triple (3) three.

Pulpit Rock / Flagpole Trail - Nelson, BC

We took a great hike yesterday up the Pulpit Rock and East (Old) Flagpole Trail on Nelson’s North Shore. The going was was steady up to Pulpit Rock and then took a nice steep turn straight up for abut a kilometre to the flagpole. We crossed the snow line about 150m from Pulpit Rock, and the rain instantly turned into heavy snow. We had to backtrack a few times to find the trail, as it got narrow and hard to follow in places. Luckily, we found a set of footprints to follow to the top, and took the gentler but much more beautiful West (New) Flagpole Trail back down. We would have liked to continue the hike up to the CBC tower, but the snow was getting deep, and with our heads literally in the clouds, visibility was low.

Despite our aching calves on the way up, the way down proved to be even more challenging, so our thighs were a little rubbery by the time we made it back to the trailhead. Both directions proved that the incline is always greener on the other side.

We’ve made it a point to hike or run almost every day, and are starting to feel pretty amazing. There’s something about the air here - I feel like I could do this forever.

Reading List

Empire of the Beetle - Andrew Nikiforuk

Clearcuts.

I’ve read about them, but I’ve never seen them like this. Big patches of mountains shaved in checkerboard patterns. Piles of devastation. Landslides and sick trees.

Also hard to ignore are the effects of the massive Pine Beetle infestation on the West Coast. Big red and orange streaks of dying trees standing out against the green. 

Right now I’m reading about how the uninformed actions of often well-intentioned humans have encouraged the spread of this disease. Overzealous logging and fire suppression over the years have turned forests into both a giant breeding ground, and a massive meal of deadfall for the Pine Beetle, sparking the largest infestation in North America since the plague of the Rocky Mountain Locust more than 100 years ago.

It’s heavy, and frightening, but fascinating. I am so inspired and moved by the immense forests here, and the complex networks of life that they sustain. The more I read, the more I want to learn about how to preserve them, and use them responsibly. 

 

Selkirk College based in Nelson / Castlegar offer Forestry, Integrated Environmental Planning, and Fish, Water & Wildlife programs that just might pave the way to a dream career. 

I’ve got an appointment with a counsellor at the college on Monday to help me get a better idea of what I need to do to reach my goals, and plan on dropping in on the B.C. Forest Service / Kootenay Lake Forest Centre here in nelson some time this week as well.

Reading List

There are some fantastic books that I’ve either read, or had in mind while on this journey. They’ve all given me valuable insight and information, and are all relevant in one way or another - to where I am, where I’m going, or where I’d like to be.

I thought I would share one for now, and post a few more as I go.

The Golden Spruce - John Vaillant 

first steps.

In the past 2 months, I have married the man of my dreams, sold or given away 75% of my belongings, quit my job, and given up my fabulous Toronto apartment. I then packed up my few belongings into my little blue Mazda, and with my husband, began the Westward journey up and around the Great Lakes in search of a new life in beautiful British Columbia. We had no jobs waiting for us, and no particular destination in mind - just an idea of what we wanted to do, and where we wanted to go.

We’ve met many people along the way, made new friends, and re-connected with old ones. Everyone has been excited for us, and most people have implied that we might be slightly irresponsible and little insane for throwing caution to the wind and heading off into the unknown.

Inspired my my good friend Alexander Synaptic, who is also starting a new life in BC, I thought I would take a few minutes to explain why I’m doing this, what I hope to accomplish, and why I’ve done it the way that I have.

I felt strongly that if I did things in what is considered a safe and responsible manner, I would lose the opportunity to truly explore, discover, and be open to whatever may come my way. If I had a home and a job lined up before I even left Toronto, with all my furniture and creature comforts in tow, I would be moving from one safe bubble to another, and making no real significant change in my lifestyle. 

The main reason for moving out here was to restart my life with a focus on the things I truly care about. Being outdoors, active, healthy, and in nature are the most important things to me, and removing myself entirely from my comfort zone was, to me, the only real way to place myself into an entirely new realm of being. 

I feel incredibly connected to the places I’ve been here. I feel like this is the place I am meant to me. Every day brings new wonder, and I cannot wait to discover more.

Yesterday, I was offered a job at Big White, the third largest ski and snowboard resort in Canada. I have the opportunity to stay in the village on the mountain, and live and breathe the mountain lifestyle. I’ll be part of the Lift Operations crew, which involves being outside all day, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week - sometimes 6. Through all weather conditions, I will help run the lifts and interact with every single guest on the mountain. I will shovel snow, get dirty, and keep people happy. And I will do all of this for much less money than I have ever done anything in my life.

Many people would think I am moving backwards - doing a physical labour job that does not compensate very well. But I truly feel that for me, it is a step towards the life that I want to live. Not because it is the work that I hope to do for the rest of my life, but because I feel it will provide me with the experiences that I have always hoped to have, and it will give me the opportunity to spend the better part of the first year of my new life truly absorbing some of the best things that the mountains have to offer.