BC - we saw sun and rain, clouds and fog, and snow and wind.

I am really glad we had to do the detour on 97c because that part of the trip was probably my favourite. On that highway I saw true cowboys herding their cattle, something I hope to be able to do one day, and we also drove along an open face copper mine for many miles. I am always impressed and surprised at the vastness of the destruction that is caused by mining and logging in our province. Everytime I drive away from the lower mainland for any significant number of hours, I have come accross the reality of our natural resource industry. I always feel sadness seeing a landscape completely torn up. The copper mine looked alien. The trucks and machines you could see driving across the mines were tiny in comparison to the mountains of mine debris that had been carefully piled, and the air was filled with the stench of industry waste.

We drove 1100 km on day one from Delta, BC to Burns Lake, BC. Most of the drive is through small towns in BC that each have their own character - or a lack of character for which Bonnie and I would deam that town 'a hole'.

At the end of the day we were racing against the sun to make it to a hotel before we were stuck on the highway of tears in the dark. Driving west, we got to see our first 'freedom sunset' and it was glorious. The warmth in the sky always brings a warmth to my heart.

In Burns Lake, we stayed at the Lakeland Inn. Right in the heart of town, the inn had excellent service. We asked for a room with two beds if possible, so they gave us two separate rooms with a connecting door for the price of one room. We ordered some take-out, sat on my bed in front of the TV and enjoyed our feast with some beer and wine. We had also saved a special reward for our long day of travels. Two of our good friends, Danielle and Sara, had prepared a going away treasure box for our travels. One was titled the Scroll of Fun and the second came with a warning only to be opened by those prepared for extreme adventure. I must say the contents of both were outstanding! The Scroll of Fun was a detailed map leading us from Vancouver to Haida Gwaii with all the destinations and highlights we should make a point of seeing and those we should try to avoid - plus some additional 'insider information' given out two friends are both from Northern Britihs Columbia. The treasure box was filled with homemade gifts and other treasures to be used on our trip. Danielle and Sara you are the treasures and I am so glad that you were able to put small pieces of yourselves in that box. We will take it with us everywhere and know that we are loved. Thank you girls for making our night and this trip start so special.

The next morning we slept in as we were already 2/3rds of the way to our destination. En route, though we were able to make some pitstops in Smithers and Prince Rupert. In Smithers, we learned of Shames mountain - a mountain that is currently for sale and a group of people are trying to start a coop to buy the mountain. For $299.00 you can have a share in the coop and help buy the mountain. Bonnie and I are very excited at the prospect of owning our own mountain and are seriously contemplating becoming coop members. We reason that we have wasted $300.00 on things much less cool than owning a mountain, so even if this investment leads to nothing, we will have lost little. But if it works out, I can foresee very good longterm returns in happiness!

Prince Rupert was stormy when we drove in to town. We went to find some dinner before heading to the ferry which left at 11.00pm. The area where we had dinner is called Cow Bay and we have heard many good tales about Cowpuccinos, though it was closed when we arrived. Prince Rupert is a lot bigger than I had anticipated in size, though I was informed that the population is steadily decreasing since the fishing industry has come to a halt. Still there were tankers in the bay, float plane terminals, and ferries to Alaska and BC - you know when you can grab a ferry to Alaska that you are pretty far north.

We loaded the ferry at 10.00pm. Departure was scheduled for 11.00pm. I had paid for a berth since it was a overnight ferry and the channel is apparently the third worst crossing in the world (the first is the Drake Passage from Argentina to Antarctica which I had the pleasure of doing when I was 13). Bonnie on the other hand had opted not to pay the extra money and to sit up for the night. In the end I was in a berth on my own with four beds and a private bathroom. Bonnie could have easily stayed with me, however she decided she wanted to stay up top for the night to see if it was really that bad for future reference. It turns out she was not the only one with this idea as when she arrived up top a lot of people had laid out their sleeping bags and pillow on the ground and were getting ready to close it in. It helps that not a lot of people travel to Haida Gwaii and the boat is fairly large for all the vehicle traffic.

In the end I was happy I had a berth because the seas were pretty rough that night. We were scheduled to arrive at 6.00am but docked just before 9.00 am instead. So our total ferry time was almost 11.00 hrs! But we had made it. We drove to our new home at the Tlell Bay Farm and met our new family for the next four weeks. We had really arrived.