Pixmin

I’ve been in the woods for the last 6 days. Tomorrow will be my last day in Whitehorse and Friday moring it’s back to Vancouver. And the next day back to France. I already felt melocanlic this morning as I was walking back from the overland trail. I’ll update the blog when I get back. This was just to let you know that I haven’t been eaten by bears.

(sand dunes in Whitehorse)

I am sitting on a log admiring the view. I stopped here, above the tree line, to take a break and dry my sleeping bag in the sunny wind.

Today, when I woke, the sky was half red half black. The sun was not up yet. It was as if a huge red spotlight was shinning in the sky.

But let’s go back in time and find out how I got there.

Yesterday, I landed in Whitehorse. My first stop was the information office to find out about the trails I could hike. Fortunately the airport is not too far from the town so I walked there. Unfortunately, it turns out that all the trails I was given the map of were short trails, a few hours at most. Not quite enough to keep me walking for 8 days.

I bought a bit of food, filled my water bag and picked a mountain. That would be my bearing. I would make my own trail to the top of that mountain. Shouldn’t take more than a few days.

As I left Whitehorse, I stumbled upon something which I never thought I could find here, in Yukon, northen Canada, home town of the Yukon Quest: sand dunes. No kidding. The photo above really is from Whitehorse. I was walking on sand. What happened here!? It really didn’t make sense. I kept walking.

Something else didn’t make sense: the temperature. The snow was melting. It wasn’t really cold. Maybe low 10s, which isn’t what I had in mind at all. And it wasn’t good for me. It meant heavy wet snow, wet shoes, wet feet and also wet sleeping bag. Not good at all.

I walked until I found a nice spot for the night and I started picking up wood (only deadwood) to make the roof/walls of my “home” for the night. That took me much longer that I ever thought it would. You never see it all when you’re watching a documentary or movie of someone who built their shelter in the woods. It looks simple and doesn’t take long. Well, in the real world it does. Patience is king out there. I stopped before it could be described as finished. It was getting dark and I was tired, but I now had to think about finding a way to isolate my sleeping bag from the floor (snow) if I wanted to sleep. I picked up pine needles and bits of pine cones which I think are the parts squirrels leave when they eat the nuts from the cones. First by hand, but I soon realized how much of it I would need and took a bag to collect them. I filled the bag several times and only had a very thin layer to sleep on. It would have to do for this time, I was tired and decided that it would suffice.

It turns out I was wrong. It didn’t not suffice. My mattress of pine needles and cones was not near thick enough. I felt the cold snow underneath sucking all my heat and was cold all night. Also, it snowed during the night. Everything was covered by a few centimeters of snow. There was definitely less snow where I had built the roof, but only substantially less. I had to make a fire to warm up my feet and dry my trousers, which were still wet. I didn’t bother collecting wood, I used my roof. It was a one use house and since I didn’t want to leave any trace, it had to go anyway. And now one of the best moment. I have everything ready, some small wood to start the fire with, then more wood, small piles of bigger and bigger wood. I tried the lighter. Once. Twice. Three times. I shake it and try again. Nothing. It was empty. Bloody empty. Now that’s great. What an idiot. I had nicked an empty lighter. I was broken inside.

But I quickly remembered the magnesium block I had bought earlier. I had it with me. I knew I said mainly bad things about the magnesium, but I was *so* happy to have it with me now, and it would just have to work. I took my knife out and started scraping the magnesium to make a small pile of chips. Knowing how quickly the magnesium starts and stops, I wouldn’t take any chance and put the pile on a piece of paper, especially because the wood was damp. I used the firesteel and it started. I had my fire. I warmed up and dried trousers and socks. Happy I was. I walked away with my sleeping bag on my shoulders to try to dry it. I didn’t want to risk drying it near the fire and burn it. I walked through the forest and started climbing the mountain.

And I am finishing to dry it in the wind. The sun is gone while I wrote all this. Time to pack up. It’s already midday so I’ll keep going for another few hours and I’ll make a fire and build a shelter. I should make it to the top tomorrow. I have already spotted my next mountain, the one opposite this one.

This was written Sat 12th April but I only got around putting it in the blog now, so it’s back dated.

I’ve finally booked my ticket to go to Whitehorse. I’ll be there tomorrow. I just spent the last hour or so trying to get rid of all the stuff I don’t really need and decided to go with my small bag (as I can leave the big one here). The thing is, once I put my sleeping bag in my backpack, I hardly have any space left. Just enough to fit my camera (fitted with my smallest lens, 50mm, no extra lenses, batteries or even camera bag), my 3L water bag, my newly bought Swedish axe (which will go out of the bag as soon as I arrive in Whitehorse), survival blanket, toothpaste and toothbrush. I also have my swiss knife, a lighter and a headlamp in my jacket. No laptop. No extra cloth. No towel. No cooking pot. No thermos. No sleeping mat. No books. It will be nice to travel light for once.

I just checked the temperatures in Whitehorse and I should be fine, it’s not as cold as I thought it would be, so no extra cloth either, just what I wear on me. I have no space even if I wanted to take some extra cloth anyway. As long as it stays cold enough and it doesn’t rain, it’ll be fine. Dry cold and snow, I love.

I’m not sure how wired Whitehorse is or if I’ll even stay around town, so the next update might only be from Vancouver when I get back, in a week. The plan is to head for the information office, get a map, talk with the locals and explore.

As I wake up, I immediately notice someone is looking at me. Not just looking. Staring. But I won’t back down. He keeps looking at me as he enters the gas station. I unlock the car and walk in giving him a big warm “hello”. He doesn’t reply. I insist and ask “how are you?”, but all I get as an answer is an indiscernible “ok”. Never mind, I do what I have to do and as I’m about to walk out, he stops me saying “You can’t park here all night you know. Didn’t you see the sign?”. And if you just read that in a normal tone, read back adding heaps of anger and indignation. I explain that it was pitch dark and pouring rain when I arrived and apologize for not seeing the sign, and I even ask if I didn’t cause any problem (fully knowing that I didn’t). He replies that he almost called 911, but it was too late. I’m not sure what he meant by “too late”. Too late in the night for calling the cops, or too late because when he saw me I was getting out of the car? I’ll never know. I just left.

That was how my day started. But that’s not all coming back to Vancouver would bring. As I’m entering Vancouver, changing lane to go West Vancouver instead of Vancouver West (go and figure), I’ll get a nice finger from the car behind me. Yes, I did indicate and no, I didn’t drive like a French man. I guess it’s the just way it is. Big town = big stress.

And last but not least, only a few minutes after I gave the car back and started to cross the street (yes, both when and where I’m supposed to) I was centimeters from being hit by a van. The funny thing is, he was not even sorry, not at all, it was more like I was in his way and should feel bad about it. It didn’t matter that my light was green and that I was on a passenger crossing (or whatever it’s called).

Can’t wait to be out of town.

The road from 100 Mile House to Hope is really nice. It goes along the Fraser River, through the Fraser Canyon. I spotted the train slightly ahead of me and decided to speed up a bit to catch up with it and overtake it to have enough time to stop and take a photo of it. But I forgot that my camera had nor battery nor memory card, both still being in my bag since my previous stop. Still, I rushed and managed to quickly snap a few shots. The length of the train is just amazing, hundreds of wagons, really really long.

I made it in Hope in good time. I thought I might push it to Mission but actually I that’s already part of Vancouver, so I’m going to stay away from the big town for another last night.

The next update will probably be from Vancouver.

I was originally told to check out Terrace, rather than Smithers. But I ended up there for two reasons. First, time. I just didn’t have the time to go to Terrace. Secondly, while talking to someone about my trip and the places I wanted to see, I mentioned Terrace. Her eyes grew bigger and she told me about Smithers, insisting that it was an even nicer place than Terrace.

I didn’t see much of it but have no regrets. I asked about a place where I could sit down and drink something while plugging my laptop and access internet, and all replied “Mountain Eagle” book shop. It’s a great place to meet locals, and if you’re into books, it’s paradise.  I ended up spending most of the day there and had just enough time to check out Old Hazelton. Strangely, after talking all morning, my head was full of thoughts and I didn’t feel much like taking photos, but I do recommend checking it out.

PS: I was just checking out Smithers on the wikipedia and the movie Eight Below was filmed there.

I then assisted to the most beautiful sunset ever. Again, no photos, but for a different reason this time, I took a hitchhiker with me all the way to Prince George. It was interesting to talk with someone local but he quickly fell asleep only to wake up a few kilometers before we arrived.

(road to Lake Jasper)

After a quick break in Jasper to have breakfast, I drove to Lake Jasper (on the Road to Edmonton).

(wildlife by Lake Jasper)

I was told I would see wildlife in Jasper, I sure did.

(wildlife by Lake Jasper)

I didn’t hike anywhere, the road just follows the Lake. Back to Jasper and direction Prince George.

(lunch break on the way to Prince George)

I’ll arrive in Prince George in the evening and will continue to Smithers where I’ll spend the warmest night so far. Temperatures are way warmer here.

I now understand what explorer Mary Schäffer meant when she wrote “There burst upon us… the finest view any of us had ever beheld in the Rockies”. I suppose it would look even better in summer time, but still, even being all white, this place is just amazing. So quiet, peaceful.

(road to Lake Maligne)

(Maligne river)

Now off to check out Lake Jasper.

(road to Jasper)

This road has the most amazing views I have ever seen. If there is one road that will let you in awe, it’s this one.

I finally arrive in Jasper, and I’m glad I asked Brett about its size because I would have been surprised. It’s a village, or a town if you want, but it’s small, way smaller than Banff. I’m not sure why I expected it to be much bigger.

(road from Lake Louise to Jasper)

(arriving in Jasper)

Stop number, gaz, and another $85 out. I arrived in Jasper with only a few spare litters. Then food, and finally I enquire about internet. I check google maps to find out where I could spend the night, and maybe with a bit of luck see the rest of the sunset and the sunrise tomorrow morning. My pick will be Pyramid Lake. It should be quiet there, it’s at the end of a road (at least at the end of the part of the road which isn’t under few feet of snow). I’ll have my dinner there, with a nice with on the lake, and plan the rest of the trip.

I’m not sure if this will work, but here is the plan. First, Lake Maligne, then, Lake Jasper. After that I’ll go by Jasper to update the blog and drive as much as I can before the night towards Prince George. Maybe even pass Prince George and start making my way to Smithers and Terrace which are the two last places I want to see before going back to Vancouver.

(planning the rest of the trip)

Before heading to the lake, I need to check my emails to find out about the trails I’ve been advised to take (since I stupidly didn’t write it down). I can’t find an open network nor a place with free wifi and end up at the Post Office (called the Depot, which is also a bank amongst other things, Lake Louise being a small village). No free wifi but I don’t want to pay just to check this one email I need, so I explain the situation to the man in charge. He will first try to convince me to take his advice about the trail, but as I insist he will let me check my emails for free.

Another stop by the public toilets to refill my water bottles and direction the lake. I arrive before the crowd, there is almost no car on the parking. Time to hike.

(arriving at the Tea House in Lake Louise)

The first person I’ll meet on the trails will be Brett, with whom I’ll spend a few hours, first going to the small Beehive, then to the Tea house by Lake Agnes, and following his advice I will go and check out the waterfall located on the right side of the Lake.

(waterfall by Lake Louise)

Now direction Jasper.