Second article in less than two weeks, I think there are advantages to being confined at home because of the intense smoke outside... Perfect timing to share my months of June and July with you and tell you what a world where apocalyptic fantasy and reality are becoming one... Shall I take you along? Let's go...
COFFEE CREEK CAMPING
I start with some light-hearted images and a June camping adventure at Coffee Creek, a beach 45 minutes drive from Nelson. An escape, just for an evening, a night and a morning. It was a great opportunity to sharpen our wilderness camping skills and enjoy the rather grand landscapes of British Columbia once again. I must admit that my thirst for adventure has pushed me a lot since April to explore the region I call "home sweet home". And I don't know if it's because I'm "stuck" in a 40 hour job a week, for an indefinite period of time, (or at least, until I get the necessary hours for permanent residency,) but it has become almost vital for me and for my mental health to be able to go and immerse myself into the wild.
OLD GROWTH FOREST
The good thing about the Kootenays is that there is so much to see and do that sometimes I put too much pressure on myself to do everything. It's as if my time was limited and my need to discover is more important than anything else. Only 30 minutes from Nelson is the Kokanee Glacier National Park. And on the road leading to these mountains, there is the "Old Growth Forest", a forest where some of the trees are at least 800 years old. I felt very small surrounded by these big giants and it reminded me how beautiful Mother Nature is, when Humans don't spend their time destroying her... For me, each forest is a bit like a playground. A quest for images, sensations, sounds. Each breath is like a full of oxygen. And when, by chance, some birds, squirrels or chipmunks come to taunt us before disappearing, I become soooo excited... and that's exactly what I was looking for...
ROAD TRIP TO KELOWNA
While I enjoy my life in the wilderness, I must admit that I sometimes miss city life. As I have only discovered a few big cities in the province, I took advantage of a public holiday to take a second day off in June and go conquer Kelowna with John. This city of at least 130,000 people (2015) is a 4.5 hour drive west of Nelson. However, to get there, several options were available to us, including driving through the Okanagan Valley, considered the hottest in the province. Between desert, orchards and intensive cultivation, this is where many of the fruits come from in the summer and the wine, all year round.
A beautiful discovery that strangely reminded me of the vineyards of the Vosges and Alsace, in France.
Once we arrived in Kelowna, we spent the night in the ZED hotel, a colourful place that reminded me of big city "concept-hotel". It's not Paris but with this kind of crazy and fun place, it was just like it. After a walk along the lake, we went to enjoy the bars and restaurants, much more animated than those of Nelson. Good day to have a good time, at the expense of a man who had the soul that night to buy a round of drinks for the whole bar, 3 times in a row...
It was a very strange atmosphere and I think I missed it a lot. People were staggering down the street, the atmosphere was very festive despite the COVID and the restrictions still in place at the time. For one evening I realised how much I missed having the freedom to go out or to dance. Of course, the bars and restaurants never really closed here, (only the dancing ones) but the social and governmental pressure around the virus was just as intense in this country than France.
The next morning, we went shopping all those things we can't find in Nelson. A gentle start, browsing the streets and shops of Kelowna before a city malls tour. I was facing the incessant rhythm of people walking in the stores corridors and the traffic of big cities. It's funny but the day before, we had done everything on foot, which had given me a completely different image of this place. Once out of the main centre, I must admit that I suddenly remembered why I chose not to live in the city anymore...
So, on the second night, we escaped the city noise to camp on a beach in Kalamalka National Park, near Vernon. It was in the middle of a heat wave, with temperatures constantly above 40°C. And I think it was 47°C outside that day... We didn't need much more than the mosquito net in the tent to sleep.
These two-day micro-vacations were also an opportunity for me to reconnect with what I love. Sooooo I woke up at 4am very excited to witness a super colourful sunrise. It had been a long time since I had the opportunity to see such a show, so I must admit that I was over the moon...
Later we went for coffee and discovered that it was the day the mask restrictions ended for BC. Kind of a weird feeling seeing this guy behind the counter making food and drinks without any protection. It's funny too how we forget easily what life used to be like. Before heading back on the road, we went back to the Kalamalka lake in our kayaks to cool off. The water was even more emerald than in the Kootenays. The landscape was much drier and rockier.
MC KEAN LAKES
After so many lakeside adventures, I was eager to get my backpack back on, hike and camp to some of the peaks that make up some of the Kootenays' national parks. First bivouac hike of the year then : heading to Mc Kean Lakes, close to Valhalla National Park, just for a weekend.
My colleague Laura had told us about it and luckily it's still a little gem, not so famous, even for some locals. The temperatures were still unbearable for a big hike, (it was over 30°C this time) but I was so afraid that the summer would get away from me later, because of the fires that all the locals were talking about, that I decided to go there, whatever the cost.
So I set off with Dave, another colleague and friend, for the adventure. Almost 2 hours of driving later, including 1.5 hours on a gravel road, we were reaching the trailhead. We knew that people usually take 2h30-3h to reach the summit, but since we had 10-14 kg bags on our shoulders, we were a bit doubtful of our abilities. Not to mention the heat, the mosquitoes that attacked us all along the way and the steep slope that forced us to catch our breath every 7 minutes... For a first real hike of the year, I must admit that I didn't choose the easiest one. (And I think Dave quickly regretted following me ^^).
But once we reached the top, we could forget everything... The sky was a deep blue, there was no sound other than the lapping of the water on the rocks and the whistling of the marmots. The wind was at a standstill giving the lake the appearance of a mirror reflecting trees and peaks. It was magical. It was beautiful. And, we had only taken three hours to reach this site... So we felt proud and relieved to have reached it!
After scouting the area, we decide to put our tents on a huge rock overhanging the lake. We could watch the sun disappear before being bitten by mosquitoes / flies... We hadn't planned to make a fire but these little creatures being hungry, the flames quickly proved to be our only tool to make them run away from their feast... So we immortalized this evening with another good moment around the fire before falling asleep under the stars.
KOKANEE GLACIER
The only hike in the last few weeks of July was a short trip to Kokanee Glacier National Park. I think it took us an hour and a half to get to Kokanee Lake and once again the views were stunning, especially the one halfway down revealing Gibson Lake just below. And, this time, I was finally able to capture our encounters with the marmots with some photos! They are everywhere in this country !! it's incredible and sometimes they are very playful !
WATER FLOAT IN SLOCAN VALLEY
Three weeks ago I found myself bedridden, for no apparent reason, with extreme fatigue leaving me without any mental or physical energy. I thought it was a Covid episode but my test turned out to be negative. I was originally supposed to go on a long hike with Carly the weekend after, but given my condition, I couldn't commit myself to anything too intense. So after a quick brainstorming session, we decided to conquer the Slocan River for a 3 hour adventure. No need to climb a mountain, it was just a matter of floating down the river in inflatable boats. Everyone had told me about it this winter and I was so excited to be able to do it and I must admit it was the perfect adventure to cheer me up after my episode of fatigue. Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones that day. The river looked like the highway where cars and trucks had been replaced by colourful floating objects. On the other hand, the atmosphere was really good and I had a great time with Carly, Alex, and Dave.
JUNE AND JULY MICRO-AVDENTURES
The rest of the time, if I wasn't camping, hiking or sightseeing, I took advantage of the scenery to go biking, kayaking or just venturing out on the forest roads in search of views of the city of Nelson. A great way to spend my days off, trying to disconnect myself from the very routine life I sometimes feel stuck in. The region really does have a lot to offer and if it wasn't for the climate change hanging over our heads, I must admit that it would have everything to please me...
SUMMER GONE IN SMOKE
By the time I wrote this article, I had almost forgotten what the landscape has been looking like for almost three weeks now... It's funny because this comes at a time when I had regained quite a bit of positivity and momentum, after that thirty-something blow that had knocked me out a bit. After this short stay in the emergency room, this non existent verdict and a bill to make me cry for a whole evening (because the doctors don't receive patients because of the COVID), it's the smokes that have taken over...
In fact, forest fires are completely natural in this country where trees cover almost every possible open space, but the problem is that with climate change we are facing much more intense periods of drought, heat and/or flooding. While Belgium, Germany and the north of France were covered in water, the whole region started to burn, leading to evacuations of cities, not far from my home, and forcing us to live in a fog, similar to those of winter, but this time hot (30°C) and unbreathable...
I had never understood so much this famous rain dance which one often speaks about in North America until these last days... Sometimes you get up in the morning and the air is so heavy that you have no energy. I dream of waking up with my throat clear and no longer constricted by the effect of pollution on the body. My lungs are suffocating. And my mind, fighting. It's funny because all the work I've done on myself in the last few weeks, all the anxieties about my future that I'd managed to dissolve, have suddenly been confronted with a reality that's much more palpable than I expected.
Sometimes I envy the people around me. It appalls them of course, "but life goes on" they tell me. I am shocked, I am revolted and I am desperate at the same time. Believe me, I would love to be able to completely ignore what is happening in front of our eyes. But in my highly sensitive person skin it is much more complicated. I mourn a world that I love and that I see disappearing in smoke. When people talk to me about the future or retirement plans, I laugh. But a sour laugh. The future, if it looks like this, I'm telling you, it will be neither beautiful nor fun...
AND WHAT ABOUT LIFE IN GENERAL ?
I'm well aware that I've had quite a bit of time on my hands these last few months and I must admit that it was more than necessary. The more I progress in my travels, in my life experiences, the more I am able to determine my needs and desires. I am often torn between the idea of moving and trying life elsewhere in British Columbia and the idea of staying here, in this place that I love, with this beautiful group of friends. It's not because I don't like Nelson, quite the opposite, but because I know there are other kinds of landscapes and communities and I'm drawn to the unknown...
Each new place has been an opportunity for me to learn more about myself. To get out of my comfort zone. To discover the world with new eyes. And to reconnect more with myself. Being in Nelson for the long haul, I sometimes fear that I will lose myself again. A bit like when I get into a relationship actually. Except that this time, I decided to try to stay. Not to run away. To face all these feelings that are coming up, whether it's about my love life or about my life as a sedentary person. The opportunity to try out a scheme that is perhaps a little more classic. One of those that sometimes reassures me and takes away all the unnecessary stress, but also sometimes frightens or horrifies me.
I don't really know if this is the life I'm dreaming of for the next few years, but I do love this place, I love the getaways I have here and I love the people I have around me. The big questions I have left are more related to my job and the planet. I want to be able to do my hummingbird work in this world that is on fire. I want to bring the drop of water that will perhaps inspire a better future and help putting the fire out. And what is certain is that it is not with the work I have at the moment, although creative and inspiring, that I feel useful and completely fulfilled.
Anyway, it's still a quest in its own right, who knows, maybe I'll have an epiphany soon and manage to combine all these things I love and care about into a job that makes sense!
In the meantime, take care of yourself,
love.
Co
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