the flames are burning

august 3/09 (DAY 34)

my dad and i have made it past our second night at xenon lake here. a name of which makes me think we are resideing in some ancient warrior's outdoor palace. that being said, we might as well be thought of as warriors given the insane 2 km stretch of "road" we had to drive up on to get here.

august 1 had been a day of random activities as i waited for my dad to meet me in the 37 degree heat at christina lake. apparently i had become something of a celebrity at this point (my 3rd day at the lake) as when i went to the ice cream shop to do a solo celebration of my 1 month walking across bc (though who am i kiddin - i would have been there regardless of which day it was), a man there was like, "so YOURE the one going across bc - i heard about you on the golf course." well, fancy that. i was tempted to ask if the guy wanted my autograph.

by 3 pm i had made my way to the visitors centre and just as i relieved my back of the weight of my pack i spotted my dads truck. it was so nice to see a familiar face - it had been a long time. its a wierd sensation to have gone an entire month and not KNOW anyone. anyway, we packed my things in the truck and we were off - all the way to xenon lake.

it wasnt until we spotted the sign indicating that the campsite at xenon lake was 2 km away that things started to get a little rocky - literally. the sign was nice enough to indicate that only vehicles with 4 wheel drive would be able to survive the steep incline, yet they failed to mention that wed be encountering a "road" so narrow you feel like sucking in your gut just in hopes that it would shave off an inch or two of your vehicles width.

my dads hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as i gritted my teeth - driving up that road we bounced over the bumps that made me feel as though at any moment i would be catapulted through the roof. i had gotten my break. i was no longer in control of my journey and could only hope wed make it through the 2 km to set up camp and not be stressed with how we would fix a broken axel.

fortunately we made it. we came up over the last hill and i spotted the lake. it was gorgeous. the glassy surface was lined with countless lily pads as the giant trees stood around the edge, attempting to protect the water of the suns harsh rays. we managed to find a secluded campsite away from the others that were full of fellow long weekend campers. a quick dip in the lake to cool off and rinse off the grime, supper and then we were ready for sleep.

yesterday we woke up to sun shining brightly and after breakfast we decided to go for a short 5 km hike to check out a nearby cabin. true to bc's trail system, the path was so overgrown in many areas that my dad and i had to rely on the surveyors tape a previous hiker had thoughfully tied to trees as markers. within about 1.5 hours we made it to the top of the mountain only to completely lose the trail all together. after about 45 min of exploring the peak for signs of a trail, surveyors tape or SOMETHING to indicate which direction we were to go, we decided to turn back. disappointed about not reaching the cabin we arrived back at camp with our limbs scratched up from the bushes and our lungs burning with the desire of some h2o remedy. we were spent and ended up sticking by the campsite the rest of the day relaxing and chatting it up.

it was about mid-afternoon when i pulled out the mapbook to see if i could figure out why we never found the cabin. as soon as i flipped it open to the right page, there it was staring back at me. as it turned out, the trail i had thought led to the cabin was actually just the boundary line for the provincial park. the trail we were on ended at the top of the mountain where we had gone. both sets of lines looked the same on my black and white photocopied map and it wasnt until i opened the colored book that i could see the difference. good times.

today has been a quiet day as all the long weekend campers have gone. the entire campsite appears to be ours for the taking and we intend to enjoy every minute of it.

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the day is done and we are spent. it was so relaxing being able to just "be" by the lake, in the lake, around the lake. with steak and corn on the cob for dinner - who could complain?!

that being said - what really struck me today was how incredibly frustrating it is to think that ive only made it half the distance across bc and i still got over a month to go if i were to even been dropped off in penticton by my dad. its not the physical strain of having to walk that much further that really gets to me - its the emotional strain of being alone. i do not regret doing this journey alone and i realized when i planned this that one of my main hardships i would face would be dealing with the very fact that i am alone.

as i have said before - the last week has been hard. dont get me wrong - i still love the fact that i have chosen to take on this adventure and i am proud at how far i have come, bu tthere is a part of me that is ready to be done. its the part that enjoys building relationships and seeing familiar faces every so often - not like now where everyday i am thrusting myself into a whirlwind of introductory interactions. it is difficult to meet so many incredible people in my travels and try to get to know them as much as possible within the next 24 hours or less and feel as though id be able to maintain a relationship once we parted. and thats the thing - all these people i have met will most likely go on their way as i have on mine and we will forget about each other - never even reaching that point of comfort to which i could take a picture of us for memories sake.

as such, part of me longs for when i can slow my pace enough that i have time to actually make friends, get past the intros and build on a relationship. i long to be able to wear the clothes i want because i feel like it and not out of necessity because of hiking 30 km a day. i long to wake up and know ill be able to get a shower with REAL shampoo - not this biodegradeable stuff used for camping. id really love to have a room thats bigger than a space only 2 people can lay down in side by side. and id REALLY love to sleep in a bed.

all in all, i am tired of the emotional strain this slow journey has placed on me, but i know one thing for sure - i wont give up. this is my journey, my adventure and no one can take that away from me. no one can tell me if i am doing it right or wrong because no one is even telling me i have to do this in the first place. i want to be able to get to vancouver and know that i made it. ME. no one else - i did it.

as such, i have decided that after me and my dad camp this week that i will let him drop me off at princeton. sure, thats a ways from where i last stopped walking at christina lake, but a tthe same time i could have just as easily given up and had my dad take me all the way to the finish line. no way - i want to be able to say "i walked to vancouver." and i will. no giving up. no stopping me. i will do it.


august 5/09 (DAY 36)

yesterday was a whirlwind of activity. as usual. we decided to pack up and mover our camping location closer to princeton as that was where i would be dropped off to continue on my journey. so we did, only to find that the 2 km road we had stressed about coming to xenon lake was really not that bad. apparently the scare factor is only for first timers. who knows. either way, we made it down and headed along highway 3 towards princeton.

it was really different to be in a vehicle for once and it left me with mixed feelings. i was super glad that i got to skip the dry, waterless environment with scattered sage bush that grand forks brought and i was even happy to zip past osoyoos where the smokey haze of the bc fires blocked the view of what im sure is a gorgeous lake. but it was also hard to take everything in. the vineyards. the fruit stands. the unique building structures that only told of a long history of people before us. i tried to absorb it all. feel it. remember it. but theres only so much you can do when going 100 km/hr.

we did stop off in hedley for some lunch before hitting up the campsite and i found myself chomping down on one of the best hamburgers ive ever had. gotta love small town restaurants. full of greasey food and ice cream we made our way to where our map indicated a campsite and found it. right along the highway, barely a tree to give shade with a rocky surface to set up tent. we both vetoed it.

the next one was more of the same. then we found one that paralleled the river but was way higher than it - i can only imagine trying to get water only to end up sliding down the side of the steep drop. not fun. we skipped it. the next 2 were more of the same. our journey started to become almost a game of "wheres waldo" as the campsites were never really matched up to where they were on the map. and some on the map were nameless so we spent the drive scanning through the trees (what little of them there were) to see if we could find picnic tables hidden there. we drove up roads with no names, certain we'd find the site, only to discover we had driven way to far and were on the wrong side of the river. eventually we just ended up in princeton and booked into a motel.

i couldnt complain since this meant a shower and a real bed to lie in.

the rest of the afternoon and evening we spent checking in with the info centre and scouring the town for some last minute supplies - most of the store clerks looked at me as though i had 3 heads when i inquired whether or not they had what are called "sport beans" (a type of jelly bean made to get you nutrients fast when doing exercise) - no one had them. too bad. the info centre had a person who was ACTUALLY very informative when it came to trails - a majority of the visitor centres ive been to have people who do not even hike and are generally useless to me when it comes to questions about which route is better to take. she also talked about the fires and confirmed that coming to princeton was a good idea - had i not taken the extra ride with my dad i was risking that the forest fires would cross over into my intended route of travel - something of which i really do not want to experience in my lifetime.

today has been rather lazy, with the plan to catch up on internet then leave to find a campsite by a lake. i only hope that we will have better luck than yesterday. time will tell.



*** I HAVE UPDATED MY PHOTO ALBUM AGAIN - FEEL FREE TO CHECK IT OUT - I HAVE ALSO UPDATED MY MAP (POSTED ABOVE MY BLOG) TO SHOW WHERE I HAVE GONE ACROSS BC SO FAR. ENJOY! **