We had driven as far as you can drive, now at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The ferry north to Prince Rupert loads at 5:45AM, so we just lined up the night before and went to sleep (paying $20 for that priviledge). The Beast got lots of comments from other travellers and the dock workers, and we were directed to the front spot, right next to the giant ferry door. This first ferry ride was 15 hours long. We filled the time sleeping, reading, watching movies on the laptop, eating, and watching the shoreline pass - the inland passage is narrow (very narrow at points) so we could easliy see waterfalls, trees, high glaciers, abandonned settlements, and even a few whales and dolphins. I wasn't really prepared for how much the ferry would Rock and Roll - While we weren't allowed on to the car deck to see, I was worriedly imagining our precious van catching a few inches of air during the largest surges. Fortunately, we found it just where we left it, but we never could explain the big wet spot we found on the van floor - like a water bottle exploded or something, but we found nothing leaking?
It is amazing, but here in Prince Rupert, this is the first rain we've encountered on the whole trip - almost a month of dry weather! At first it was very nice to hear the gentle sound of rain on the van roof as we fell asleep. Even walking around town in the drizzle was no problem with our GoreTex stuff. We did a beautiful hike through old growth rain forest and this got us soaked - inside and out. It was worth it, but now the problem is all our wet gear steaming up the inside of the van.
Tomorrow we board the US Ferry to Alaska...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Vancouver Island
We arrived in Victoria after 11pm, so we didn't want to look far for a place to sleep. A few blocks from the terminal, we found street parking that had no restrictions until 10am the next morning. Perfect. The next day we explored Victoria from our bikes - a very cool town - lots of interesting restaurants, street performers and artists, a fisherman's warf, etc. We spent the afternoon at Butchart gardens, an extensive series of amazingly manicured gardens Eileen had remembered seeing as a child. After a bit of driving we stopped in Duncan for dinner and parked for the night outside the local Ford dealer (we'd been having some trouble with the starter battery so I wanted to have them take a look at it in the morning). At about 3AM we were woken up by the police - they apologized for waking us, but suggested it wasn't a good place to stay since there was a known crack house a few doors away! They recommended the Walmart a few miles away. Wow, I guess that qualifies as our worst site selection ever! (The rest of the night was peaceful and Ford confirmed the battery was good).
We visited Qualicum Beach (Laundry, beach nap, cheese factory, etc) on our way to Lake Horne for the night. This is the site of a few public caves. We chose the self-guided adventure cave. With two flashlights each, we headed in. Turns out bringing a small backpack was a mistake: This was a very tight cave for most of it's length. We got very dirty, and it was challenging to figure out where to go next - lots of tiny passages to consider. By the end, we'd had enough of crouching over or sitting on wet rocks. Our next stop was Telegraph Cove, an old lumber community on a beautiful tiny inlet of water. We hoped to see Orcas from our Kayak here, but the wind really picked up and we had to head home before we got close to the Robson Bight orca preserve - where they apparently like to rub their bodies on the rocks!
We visited Qualicum Beach (Laundry, beach nap, cheese factory, etc) on our way to Lake Horne for the night. This is the site of a few public caves. We chose the self-guided adventure cave. With two flashlights each, we headed in. Turns out bringing a small backpack was a mistake: This was a very tight cave for most of it's length. We got very dirty, and it was challenging to figure out where to go next - lots of tiny passages to consider. By the end, we'd had enough of crouching over or sitting on wet rocks. Our next stop was Telegraph Cove, an old lumber community on a beautiful tiny inlet of water. We hoped to see Orcas from our Kayak here, but the wind really picked up and we had to head home before we got close to the Robson Bight orca preserve - where they apparently like to rub their bodies on the rocks!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Washington
Remember the devastating pictures you saw back in 1980 after Mt St Helens erupted - the 
barren landscape with every single tree blown down like matchsticks? Well it has recovered - The surrounding area has been replanted by lumber companies and is now a giant forest again. It is only inside the park where nature's unaided course is slower that you can see thousands of trees lying on their sides. But even there, areas of regrowth are occuring. We were treated to unobstructed views of the mountain in cloudless skys - something they say is not common. The volcano continues to erupt, but in a much more gentle manner these days. Believe it or not, the closest camping is 40 miles away - there's no camping inside the park. We were sneaky and found a gravel forest service road to camp on about 7 miles away, just outside the park boundary.
Our next stop was Mt Rainer, of which I've had vivid memories of since visiting as a child: an
image of the mamouth white mountain standing high in the blue sky. While I feared it would be obscured by clouds this trip (like it usually is), we were treated to another sparkling clear day. Our hike up to Panorama Point (and a bit beyond toward the summit base camp) was stellar. I think I'd like to climb to the top some day (or another peak like it). The scale and contrasts were striking: White snow covered mountain top, vast blue sky, deep green evergreen, and dark jagged rock. The hike was mostly in the snow, so some of the decent was on our butts on a tarp we brought for just that purpose. A bit out of control at times (in a fun way).
Now we made our way west to the coast for the rain forests. On the way we did some mountain
biking and camped in an area outside Olympia called Mima Falls. It was a very nice bike ride thru the forest - peppered with sections passing thru regions that had been clearcut - very weird - a landscape of endless stumps. The next day we visited the beaches in the Olympic National Park - I've never seen such massive heaps of driftwood before - acres and acres of giant tree trunk logs piled all over each other - 6 or more feet deep. It lines the beaches, and signs warn of the obvious danger it creates during high tide when they must all be sloshing around like ton missiles. The hike up the Hoh river trail was rated as one of the top ten hikes in the US, and it was quite unique - moss everywhere, hanging from every tree branch. We looked for hobbits but didn't see any.
barren landscape with every single tree blown down like matchsticks? Well it has recovered - The surrounding area has been replanted by lumber companies and is now a giant forest again. It is only inside the park where nature's unaided course is slower that you can see thousands of trees lying on their sides. But even there, areas of regrowth are occuring. We were treated to unobstructed views of the mountain in cloudless skys - something they say is not common. The volcano continues to erupt, but in a much more gentle manner these days. Believe it or not, the closest camping is 40 miles away - there's no camping inside the park. We were sneaky and found a gravel forest service road to camp on about 7 miles away, just outside the park boundary.Our next stop was Mt Rainer, of which I've had vivid memories of since visiting as a child: an
image of the mamouth white mountain standing high in the blue sky. While I feared it would be obscured by clouds this trip (like it usually is), we were treated to another sparkling clear day. Our hike up to Panorama Point (and a bit beyond toward the summit base camp) was stellar. I think I'd like to climb to the top some day (or another peak like it). The scale and contrasts were striking: White snow covered mountain top, vast blue sky, deep green evergreen, and dark jagged rock. The hike was mostly in the snow, so some of the decent was on our butts on a tarp we brought for just that purpose. A bit out of control at times (in a fun way).Now we made our way west to the coast for the rain forests. On the way we did some mountain
biking and camped in an area outside Olympia called Mima Falls. It was a very nice bike ride thru the forest - peppered with sections passing thru regions that had been clearcut - very weird - a landscape of endless stumps. The next day we visited the beaches in the Olympic National Park - I've never seen such massive heaps of driftwood before - acres and acres of giant tree trunk logs piled all over each other - 6 or more feet deep. It lines the beaches, and signs warn of the obvious danger it creates during high tide when they must all be sloshing around like ton missiles. The hike up the Hoh river trail was rated as one of the top ten hikes in the US, and it was quite unique - moss everywhere, hanging from every tree branch. We looked for hobbits but didn't see any.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Oregon
They say you cannot imagine just how blue the water is in Crater Lake until you see it for 
yourself, and it is indeed breathtaking coming up the final rise in the road and looking over the rim for the first time at the deep intense blue. The scenery was picturesque so we did a few dayhikes before heading on to mountain bike the Umpqua river trail. Eileen got the idea from the itinerary of a guided mountain biking company. The trail was beautifully cut thru the forest, giving that perfect slope and twist for a thrilling ride - until the next long climb. Camping along the trail, we decided to take the kayak out on the nearby lake, but rather than drive there, we decided to try a little white water with our SEA kayak on the the feeding river as it ran by our camp. The rapids were small, but the adventure came from not knowing what is around the next bend. At least we knew it couldn't be a waterfall because the lake was not far and the terrain gentle. Navigating the tandem required surprisingly strong and synchronized paddling - our kayak is 18' long and doesn't turn on a dime. We entered the lake with a rush of adrenalin - whoo hoo!
yourself, and it is indeed breathtaking coming up the final rise in the road and looking over the rim for the first time at the deep intense blue. The scenery was picturesque so we did a few dayhikes before heading on to mountain bike the Umpqua river trail. Eileen got the idea from the itinerary of a guided mountain biking company. The trail was beautifully cut thru the forest, giving that perfect slope and twist for a thrilling ride - until the next long climb. Camping along the trail, we decided to take the kayak out on the nearby lake, but rather than drive there, we decided to try a little white water with our SEA kayak on the the feeding river as it ran by our camp. The rapids were small, but the adventure came from not knowing what is around the next bend. At least we knew it couldn't be a waterfall because the lake was not far and the terrain gentle. Navigating the tandem required surprisingly strong and synchronized paddling - our kayak is 18' long and doesn't turn on a dime. We entered the lake with a rush of adrenalin - whoo hoo! Next we spent a couple of days in Bend - a very cool town we'd like to come back to again - 
maybe for a month or so to explore the area more fully. Everything and everyone is very outdoors oriented, and there are lots of great restaurants. We enjoyed exploring the local lava fields, including a mile-deep lava tube cave, crawling to reach the very end. It seems like the whole town (seriously 1000s of people) floats down the river on inner tubes, inflatable mattresses, or whatever. There's even a city shuttle specifically to return you to the start. But the highlight in Bend is my new favorite mountain biking trail: Woops - in the Phil's trail area. The riding was perfect - gentle single track climbs followed by curvaceous descents through the open forest floor. Woops in particular has been modified with banked turns and whoop bumps (jumps). Eileen commented how trance-like the riding became - left, right, left, right thru the trees down the perfect slope that required only occassional braking whenever courage failed. If there is such a thing as "flow," this is where you find it.
maybe for a month or so to explore the area more fully. Everything and everyone is very outdoors oriented, and there are lots of great restaurants. We enjoyed exploring the local lava fields, including a mile-deep lava tube cave, crawling to reach the very end. It seems like the whole town (seriously 1000s of people) floats down the river on inner tubes, inflatable mattresses, or whatever. There's even a city shuttle specifically to return you to the start. But the highlight in Bend is my new favorite mountain biking trail: Woops - in the Phil's trail area. The riding was perfect - gentle single track climbs followed by curvaceous descents through the open forest floor. Woops in particular has been modified with banked turns and whoop bumps (jumps). Eileen commented how trance-like the riding became - left, right, left, right thru the trees down the perfect slope that required only occassional braking whenever courage failed. If there is such a thing as "flow," this is where you find it.A nice but brief visit with Eileen's family was followed with two nights with her Dad at a lodge in
the Columbia River Gorge. It turned out to be a quite nice change of pace from living in a van. We spread out in the room, enjoyed long hot showers, and generally enjoyed a relaxed pace dayhiking to some of the many falls in the area with Dan. On our way out, we hiked up Beacon Rock, the largest monolith rock in North America - very tall tight switchbacks.
the Columbia River Gorge. It turned out to be a quite nice change of pace from living in a van. We spread out in the room, enjoyed long hot showers, and generally enjoyed a relaxed pace dayhiking to some of the many falls in the area with Dan. On our way out, we hiked up Beacon Rock, the largest monolith rock in North America - very tall tight switchbacks.Thursday, July 3, 2008
Departure
After weeks of preparation and some long nights packing, we finally started North on July 3rd. The first week of the journey was spent catching up with old friends - It was a wonderful reminder just how important these relationships are - really great people we wish we could see more often. We enjoyed lots of thoughtful conversations about politics, work, and life. Among 
other things, we enjoyed homemade gourmet pizza from a backyard pizza oven, got to drive a friend's electric car, and go kayaking on San Francisco Bay. At this point it would have been a completely satisfying vacation any other year, but it was only the prelude to our much larger journey this year.
other things, we enjoyed homemade gourmet pizza from a backyard pizza oven, got to drive a friend's electric car, and go kayaking on San Francisco Bay. At this point it would have been a completely satisfying vacation any other year, but it was only the prelude to our much larger journey this year.Preparing to go
As you might imagine, it is a monumental task to prepare one's home and life for a three month absense. There were lots of little things like turning the water and gas off, and some more challenging things like having the mail held (the post office only holds for thirty days maximum, so I had to make special arrangements to have my Mom pick it up and renew the hold several times while we are gone - hopefully it works). Bills will continue to come due, so it was necessary to setup automatic payments for those we could and then monitor and pay the remainder online when we can get internet access from the road. We had to build a self-watering system for the houseplants (an aquarium pump on a once-a-week timer was placed in a 30 gallon tub of water and connected to drip irrigation lines to each plant).
The Beast (our pet name for the Sportsmobile camper van we will live in for the next three
months) needed maintenance and modification before the trip too. In addition to a day at the garage for routine work, we created insulated window shades to keep out the cold at night (turned out very useful keeping out the HOT in Calif on our way North). We added a second water tank to give us 30 gallons total - enough for about 8 showers before refilling. And we installed a tire pressure monitoring system - to alert us if any of the tires lose pressure unexpectedly. It will be a 7000+ trip, so we'll even need to get the oil changed during the trip.
Just packing the right clothes was a challenge - We need enough clothes to go for 10-14 days before finding a laundromat, but we also need to handle the 100 degree days we'd encounter in Calif and Oregon, as well as the freezing temperatures we expect to see in Alaska and Canada late in the trip. Add in rain gear, biking gear, kayaking gear, and backpacking gear and you can imagine just how stuffed to the gills the Beast is.
Oh yeah, you'll notice in the pictures that the other final preparation for the trip was shaving my head! I did it at a party a few days before leaving - partly on a dare and partly to do something memorable I'll always associate with this trip. Having a bald head feels very odd - but I eventually got used to it. I'd recommend it once in your life.
The Beast (our pet name for the Sportsmobile camper van we will live in for the next three
months) needed maintenance and modification before the trip too. In addition to a day at the garage for routine work, we created insulated window shades to keep out the cold at night (turned out very useful keeping out the HOT in Calif on our way North). We added a second water tank to give us 30 gallons total - enough for about 8 showers before refilling. And we installed a tire pressure monitoring system - to alert us if any of the tires lose pressure unexpectedly. It will be a 7000+ trip, so we'll even need to get the oil changed during the trip.Just packing the right clothes was a challenge - We need enough clothes to go for 10-14 days before finding a laundromat, but we also need to handle the 100 degree days we'd encounter in Calif and Oregon, as well as the freezing temperatures we expect to see in Alaska and Canada late in the trip. Add in rain gear, biking gear, kayaking gear, and backpacking gear and you can imagine just how stuffed to the gills the Beast is.
Oh yeah, you'll notice in the pictures that the other final preparation for the trip was shaving my head! I did it at a party a few days before leaving - partly on a dare and partly to do something memorable I'll always associate with this trip. Having a bald head feels very odd - but I eventually got used to it. I'd recommend it once in your life.
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