Temporary Camera Issues

Hello Everyone,

I have been unable to post any significant blog posts in the last little while as I am unable to upload photos from my camera. I'm a little worried I messed the port on the camera up...

None the less I have a little bit of news and some tidbits.

Bowen Island

Howe Sound, Cascadia 

A few weeks ago a couch surfer friend and I went for a hike to Mt. Gardner on Bowen Island. Bowen Island is about a 15-20 minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver. A beautiful Island for sure.

We were looking to conquer the 700m summit of the island but it was very rainy. The trails are not very well marked and we took a few wrong turns at times. With a little help from my trusty compass I navigated us to past the half way point. We got to a split in the trail and took a wrong turn that took us back to a main trail... not really where we intended on going and we then experienced some white out conditions and decided to turn back and plan another trip up. 

We would not have been able to take in the stunning view of Vancouver and Howe Sound fro the summit anyways, and it was just more about being able to say we did it. I hope to find a nice day to re-do the hike in the summer!

Whistler-Blackcomb 

Cascadia

I think since my last post I have been up to Whistler to ski twice. I just got back from my last excursion last night and had a blast. My friends Brian and Erin were out visiting and skiing at Whistler from Ottawa. They offered me a place to sleep in the condo they had rented. It was a really nice gesture and a great place! Comfy sleeps, good food, even better beer, and a Hot Tub!!!

On the first day I was visiting I took Brian and Erin on as best of a grand tour of the two mountains that I could. I think I showed them around well. After a great day we enjoyed a apres ski beer at Blacks pub in the village and a well needed relax in the hot tub!

The second day I was up we got about 20-25cm of fresh new pow. I split off from Brian and Erin for most of the day and skied some epic lines. Best runs of the day had to be a couple of first tracks runs from the Jersey Cream chair down Staircase and The Bite. Also had some beautiful runs in knee deep pow and trees off the Crystal Triple Chair in Outer Limits. 

The Glacier Express chair opened around noon and a friend Andrew and I got up to Spanky's ladder for a run through Diamond Bowl and had a blast. 

A pretty successful ski day due to being blessed by the Ski Gods! An excellent day to call my last day of skiing of the year.

A Few Plans

Seattle, ECO2 Polo Tourney

So on Friday I am off to Seattle for a few day for a polo tournament that I mentioned in a previous post. I hope to be able to post some pictures and maybe even some video of the tournament!

Ottawa, A Rideshare Home

I have arranged a rideshare back to Ottawa on March 23rd to visit for 2 months. I'll be back to see family, friends and to show around two couch surfing hosts from Finland. 

The ride I have found is with a gentleman from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island and we will be driving straight back taking turns at the wheel. We are intending on leaving early on Saturday morning so we can get through most of British Columbia and Cascadia during the day(The most exciting of the drive I hear). 

But I will definitely have photos and I will hope to have a Post for it... If my camera is not broken. :( 

Anyways that Is all for now! Here are a few pictures from my phone of Whistler! 

Whats New!?

Hey Folks!

Been a little bit since my last blog post and I'm am bored so I have decided to post about news in my life as well as the hike I did today to Norvan Falls!

So whats new, well I have been working hard and sticking around the city for the most part. I have been playing polo quite a bit as the weather has held out relatively well in the last two weeks. I will be playing a lot of bike polo in the next month leading up to my very first bike polo tourney in Seattle! 
  March 16th and 17th I will be heading to Seattle for the Emerald City Open and will be playing on the team 'Blind to Defeat' with Louise(E Van) and Jared(Everett, WA).  I cannot wait and am trying to ramp up my play and throwing some money into upgrades for my polo bike. Just upgraded the gear ratio to 32:18 by throwing a 18 tooth free wheel on my bike. Also I will be starting to play with clip pedals and shoes. Hopefully I will really start playing more competitively and be ready to have fun in Seattle!

Next week I plan on doing a few activities including a brew at Beer Cat Brewing Co-op and a few days of skiing up a Whistler-Blackcomb!

Anyways, today I did a pretty awesome hike so here are some photos and info!

Norvan Falls

Lynn Headwaters Regional Park (North Vancouver, BC)

So today I hiked up to Norvan Falls for a walk-about and to get out of the city. I regularly need to get out of the city into nature to really maintain a balance in my life. During my hike today I was thinking that hiking is a splendid way to do this as it is a pretty easy way to combine nature and a sense of self-fulfillment. This self-fulfillment is easily obtained hiking depending on the skill level required for the journey... but even if it is a grind or is hard, I think there is nothing like standing on top of a mountain or at a lookout, breathing in the fresh air, and getting the heart pumping. 

The Norvan Falls hike in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park is a pretty easy hike in terms of what is out there, but this time of year it is a little more difficult and requires a bit more care. The path can be steep at times and icy or very wet. But I didn't really find any obstacles being a nimble 23 year old. 

The weather was nice, variable clouds and periods of sun but the low lying clouds in the mountains shifting around in the wind made for some really awesome photo ops. 

About 1/3 of the 11 kilometer return trek is along a well maintained gravel road or path that turns into a semi-icy but maintained path for the second 1/3. Then at the debris chute trail junction the trail to Norvan Falls takes a more elevated and ascending path. The path is maintained but be ready for stream crossings, logs across the trail, and very uneven slopes so sturdy footwear is a must. 

Once you get to the Norvan Falls junction trail there is a metal suspension bridge, which I thought would offer a view of the falls but does not, the falls are about 200m north-east up the creek. You would have thought they would have built such a nice suspension bridge a bit closer to the falls?

None the less I hiked up to the falls and they are pretty worth it. It was certainly nice to take them in in the winter for a different view of them. I will certainly go up to the falls in the summertime to take in another scene of the area!

So after a successful hike, about 11.7km in 4 hours 2 minutes, I got a good idea of what the conditions are like for hiking up around 400m. I'll be researching the Lynn Peak hike and trying to find a partner to do it with over the next month or so. Never actually got a view of the peak due to the low hanging clouds in the mountains. Hopefully by the end of March I'll make it work.

Anyways thanks for checking in and I hope you enjoyed the photos!

W 

My Hope for Cascadia in 2013?

This is a question that was raised in the Cascadian section of Reddit. That I thought would be nice to share on my blog.

Well I am new to the movement, and the bio-region. I have moved from Ottawa, ON to Vancouver in Oct '12 and up until recently Cascadia has all been sort of foreign to me.

Don't know what Cascadia is? Find out about the bio-region HERE. Don't know about Cascadian Secession? Read about it HERE.

What do I hope to see happen in 2013?

Personal Level: Before I go globe trotting in August I hope to discover and pinpoint exactly what it is that makes Cascadia so different from the rest of Canada/USA. From what I know now of it combined with my current detachment from the government of Canada, I know that it is right for me. But, I'm hell bent on discovering at a community level, why is it so different? How can I contribute to this socially and biologically unique region?

Regionally/Movement wide: Well I simply don't know a whole lot about the current affairs of the movement, BUT, I can see that it is much stronger in places like Portland, Seattle, and Victoria than Vancouver... So simply put I hope the momentum keeps up and grows exponentially in the City of Vancouver and hopefully into the mainland.

Perhaps the motto, Ecology, Equality and Equity Through Respect, Reverence, and Responsibility, will guide me in what to look for.

Coagula Cascadia

Travel Plans... The Dream

Hello everyone,

As I stated in my first post The Beginning..., I uprooted myself back in Ottawa for an undetermined period of time to travel.

Since being in Vancouver I have really enjoyed it, and will continue to explore Cascadia for about six more months. In this exploration I hope to accomplish a few things;

• Hike the Juan de Fuca trail
• See such places on Vancouver island as Tofino, Nanaimo, and Victoria
• Hike Lynn Peak
• Hike The Golden Ears
• Tour the Sunshine Coast
• Go to Portland
• Explore Northern California (Mendocino, Trinity, and Humbolt Counties)

After this I am planning a grand trip, a trip to eclipse all trips.

Around the World

Yup, I am planning an around the world journey, the catch? I hope to do it entirely overland and sea.

Crazy...I know, but what better way to experience the entire earth than to see it in its entire beauty? To take my time, and embrace land and ocean? 

Now I know my family will probably not like the idea right off the bat as I will be away for quite some time! I'm sure they will be supportive as always.

The planning is going well for the over land part but finding ocean vessels to seek passage on is a different story. At the moment it seems that the only way to do this is to join a crew of a smaller boat at a marina or over the Internet.

None the less, the plan at the moment is to travel from Ottawa to Los Angeles(Via
Vancouver and Cascadia) over the course of the summer. From Los Angeles I will hope to seek passage to Oceania and plan on working/backpacking in Australia over the course of 6-12 months.

From Darwin, Australia I hope to seek passage to Indonesia or Puapa New Guinea. I then hope backpack through Indonesia(Lombok, Bali, Java, Sumatra) and seek passage from mid-Sumatra to Malaysia by ferry.

Then I'm on the Asia-Europe continent and I'm down to business... Road and rail to Liverpool, United Kingdom!

From Liverpool I intend to ferry to Belfast and tour around Ireland, Northern and Republic of.

This is the cool bit, the family heritage bit. I hope to travel from Ulster, where my ancestors McClary emigrated from, to Fort McClary, Maine(Named after my ancestor Major Andrew McClary).

So, there it is, a lot that I am planning with new ideas every day... But to summarize my largest goals on this journey, enjoy the pictures(Not my photography);

Visit my Cousins in California 

Tasmania, Australia

Kakadu National Park, Australia

Climb Mount Rinjani, Indonesia

Vietnam

The Trans-Mongolian Railway(with stops in Ulaan-Bataar, and Irktusk/Lake Baikal)

Prypiat, Ukraine

Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine

Transylvania, Romania

Hungarian Parliament Buildings, Budapest

Vukovar, Croatia

Mostar, Bosnia I Herzegovina

Jajce, Bosnia I Herzegovina

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Bavaria, Germany

An Everton Game at Goodison Park, England

Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland

 

 (I take credit for none of the photography contained in this Blog Post, although all photography in my previous posts are of my own toil)

If you have a recommendation of a must see place or landmark, post it in the comments section!

W 

The Great Outdoors

Hello everyone!

This is my second blog post in a week and it is meant to fill you folks in with the Great Outdoors adventures that Ive done in the last 2 weeks! (By Great Outdoors I don't mean the 1988 Jon Candy flick... which interestingly enough I watched last night)

So I took off ten days from both my jobs and along with activities of my last blog post, I was able to do some out doors activities. My friend Brigette and I went up to North Vancouver and hiked the Lynn Loop and saw the cool Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. Then when I got back from Seattle I booked it up to Whistler fro some really great skiing and some outdoors walks.

Lynn Loop

Lynn Headwaters Regional Park (North Vancouver, BC)

My friend Brigette and I went for a great hike in the Lynn Headwaters Regional Park and the trail we did was the Lynn Loop and took about an hour and a half to two hours. It was a overcast and foggy day but it was a relatively good day for Vancouver. 

It was quite a bit higher in altitude than the hike we did in the Cove Forest because there was snow on the forest floor at the trail head that we started at, and about half the hike was down a trail that was snow covered. 

It was a relatively easy hike, and was quick. Aside from getting out from the city and into the wilderness, I was aiming to scope out some other more challenging and longer hikes for future dates. I was scoping out the Lynn Peak Hike and the Norvan Falls Hike. I hope to do the Norvan Falls hike tomorrow. 

So here are some photos!

Whistler Blackcomb

Whistler, BC

After I returned from Seattle I packed up my ski gear and was up to Whistler for some skiing! I stayed with my ski buddy Andrew in the Whistler Staff lodging, it is nice to know you have a free floor to sleep on.

I skied two days, way less than I planned on skiing. The first day was a great day and I skied on Blackcomb mountain all day and it was pretty well snowing all day. It was one of those days that the skiing just keeps getting better every run of the day. 

It was my first day on my new ski's which are Line Opus and are FAT, they were so much fun in the powder... just floating around on a cloud of snow!

The second day was great, 32 cm or fresh stuff! So Andrew and I headed up to Whistler Mountain and skied some really good glades and then when the patrol was done blasting headed up to the alpine and skied some bowls! 

"Nothing like dynamite in the morning!"

Around 1 o'clock noon I bailed and hurt my arms and sternum... If I had have bailed like I did without the powder I would have broke my arms, so I consider myself lucky that I am only down and out for a few weeks.

So I was unable to ski the rest of the time I was up at Whistler so I went on some walk-abouts on the mountain and took some photos... Enjoy!

 

 

Perogies, Protests, and Preformances

Hello Everyone!
I have had a very busy couple weeks with friends, my room mate, and one my own! This post is to fill you in and document for my own memories some of the activities that I have been up to.

Perogie Night

at the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church (154 10 Ave E  Vancouver)

My friend Ab informed me that the first Friday of every month is perogie night at a Ukrainian church in town. It doesn't take much twisting my arm to eat perogies and cabbage rolls so we set out to the church for a great 12$ dinner.

Pictured is the plate that you get for the vegetarian dinner. A number of potato and cheese pyrogy, three cabbage rolls, sauerkraut(amazing), and a big ol' glob of sour cream! 

It was a fantastic dinner and it the number of attendees is a testament to that. There were probably about a hundred people there with more arriving and departing throughout our time at the church. 

Needless to say, this will certainly become tradition for me and my friends for future months that I am in Vancouver! Yum.

NO Consent, NO Pipelines Protest

at Victory Square and Sheraton Wall Center (Downtown Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories)

My first protest of 2013, and boy what a protest to start the year off with. Of course many of you have caught wind of the Northern Gateway Pipeline that Enbridge and the Harper Government are pushing through that will transport Tar Sands oil to Kitimat, BC. 

On Monday, January 14th Enbridge was holding a Joint Review Panel that the public was not being admitted to. The panel took place at the Sheraton Wall Center Hotel and the Rising Tide group in solidarity with the First Nations and Idle No More movement planned on marching from Victory Square to the joint review panel to make our voices heard. 

About 2,000 people gathered at Victory Square and witnessed some really uplifting and jazzy tunes from a local group. The group played their take on some classic protest songs with sax-ama-phones, trumpets, and trombones. After these performances and socializing amongst the crowd, there were some speeches from locals and people from the First Nation community. 

By far the neatest part at Victory Square was a traditional Lakota Pipe sharing prayer that was practiced in front of the entire crowd. The pipe sharing was a tradition that is rarely preformed out side the Lakota First Nation. They shared it with people that are not within the First Nations community to show solidarity between them and colonists.

It was quite an enlightening experience. 

We then marched through downtown making lots of noise and peacefully protesting the pipeline made it to the Sheraton Wall center. This is where we spent about two hours making noise and listening to some speeches from First Nations community and some from the Rising Tide movement. Word came to us from the inside of the panel we could be heard loud and clear 4 stories up in the conference room! 

I am definitely going to keep my eyes open for more Pipeline and Idle No More Protests happening in Vancouver!

To follow Idle No More visit http://idlenomore.ca/

Neurosis, featuring Tragedy, Black Breath, and Stoneburner

at The Showbox in Seattle

On Saturday, January 5th my room mate and I went to see a show in Seattle. We decided to Couchsurf with a dude name Charles from West Seattle. 

The show was fantastic and it was great to see one of my favorite punk bands Tragedy after so many years. Black Breath and Neurosis are two bands that I have started listening to within the last year and both were really good. It was one of those shows that each performance exceeded that of the band before.

Here are a few Videos of the bands live (Not in Seattle tho).

 

Chelsea Wolfe featuring King Dude 

at Media Club (Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories)

Last night (January 15th) I went to this Occult Neo-Folk show and it was fantastic. The Dude, King Dude, was awesome as always.

I had never listened to Chelsea Wolfe before bu it is like if one were to breed Blood Ceremony and Death in June together this would be the product. I totally dig it, and it was a great show aside from a girl in the crowd having a seizure mid way through the set. I think she was ok, she was able to walk out once paramedics arrived. 


Here are some photos and video! See you next post in when I update about a few Outdoors Adventures!!