i can hardly believe it's day #6. time has simply flown by and i havent a clue even where to begin on how wild my adventure has been so far. between foot blisters, rain, endless walking, bushes, climbing logs, crossing rivers and seeing bear tracks. well - i am glad to finally have a moment to sit down and process what has happened so far.
just to recap - since i last wrote - my car DID sell. the last possible moment someone pulled through and gave me the long-awaited call to state they were interested in the car. it was what i had been waiting to hear for over a month. rid of my car the night of june 30 - i was set. set to go see the world.
as far as my adventure - i spose where i should start is where i am now. i have officially made it to radium - the famous little town by the hot springs just north of invermere. i started bright and early july 1 at sunshine village ski resort and it seems like ages before that i was busting my butt up to where my initial trailhead begain. that initial 5km was grueling as the dirt road wound its way higher and higher up the side of the mountain. by the time i finished that first portion, i was hot, sweaty, completely out of breath and wishing i had trained just a bit more for my lengthy trek. but i was also estatic beyond belief. the view was breathless and to know that i was leaving everything behind to start an adventure i will surely never forget made me grin ear to ear.
once i started to hike into the vaste wilderness, i couldnt get over the complete feeling of freedom i had. everything i owned (save for a few items i have in storage) was officially strapped to my back - heavy as hell - but that was it. i was surprised to find myself a little afraid of what would come of my next days in the wilderness... it's difficult to process the notion that i would be literally alone in the wild for days on end. there was no turning back.
that first day was awesome, but also incredibly tiring. the sun continuously beat down on my back and it wasn't until i had climbed a snow-capped mountain, and down the otherside to eat my lunch at a gorgeous lake that i realized i had taken the wrong route. i was going on the path that travelled east along the mountains. i wanted to go south. i was going the wrong way.
there was no turning back.
i managed to find a way that the paths reconnected, but that would mean that i would have to push my body harder than what i had initially been planning on in order to make up for lost time. it meant that my 7-8 hour day had automatically turned into at least 10 hours.
this pissed me off that i could be so foolish as to think i had been going the right way. my nice, new $295 digital compass watch had indicated i was going the right way. when i compared it to my manual compass, i discovered my digital one needed to be re-calibrated. so much for technology.
hours later - completely exhausted - i began contemplating if i should shot for the night at the next campsite or push through to the further one. it was then i met up with some guys who were going to the further one. i figured if they could do it, then so could i - as i had seen them earlier on the trail and knew they had been walking the same distance that day. one problem: i failed to remember that i had already hiked 5km more than them as they had taken the shuttle bus to sunshine village.
to backtrack here - for those who havent been to sunshine - there is a base parking lot in which people park there. in the winter, the gondola takes everyone up to the actual village area where as in the summer, a shuttle bus (at the cost of $25) takes people up to the village. i chose to save my cash and hike up the 5km windy road instead.
back to day #1 - i eventually made it to lake og - 12 hours after my initial start time at the base parking lot of sunshine. i was exhausted. i promptly set up tent and fell asleep.
on day #2 i had another long day ahead of me. i had to make up for my lost time and cut back west across the mountains to get onto my initial hiking route for 2 reasons. one - at this point in time NO ONE knew where i was as i was not on the route i said id be - and two, i had told people i would be in invermere in 4-5 days. if i didnt make it there in that time, people would worry.
i found it ironic to think that the very trip in which i was so stoked to be rid of my hectic, stressful and scheduled life had turned into just that. i officially had a deadline and my blistered feet were in a bitter protest already.
so i made it out from lake og and headed in the direction of mitchell river. i had no idea what was in store for me. i checked in with a lodge about half way along to see on any warnings (animals, weather or otherwise) that could be headed my way on my route - it was at this point that a lovely elderly lady did her best to discourage me from taking my route. she wanted me to hook up with a "nice german girl" who was staying at the local campsite and go northwest to which she "might" be able to give me a ride south to invermere. i asked why and all she could say was that she had done the mitchell river route and didn't like it. she refused to say why.
so - me being me - took the mitchell route. i needed to stay on track and i wasnt going to let someone discourage me just because they didnt like the route. i set out and a couple hours later and a few hundred feet down the mountain i found out why this route wasn't ideal. it was a horsetrail that was overgrown and not kept up in any way. i began the difficult struggle in trying to stay on the trail, at times ending up in the middle of a marshy field spinning in circles because i couldnt find where the trail continued. i backtracked. i compared my topographical map to the mountains around me. i explored, leaving my insanely heavy bag behind and tying strips of surveyors tape to trees to find my way back to my gear. at one point i had to cross a raging river by making a makeshift bridge using logs along the shoreline. that resulted in wetpants, socks, shoes and my spirit.
i pressed on.
there was no turning back.
past the river, the spiders came on attack. should anyone have seen me i would have looked ridiculous - stumbling over logs, rocks, up and down hills all the while cramped over by the weight of my back and wildly swinging my hiking pulls to clear the path of any potential creepy-crawly web-makers.
9 hours from my start time i made it to the campsite. only it wasnt exactly a campsite, persay. it was a hunters cabin. it was my haven. it was beautiful.
i stumbled inside and found the shelter to be fully stocked - 4 bunks, 1 extra-thick foam pad, a table, stove, cooking supplies, cooking gear, propane tank and even a mirror. i was estatic and decided right then that i had to spend the full next day in recuperation there. so i did.
my third day was spent in absolute bliss. the river passed by the hunters cabin and i was in a valley deep within the mountains. i layed my towel out on the grass and suntanned. i washed the grim off my body and cleaned my clothes. i ate in luxury and rested my aching feet. it totally beat paying thousands of dollars for a week or two at a beach resort. i wished i could stay there forever, but knew that there was so much more ahead of me to see and do.
so day #4 i woke up bright and early to get ready to press on. 5am i was up and packing my things. i wolfed down a bowl of oatmeal and heaved on my pack before i set out. i knew it was to be a long day. i had about 8km of horse trail to cover before i hit up a logging road and went another 20km (approx) to my next campsite.
i was full of gusto until i got to my first river crossing. i had thought the day before was bad, but this was 100 times worse. the river had grown in size from the part i had crossed the day before as i was now a few km downstream from it. it was about 3 times as wide and there were no rocks to hop on or logs to balance-beam my way across. i sat there for a few minutes crossing my fingers that black beauty was going to come waltzing out of the bush and help me cross the river. no such luck.
so the shoes, socks and pants came off. i gingerly stepped into the glacier-cold water and carefully made my way across. one wrong step and i knew there was no one to help me up should i get washed away.
fortunately i made it across and to the other side. i put my clothes back on and continued down my overgrown horse trail.
the thing was, that was just the first river crossing - as i continued down the path, i continued having to criss-cross my way over the river - each time taking off my bottom half of my clothing to save me from freezing clothes. it was not a day to be wearing white underwear and i was glad that only the birds appeared to be watching me.
at times the river crossings were so confusing as they were either not river crossings because the river had washed away the river bed and i simply had to find my way further down the same side to reconnect with the trail. other times the trail on the other side of the river was so far away that it was difficult to determine where i was to actually cross to. fortunately many of the crossings were marked by someone else's surveyor's tape to make it easier to spot where i was to go.
as the day moved on, i was still making my way down my 8km of trail. the river was getting worse and worse as i was continuing it downstream (for those who do not know, the further down a river you go, the rougher, bigger, deeper and faster it generally gets). at one point i knew there was a good chance that taking off my pants would not be enough to keep me dry in the river. it was too deep. i was worried the undercurrent would wisk me away like a little leaf that had been gently placed on the surface of the water and i would never be seen again. so i took my luck on a few trees that had fallen over to bridge the gap across the river.
because the trees still had small branches poking off of them, they were too difficult to crawl across with my big bag hanging off my back. i tried to extend my hiking pole lengths to see if i could brace myself with the poles touching the bottom of the river on either side of the tree. the river was too deep. i was forced to have to walk my way across the trees by pure balance. this is the reason i did 3 years of gymnastics back in my earlier years as a preteen.
i did some deep breathing and calmed down my heartrate. there was only one shot at this. one chance to do it. no going back.
i took it step by step and slowly made my way across. there was a few times my backpack would shift to a side and cause me to have to catch my balance, but eventually i made it.
by the time i had done about 7 km of my initial hike it was already about 11am. i had been going for hours and i still couldnt see the end. i was stuck in the bush and had lost the trail completely. i was pushing my way through the bush, climbing over logs and even yelling out to the unknown people in hopes that someone, somewhere would give me direction. the only thing that kept me sane was that i knew i had to be closely following the river. that was it. at some point i would get to a brige or SOMETHING to indicate civilization. i took a deep breath and pressed on. and then i made the mistake of slipping and falling up to my waist in the river. so much for taking off my pants the rest of the morning. i got wet anyway.
i made my last river crossing without doing the timeconsuming taking off of clothing articles. it was the toughest one and i almost slipped for good. but i made it. the rest of the way i had to do the challenging chore of climbing over fallen trees that loggers had failed to remove from the trail. its one thing to do that when you are just doing it - but to do it with a 60lbs pack, hiking poles, wet clothes, tired muscles and blisters --- well its practically near impossible.
my first glimpse of the bridge in the distance brought a cry of relief from my lips. i was done. well - sort of. i was done the first 8km of my day. i still had to continue on the logging road to my next campsite.
......
LESSONS LEARNED TO DATE:
1. spiders are overtaking the world
2. BC parks do not label hiking trails clearly
3. when the anxiety over the though of being lost kicks in - hunger and physical pain are no longer noticed
4. blisters do not go away with positive thinking
hope all is well with everyone! i will surely update you on the rest of my journey to date asap.
lots of love!
shalane
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