Jumping over Mount Temple, which was 4000 feet higher than us!
Nick, the man who made these pictures
The view...
Monday, September 17, 2007
Professional Photos from 9001 feet!
Nick, the photographer we randomly met on top of Mount Fairview has e-mailed me the pictures that he took up there. And they are BRILLIANT. We were literally jumping over mountains up there in that thin air!!
Jumping over Mount Temple, which was 4000 feet higher than us!
Nick, the man who made these pictures
The view...
Jumping over Mount Temple, which was 4000 feet higher than us!
Nick, the man who made these pictures
The view...
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Seattle and Coastal Oregan
All fotos so far: http://dur.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=35264761&l=d2a62&id=61205739
Going to chunk together Thu 13th Sept through Sunday 16th. Quite a lot of miles covered in this time, all the way down from the north of Washington down the East Coast which really is raw ocean. Just like that final scene from Shawshank Redemption where the panoramic shot zoomes in on Defrain on the beach with the boat and Red walking towards it.....
The view from a pic nic stop, and where I had my first swim in the pacific!
Just briefly, onwards from here to the Oregon Sand dunes national park on the pacific coast. Got there just as the sun set....rolling down hundreds of meters of sand was a completely new, if not sandy experience....
The next day we sped around them at 70mph in this. About 1,000,000 times better than the white water rafting!
On from Oregan towards San Fran we stopped overnight on the Pacific coast, but surprise of the day was stopping in Charleston, home of Steve Prefontaine. The best distance runner ever to emerge from a college set up. So random that it should be the anniversary of his death (30 plus years) the day that we arrived there! There was a 10k on that morning in his memory, shame we got there a bit later as wouldn't have minded giving that a shot!
The whole city was taken over with Prefontaine posters and banners. Brilliant
Next day....arrived California!
Going to chunk together Thu 13th Sept through Sunday 16th. Quite a lot of miles covered in this time, all the way down from the north of Washington down the East Coast which really is raw ocean. Just like that final scene from Shawshank Redemption where the panoramic shot zoomes in on Defrain on the beach with the boat and Red walking towards it.....
The view from a pic nic stop, and where I had my first swim in the pacific!
Just briefly, onwards from here to the Oregon Sand dunes national park on the pacific coast. Got there just as the sun set....rolling down hundreds of meters of sand was a completely new, if not sandy experience....
The next day we sped around them at 70mph in this. About 1,000,000 times better than the white water rafting!
On from Oregan towards San Fran we stopped overnight on the Pacific coast, but surprise of the day was stopping in Charleston, home of Steve Prefontaine. The best distance runner ever to emerge from a college set up. So random that it should be the anniversary of his death (30 plus years) the day that we arrived there! There was a 10k on that morning in his memory, shame we got there a bit later as wouldn't have minded giving that a shot!
The whole city was taken over with Prefontaine posters and banners. Brilliant
Next day....arrived California!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Vancouver
The first glimpse of the Pacific for me. Ever!
And it's just awesome. We arrived Vancouver late in the day, set up camp.... I went for a swim, then into the first jacuzzi I'd come across thus far. Under the stars, bubbling away. Fantastic.
Next day set off into Vancouver. Group thing is good, but you've got to get away from it at some point so I try and just get off by myself in these city stops. So picked up a few maps and set out to walk the city. Lunch on the beach...er...rocky not so sandy beach. But the views were still incredible.
Sat on the rocks. Although still the pacific I still wanted to see the real ocean. Out of the bay. But that wasn't to come til past Seattle!
Went into Stanley Park and that's when the day really began. Wasn't that chuffed with downtown Vancouver. Dirt ridden, and just no different to any other city! Later it turned out, when I tried to get into the public library, that the public sector workers are on strike!! So not only has the library been closed for 90 days, the street cleaners havn't been cleaned for that long either!
Thankfully, just as I was beginning to think there was nothing to Vancouver I met this women.
Ok well she looked a bit like this. And she said "have you been up Grouse mountain yet!" I said, "no". She said "have you got a car". I said "no but I can run"! And she pointed to these mountains in the background of this picture I took when I was talking to her:
And so started the best day of my travels so far. Without a clue where to go I walked back across Lions Gate Bridge (the bridge on the picture above) back to the camp site, loaded up the hydration pack, donned the sneakers (oops, keep English, trainers) and followed what looked to be a road that led up that way. 3 miles later, and a few hundred metres of ascent I got up to what were gondolas to the top of this Grouse Mountain place. Had no money with me, and certianly wouldn't take an easy route to the top so asked a guy if there was a hike. Expecting a 20 minute route to the top I followed his directions and began a cheeky fell run up there. Fairly knackered after 20 minutes, and it seemed to be getting steeper and steeper. Then the 1/4 way gone sign appeared. A 1/4. I started to realise this was slightly more hardcore than I was expecting. To cut a long story short, the rest was pretty much unrunnable. And if Adam Stirk is reading this. I mean actually unrunnable so no comments RE any possible softcoreness!! It took just over an hour to get up there, and to my dismay I realised I'd left my camera in the tent after I had switched bags!!! ARRGGHH!! Gutted, I pretty much rekoned I just had to save this one for pure memories.
The views were phenomenal, I later realised this was actually over 1350m (4000+ ft). I.e. higher than the highest peak in Great Britain (Ben Nevis) and I'd ran up it from sea (Pacific Ocean) level. With a litre of water....
It was worth it though, free trip to the highest mountain in Vancouver, and up there was a grizzley bear eco-habitat so was able to see two play fighting like dogs from just 15 ft (behind an electric fence!!). Birds of prey up there too, and paragliding, which if I'd known about it earlier would definitely have done....shame but sure it'll be an option in NZ.
How did I get down? 10 minutes worth of banter with the guy on the gondolas at the top and a complimentary ride down. Belters. Also, while in the gondola, met a couple who I asked: "is that a northern accent you've got there"...yeh we're from South Shields. It's a small world!!
So from the bottom, 3 miles back to the camp site. What a day. From a dirt ridden city to one the most beautiful views I've seen (bar Neisst Point in Skye!!). I've nicked a picture from the web just to give an idea of what it was like (arrgh really shouldn't have forgotten my camera!) though it would be pretty difficult to capture it in all it's majestic beautifulness!ac
And it's just awesome. We arrived Vancouver late in the day, set up camp.... I went for a swim, then into the first jacuzzi I'd come across thus far. Under the stars, bubbling away. Fantastic.
Next day set off into Vancouver. Group thing is good, but you've got to get away from it at some point so I try and just get off by myself in these city stops. So picked up a few maps and set out to walk the city. Lunch on the beach...er...rocky not so sandy beach. But the views were still incredible.
Sat on the rocks. Although still the pacific I still wanted to see the real ocean. Out of the bay. But that wasn't to come til past Seattle!
Went into Stanley Park and that's when the day really began. Wasn't that chuffed with downtown Vancouver. Dirt ridden, and just no different to any other city! Later it turned out, when I tried to get into the public library, that the public sector workers are on strike!! So not only has the library been closed for 90 days, the street cleaners havn't been cleaned for that long either!
Thankfully, just as I was beginning to think there was nothing to Vancouver I met this women.
Ok well she looked a bit like this. And she said "have you been up Grouse mountain yet!" I said, "no". She said "have you got a car". I said "no but I can run"! And she pointed to these mountains in the background of this picture I took when I was talking to her:
And so started the best day of my travels so far. Without a clue where to go I walked back across Lions Gate Bridge (the bridge on the picture above) back to the camp site, loaded up the hydration pack, donned the sneakers (oops, keep English, trainers) and followed what looked to be a road that led up that way. 3 miles later, and a few hundred metres of ascent I got up to what were gondolas to the top of this Grouse Mountain place. Had no money with me, and certianly wouldn't take an easy route to the top so asked a guy if there was a hike. Expecting a 20 minute route to the top I followed his directions and began a cheeky fell run up there. Fairly knackered after 20 minutes, and it seemed to be getting steeper and steeper. Then the 1/4 way gone sign appeared. A 1/4. I started to realise this was slightly more hardcore than I was expecting. To cut a long story short, the rest was pretty much unrunnable. And if Adam Stirk is reading this. I mean actually unrunnable so no comments RE any possible softcoreness!! It took just over an hour to get up there, and to my dismay I realised I'd left my camera in the tent after I had switched bags!!! ARRGGHH!! Gutted, I pretty much rekoned I just had to save this one for pure memories.
The views were phenomenal, I later realised this was actually over 1350m (4000+ ft). I.e. higher than the highest peak in Great Britain (Ben Nevis) and I'd ran up it from sea (Pacific Ocean) level. With a litre of water....
It was worth it though, free trip to the highest mountain in Vancouver, and up there was a grizzley bear eco-habitat so was able to see two play fighting like dogs from just 15 ft (behind an electric fence!!). Birds of prey up there too, and paragliding, which if I'd known about it earlier would definitely have done....shame but sure it'll be an option in NZ.
How did I get down? 10 minutes worth of banter with the guy on the gondolas at the top and a complimentary ride down. Belters. Also, while in the gondola, met a couple who I asked: "is that a northern accent you've got there"...yeh we're from South Shields. It's a small world!!
So from the bottom, 3 miles back to the camp site. What a day. From a dirt ridden city to one the most beautiful views I've seen (bar Neisst Point in Skye!!). I've nicked a picture from the web just to give an idea of what it was like (arrgh really shouldn't have forgotten my camera!) though it would be pretty difficult to capture it in all it's majestic beautifulness!ac
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Photos from Yoho National Park, Vancouver and Seattle
Will try and update Vancouver to Seattle on here soon...but here are some of the pictures....
http://dur.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2165834&l=dd9c7&id=61205739
http://dur.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2165834&l=dd9c7&id=61205739
White Water Rafting (a wasp sting, splinter and paper cut!)
White water rafting. Conclusion. Not as rough as I was expecting. River was too low, and lack of falling in too... wanted to really test that wet suit. Nevertheless, the 12 miles down river was stunning. Views like this ( I love Canada )
The view down the river where we rafted
Just before we set off.
Also, managed to get stung by a wasp just before set off (first time for 19 years!), and also managed to lodge a splinter down my nail from the wood cabin my bag was beside when I picked it up. Had to pull out a slinter over an inch long that was making blood squirt out from the bottom of my nail! Owch. Writing this Friday, thankfully, it's all recovered. So this week, bear spray, wasp sting, a below the nail paper cut and a below nail splinter. Now that's hardcore!!!
The view down the river where we rafted
Just before we set off.
Also, managed to get stung by a wasp just before set off (first time for 19 years!), and also managed to lodge a splinter down my nail from the wood cabin my bag was beside when I picked it up. Had to pull out a slinter over an inch long that was making blood squirt out from the bottom of my nail! Owch. Writing this Friday, thankfully, it's all recovered. So this week, bear spray, wasp sting, a below the nail paper cut and a below nail splinter. Now that's hardcore!!!
Yoho National Park - Canada - And Bear Spray
Banff to Yoho, not that long of a drive, but an eventful one. Went up to Takakaw Falls (below) which is higher than Niagra but no where near as grand! But this is only where the day started!
Zoe and the view from Takakaw Falls. Phenomenal.
We left this waterfall, with me in the front passenger seat and drove up the road past 2 RVs (basically big caravans), when I started to cough. Real bad! Wheezing, and couldn't breathe properly. Nicht gut. I thought it was just me, but then Phil (our driver/Trek leader) started to cough the same, and the lad sat behind me. By this point the van had stopped, diagonally across the road, with driver and passenger doors flung open, me spluttering trying to breathe by the side of the road, Phil doing the same and a few others on the van coughing.
We both thought someone had sprayed something back up the road so we ran back the way we came looking for who it was. But there was no one. By this point I was pretty much OK but my throat sore. It was pretty surreal. As there was no one we wondered if one of the RVs had perhaps let out a chemical from the sanitary facilities on them and it had got caught up in the vent system, but couldn't be sure. Anyway, we all seemed to recover bar a odd feeling throat. So back down onto the Freeway we headed, with everyone but me feeling, to say the least, a bit dodgy. Anyway, I blew my nose and that was it. My nose, throat, lips were burning. Then my tongue as i licked my lips. Then my cheek as I had touched that. It just got worse. I thought, "this is not good...". Phil (our driver/trek leader) kinda saw I wasn't 200% and I asked if there was some pharmacy like place we could head. Pretty much in the middle of no where but we managed to seek out Golden, a smallish town 30 miles away. All the drug stores were shut, but one lady suggested we try the clinic. We English call them by their proper name; that is, a hospital. But I didn't care, my face felt like it was burning off. All I could do was cover my face in wet tissues.
Phil drove us there, and by this point another girl with us (Rhian) was starting to go extremely red in the face.... didn't care how much this was going to cost my insurance....just wanted to know what it was....
Saw the doctor right away - it's not the NHS here! Looked like and pretty much felt on fire. Although in quite a bit of pain I did notice that it looked very much like I'd been the only patient in there for 50 years. It certainly wasn't the Royal London! Absolutely empty and they looked, if anything, pleased to see someone who needed treatment.
Diagnosis. Bear Spray irritation causing throat, skin irritation. It turned out that the Bear Spray Rhian had in her bag had gone off when someone's foot touched the bag in the van, and it hadn't had the safety lock on. (The bear spray having been bought for hiking in bear country i.e. in case one attacked...). It's basically a massive can of pepper spray beafed up a bit over the typical one the cops carry in England, to allow it to incapacitate a HUGE bear. So as you can imagine, but exactly the best thing to come into contact with....
The doctor said that he pretty much knew exactly what it was as soon as we walked in (apparently ir's unbelievably common in this neck of the woods, quite literally) It turned out Rhian didn't have the initial symptoms because she didn't breathe in any of the particles first time round - just touched something in her bag which had been, then her face a little while after. But I must have taken the full brunt and was definitely worse off... Fully laden with 30 minutes of Almagel, giving me a nice white appearance
Thankfully, the Almagel worked well, and with time (about an hour) all the symptoms disappeared. The doctors prescription -> Find a big lake and swim in it, better than a shower as you don't rub it in, or over other parts of the body, and better than a sink as it doesn't transfer onto other surfaces. So that's just what we did, found a big lake - though it was cold! And o longer did I have a white face! So an eventful day, just a few pictures though - here I am, outside the hospital.
A good end to the day though, as we drove a 10 mile dust track to the middle of NO WHERE. A primitive camp site in Yoho National Park where we were the only people. A place where you could shout your name and all you'd hear was the echo among a whole mountain range for 10 seconds or so. Didn't get around to taking pictures of the view and the landscape, not sure if it's a shame though, as not sure I could have captured just how vast and amazingly desolate it was. I loved it - and it even had a sauna, where you chop your own fire wood!
Managed to shot gun the sofa in the barn / living room area, and so with a log fire and no more bear symptoms (and a swim in the river near by at sunset) I drifted off, being too hot for a change! Not Banff's extreme night time coldness!
Zoe and the view from Takakaw Falls. Phenomenal.
We left this waterfall, with me in the front passenger seat and drove up the road past 2 RVs (basically big caravans), when I started to cough. Real bad! Wheezing, and couldn't breathe properly. Nicht gut. I thought it was just me, but then Phil (our driver/Trek leader) started to cough the same, and the lad sat behind me. By this point the van had stopped, diagonally across the road, with driver and passenger doors flung open, me spluttering trying to breathe by the side of the road, Phil doing the same and a few others on the van coughing.
We both thought someone had sprayed something back up the road so we ran back the way we came looking for who it was. But there was no one. By this point I was pretty much OK but my throat sore. It was pretty surreal. As there was no one we wondered if one of the RVs had perhaps let out a chemical from the sanitary facilities on them and it had got caught up in the vent system, but couldn't be sure. Anyway, we all seemed to recover bar a odd feeling throat. So back down onto the Freeway we headed, with everyone but me feeling, to say the least, a bit dodgy. Anyway, I blew my nose and that was it. My nose, throat, lips were burning. Then my tongue as i licked my lips. Then my cheek as I had touched that. It just got worse. I thought, "this is not good...". Phil (our driver/trek leader) kinda saw I wasn't 200% and I asked if there was some pharmacy like place we could head. Pretty much in the middle of no where but we managed to seek out Golden, a smallish town 30 miles away. All the drug stores were shut, but one lady suggested we try the clinic. We English call them by their proper name; that is, a hospital. But I didn't care, my face felt like it was burning off. All I could do was cover my face in wet tissues.
Phil drove us there, and by this point another girl with us (Rhian) was starting to go extremely red in the face.... didn't care how much this was going to cost my insurance....just wanted to know what it was....
Saw the doctor right away - it's not the NHS here! Looked like and pretty much felt on fire. Although in quite a bit of pain I did notice that it looked very much like I'd been the only patient in there for 50 years. It certainly wasn't the Royal London! Absolutely empty and they looked, if anything, pleased to see someone who needed treatment.
Diagnosis. Bear Spray irritation causing throat, skin irritation. It turned out that the Bear Spray Rhian had in her bag had gone off when someone's foot touched the bag in the van, and it hadn't had the safety lock on. (The bear spray having been bought for hiking in bear country i.e. in case one attacked...). It's basically a massive can of pepper spray beafed up a bit over the typical one the cops carry in England, to allow it to incapacitate a HUGE bear. So as you can imagine, but exactly the best thing to come into contact with....
The doctor said that he pretty much knew exactly what it was as soon as we walked in (apparently ir's unbelievably common in this neck of the woods, quite literally) It turned out Rhian didn't have the initial symptoms because she didn't breathe in any of the particles first time round - just touched something in her bag which had been, then her face a little while after. But I must have taken the full brunt and was definitely worse off... Fully laden with 30 minutes of Almagel, giving me a nice white appearance
Thankfully, the Almagel worked well, and with time (about an hour) all the symptoms disappeared. The doctors prescription -> Find a big lake and swim in it, better than a shower as you don't rub it in, or over other parts of the body, and better than a sink as it doesn't transfer onto other surfaces. So that's just what we did, found a big lake - though it was cold! And o longer did I have a white face! So an eventful day, just a few pictures though - here I am, outside the hospital.
A good end to the day though, as we drove a 10 mile dust track to the middle of NO WHERE. A primitive camp site in Yoho National Park where we were the only people. A place where you could shout your name and all you'd hear was the echo among a whole mountain range for 10 seconds or so. Didn't get around to taking pictures of the view and the landscape, not sure if it's a shame though, as not sure I could have captured just how vast and amazingly desolate it was. I loved it - and it even had a sauna, where you chop your own fire wood!
Managed to shot gun the sofa in the barn / living room area, and so with a log fire and no more bear symptoms (and a swim in the river near by at sunset) I drifted off, being too hot for a change! Not Banff's extreme night time coldness!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Photos from Banff
Forgot to add this to the post below, here's the link to a few scorching pictures from Banff and Canada in general...
I can't edit a post with out loosing all the photos I've uploaded to it. And that is annoying! Here's the link:
http://dur.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2164083&l=78410&id=61205739
I can't edit a post with out loosing all the photos I've uploaded to it. And that is annoying! Here's the link:
http://dur.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2164083&l=78410&id=61205739
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First stop: Trek America
64 days - 31 states! I start my travels from New York on the Trek America Trailblazer (http://www.trekamerica.co.uk/tours/tl.html). Can't wait!
Second Stop: Hawaii!
Then 2 weeks in B-E-A-utiful Hawaii!
Third Stop: Kiritimati (Kiribati)
Kiritimati receives just one flight a week. The pacific atoll is only 138 square miles in area - but 70% of that is lagoons! It is 2,015 miles from Tarawa, capital of the Republic of Kiribati; 1,335 miles from Honolulu; 4,000 miles from Sydney, Australia, and 3,250 miles from San Francisco. It lies between longitude 157 degrees 10' west and 157 degrees 34' west and latitudes 1 degree 42' north and 2 degrees 3' north. It is 145 miles north of the equator.
Fourth Stop: Fiji
Then a couple of weeks island hopping around Fiji...
