rain, rain - go away...

okay - first things first - i have to clear up some confusion regarding the pictures. there have been a few comments made that some are finding it difficult to access the picture updates. as i have it currently, all my pictures have been posted on my facebook account. as each photo album holds up to 200 pictures, it does take a while for it to fill up so sometimes you will have to go back to same photo album in order to see the new pictures. so - if you are one of my facebook friends, you will be able to access the pictures without having to come to my blog for the link. for those of you who do not have facebook or wish to access the pictures from my blog, the links will always be posted for each photo album to the right of my blog entries ON MY ORIGINAL BLOG SITE. this means that if you have subscribed to my blog and receive each entry via your email, the link to the photos WILL NOT show up unless i specifically include it in my blog entry (which i only plan to do each time i create a new photo album - not when i add pictures to a current one). as such, for those who received my blog via email, you will have to return to my original blogsite to access the link to the photo albums. at this time there are only two, named "backpacking bc" and "backpacking bc 2" - more will be added later as i travel abroad to australia and carry on from there. please note that this blog is also automatically forward to my facebook account and will show up through my notes. again, the map of my travels will NOT show up on my facebook account OR through email if you subscribe. i hope that this all makes sense and if not, please email me at: shalane.hopkins@hotmail.com and in a final sidenote - EVERY time i update my blog entries i will be posting new photos so know that with one comes the other!

and now for my update! :)


august 5/09 (DAY #36)

my dad and i managed to find kennedy lake - just barely. there was a sign hardly visible from the highway - faded and upsidedown - indicating that a campground lay ahead. we drove down a dirt road and quickly had to change to 4 wheel drive to get along. we passed countless makeshift cabins, most consisting of a trailor with a half-attempt to build an add-on using spare lumber that happened to be lying around. eventually we made it to a set of "spots" (hard to determine if they should be called properties) that had a fire pit and picnic table each. the faded numbers nailed to posts along the road confirmed they were campsites - "were" being the key word.

my dad and i eventually had to ask someone if we had made it to the campground as it wasnt clear. we had made it - it just was no longer an active campground. it had been turned into an area for summer properties. even still, the man directed us to speak with "marie." so we did and she told us we could use the park area to set up our tents free of charge.

so here we are - set up in the middle of a grassy park, complete with picnic tables, horse shoe and an old building that looks like it used to be a pretty fun rec centre. we got the lake nearby and the breeze in the trees. its and odd place, but its still its own version of paradise.


august 6/09 (DAY #37)

what a relaxing day - i ended up spending it stretched out in the sun on my towel by my tent reading a book. i have forgotten how much i love to read. to get lost in a book and its story. this journey has brought me back the opportunity for me to devulge in my long-lost passion with my only concern being that i cant seem to find enough space in my bag to transport all the books id like to read. at the pace i read i could have a book for each day i have been going - but thats just physically not possible for me to carry. hence why i am attempting to force myself into enjoying the habit of re-reading the book(s) i DO have. fortunately with my dad hanging out with me i have been able to buy new books and dump the old ones on him. i was in my glory to be able to pick up a new story today.

that being said, all this book-worming didnt start until after lunch as i spent most of the morning trying to warm up. it was a mere 10 degrees last night and given i seem to have climatized to the upper 30 degree days that have been a regular of central bc summers - i was COLD. it didnt help that i had awoken at 3 am with the sudden urge to pee and the stubborn refusal to exit my barely warm sleeping bag. i figured if i was already cold in my sleeping bag, things would only feel more frozen should i venture out. not to mention the horrid thought of having to face a cold toilet seat. NOT my idea of a good time. so i forced myself back to sleep, ignoring my bladders protests until about 7:30 am when i had to bolt out of my tent on a mission to the porcelin throne as my body threatened to be the second thing to make my tent wet that morning (we had woken to a bad case of dew on our tents).

anyway, the rest of the day was fairly uneventful though part of me kept expecting somethng to happen. our campsite could almost be a real life version of one of those thriller movies like "the village" or "texas chainsaw massacre" or some other film focused around horrible things that happen to strangers in a run-down, off the grid community. not to say that it FEELS that way. the people in this community are extraordinarly nice. its just the look with the run down buildings, empty playgrounds and the sense of mystery around why this place no longer functions as a campground. meh.

that all said, its hard to believe that tomorrow i start moving forward in my journey again. my dad will drop me off and i will set off into the bush with the hope that maybe THIS time my trail will be clearly marked all the way. i wont hold my breath. even still, i feel in better spirits than a few days ago. i feel as though i can take on my journey with full force. i only hope i have worked through my issues because there will be no stopping until i reach the finish line. vancouver - here i come! :)


august 7/09 (DAY #38)

i was surprised at how relaxed i felt today during my first 24 km stint since a week ago. i was slightly worried that it would be hard to get back in the swing of things. last time i walked was on july 31 - i dont count the 1st because that was only about 2-4 km. as it were - i was quite pleased that i knocked off about 24 km by noon today. all to end up at a cabin where i will spend the night. that being said, some idiot before me had left the door and windows wide open and when i arrived there was trash and garbage strewn all over the place. i checked inside and though there was no current animal activity, you could tell there had been. things were all over - a deck of cards looked as though they had exploded on the floor. the dish soap left a pile of sticky dirt by the sink. then there was the mouse droppings. EVERYWHERE.

i nominated myself as the cleanup crew and spent the next 2.5 hours cleaning everything which was a lot considering its only a one-room building. when i was done i had to lock all the garbage in the nearby barn - i didnt want the animals - no matter how big or small - to come back while i slept.

the rest of the afternoon was simply spent in chill mode - resting, reading and pictures. tomorrow i hope to reach nicomen lake!


august 8/09 (DAY #39)

so pretty. so cold. i have made it here to nicomen lake and the only thing i wish for is the sun. the sky has been clouded over ever since i started walking today and the wind hasnt let up. i seem to be in a pattern of wearing pants and long sleeves and i only hope that im just hitting bad weather and that this isnt normal for this time of year. hell - its not even the middle of august yet! i am damn sure not ready to give up my shorts so quickly.

that being said - i spotted a note written, or rather - scratched on the the door of the outhouse where someone stated they had snow on august 17 of some year. ive decided that i will be leaving here tomorrow morning. i dont want to spen anymore time than i have to risking to see if that weather comes around this year.

as such, ever since i got here at about 9:30 am (it was a short walk today), i have sat in my tent trying to stay warm. most of the time the breeze is cut off from my tent fly, but theres still enough to keep me huddled in my sleeping bag. the only time ive gotten out was to go to the bathroom or grab food. even still - my watch claims its 18 degrees in my tent. some chill factor.

cold or not cold, i can hardly believe its going to be 40 days into my journey tomorrow. the end is in sight and it feels awesome. i cant wait to see something, ANYTHING, that tells me ive made it to vancouver. that will be an AWESOME day. :)


august 9/09 (DAY #40)

its day #40 and i feel as though im trapped here at the lake. i decided to stay for the day as i figured itd be nicer than packing up a wet tent and trying to walk 30 km in this dreary weather. plus i managed to set up a clothesline in the lean-too shelter thats here so at least i can further justify my stay by cleaning some of my clothes. im crossing my fingers theyll dry in this weather.

the clouds hang low today and the whole campsite has been caught in a constant state of fog and drizzle since i woke up at 5 am. its now 8:20 am. last night was pretty cold and i had to layer up all my clothes, including toque and mitts, completely zip up my mummy bag and attempt to sleep. i am not looking forward to another night of that, but id rather fight the cold here where at least theres an outhouse and bear bins for food than to try to find a makeshift site at the side of the road in all the wetness.

i wonder if helen and liz will decide to stay another day - part of me hopes they do. they showed up later yesterday and i had a blast hanging out with them and just chatting it up. i know it would be nice to have some company on this cloudy day.

****

well, helen and liz left around 10 am. i immediately grew antsy with the idea of chilling in my tent all day (literally) so i packed up and left camp by 10:30. i figured my freshly washed clothes would just have to wait to dry.

i managed to crank out about 30 km of walking today without too many issues. it helped that it was so cloudy otherwise id probably of had to call it quits by 1 pm due to the heat. i was also pleased that the trail for today (a continuation of yesterdays) had been really well marked and maintained. i pretty much was able to put my feet on cruise control and just go. it was nice for once. it allowed me time to let my thoughts wander.

i found myself to be thinking a lot about my experience with helen and liz. not in a wierd stalker sort of way, just more a reflection on how refreshing it was to meet 2 other women backpackers. most times i see any woman backpacking she is generally either with her family or just her husband/boyfriend. i find it rare to meet women who are traveling with other women and even more rare to find them going solo. i am not saying that theres anything WRONG with going with a male companion, its just nice to see that there are other women out there slowly helping to break societys expectation that women need men to keep them safe.

anyway, back to my walk today. i was glad i went. i was even more glad to see the sign along the highway that said vancouver was a mere 195 km away - im stoked. the end is in sight. i quickly calculated that i could be in vancouver in as little as a week - though give i dont want to rush (part of me REALLY does) it will probably be more like 10-14 days. YAY!

on another note - right when i saw the sign, a black bear decided to cross the highway to my side (i was walking against the traffic). i pretty much just stood there and watched him as talking calmly to show "im human" was useless at this point. plus - i would have looked ridiculous to drivers as i would have to be yelling at the bear in order to be heard over the traffic. instead, i opted to cross the highway for a photo opp with the sign.


august 10/09 (DAY #41)

i woke up today, packed up and set to go. i figured i would push for a long day today and then do a short walk to get to hope for tomorrow. i made my way back onto the highway and within a few minutes spotted a glimpse of a bear walking way up high on the opposite side of the highway. could have been the same bear as yesterday, may have been different - but i figured at this rate i should keep going as my bear sightings seem to be increasing.

within an hour the dark clouds started to rain and as i walked i found it more difficult to try to figure out how i would spend the night. i started to contemplate the idea of pushing myself to get to hope for tonight. it would "only" be 38 km - but thats still about 8 km longer than any distance ive done on my journey. i decided to just take it an hour at a time.

a while down the highway, i came face to face with a cyclist who was coming the other direction. as we were on the same side of the highway and i was the one going against traffic, i figured i would stop off to the side to avoid me knocking the cyclist into the rushing traffic with my pack or something equally as dangerous. anyway, he stopped when he got to me (im busy thinking he was crazy to do so as he was the one going UP the long hill) and we got to talking. his name was adam and as it turned out, he was on day #46 of his journey - cycling from alaska to argentina to raise money for autism. super cool. (look below for more information on AFA an links to the website on how to get involved).

further on i met up with a guy who was running. we stopped and chatted and i learned that he was running from victoria to penticton in order to raise money and awareness to help women get out of the sex trade. he informed me he decided to do this because he was "bored of doing the iron man." RIGHT. as i left him and contemplated what both he and adam had shared with me i felt as though maybe i should be doing my walk for something. a cause. a cure. money. whatever. i dont know. maybe one day - but i concluded that for today, doing this walk just for me - because i wanted to - was plenty enough for me as it were.

hours later and completely exhausted from doing a little over 30 km, i met up with the freeway. a nice 6-lane divided highway where traffic zipped along with barely no regard for anything else that may be trying to move along the side at a slower pace. there was no other accessible way for me to get into hope at this point. i had to walk along it. i only had a few more km to go and there was no other choice to press on. my feet said otherwise.

walking in the rain i began to contemplate what i must look like with my pack covered with its black waterproof cover. paired with my bright orange jacket and black shorts i got laugh out of my hunched-back of halloween look. geez louise - i wished i could get off the freeway soon. i needed a distraction. i took hold of the first thing that popped into my head - dori from finding nemo.

within a few seconds i found myself singing outloud my own version of doris song "just keep swimming." mine went more like: "just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep walking, walking, walking.... what do we do? we walk... walk... walk..." when that got too repetitive id switch it up, but keep with the finding nemo theme and found myself attempting to speak whale. keep in mind this was not a silent, in-my-head event... i was practically yelling everything that came out of my mouth as it was difficult to be heard above the traffic and rain. i was just glad that no one else would be able to hear me.....

fortunately i eventually made it to hope. 38 km later. i checked out a few motels and found the prices to be too much. at one this guy asked me what price i WAS looking for (he asked for $70) - i told him $50. we bardered. he wanted $60 and i told him that was too much and i had no issues going to the next motel as there was PLENTY around. he hemmed and hawed and offered to give me the room for $55. i took it. my feet were too tired to go on any further.

a fresh shower, dry clothes and a delivered pizza and i was set for the night. now if only the weather would let up in the next couple days - im all antsy to keep going to vancouver now that its in my sights....




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for those who are interested in more information on adventures for autism, check out adam biel's site at: http://www.adventuresforautism.com/ -- adventure for autism (AfA) is a 25,000 mile cycling journey promoting and raising funds for autism. it started with just two UNC-CH graduates (adam biel and tim blaisdell), now its just adam, but more riders will join the trip as it travels through 19 countries! the journeymen will be posting videos and journals online on the website! follow the their epic adventure through 19 countries and over 12 climate zones over the next 24-28 months! -- for those who have facebook there is also a facebook group by the name of "adventures for autism"