BC Boys

Two dudes quit their day jobs and embark on a journey across the second largest country in the world in a 1987 6-wheeled propane-powered behemoth named Molly.

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Book Two: Why Leave BC Anyway?

And so the adventure continues… This time with a new dynamic individual. Me. Your humble narrator. We now set off for two weeks of backcountry hiking down the Sunshine Coast Trail on the beautiful Sunshine Coast near Powell River.

What qualities us to spend two weeks living in the woods, hiking 40lb bags everywhere we go, in search of God knows what? Nothing. Experience: a little. Survival skills: negligible. Ability to catch fish: some. Walking skills: atleast average. So why do this? Because it’s going to be fun and adventure cannot happen without risk. And it doesn’t hurt that the only antagonists are our own flaws and inabilities…and bears. Also wolves. No big deal.

As we’ll be in the bush for up to 2 weeks this section of the blog will all be post-advenrure with the exception of this post, hastily constructed on a phone while waiting for the ferry. Therefore please excuse any auto carrots! Anyway, wish us luck and if all goes well for us, and not the bears, new content should be up starting in a couple of weeks!

Cheers!

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And after a short respite the adventures continued with an overnight hike up Elk Mountain in Chilliwack BC. The BC Boys wake up amongst the clouds in a cold wind/rain/cloud combo.

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Because some views are worth a risk or two. 

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Beautiful views from Jasper National Park

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Bridge to the island on Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park.

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Though they managed only two provinces, our heroes managed to rake up a lot of km’s!

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Chapter Five: Epilogue?

Not much to write home about this past week. Our heroes have reluctantly decided not to attempt the great expanse that is the Canadian prairies, and with 2L/km fuel mileage can we blame them? Instead they turned west at Drumheller and dropped back into this beautiful province of ours through Banff National Park. The duo split up in Vernon, with Jordan staying back to visit some of his own family and Caleb heading back south to Oliver to spend time with his. Both are set to return to Abbotsford on Friday May 25. Some stories, though seldom shared, do not end with a victorious protagonist or two, but rather a victorious antagonist, this time in the form of an oversized postal delivery machine.

On the brighter side, the duo has been pondering a second leg to their journey, though what that may entail is yet unclear. Currently Haida Gwaii and the Sunshine Coast Trail are being considered but the pair is open to suggestions if you have any! The story will likely change in nature with new antagonists waiting to be discovered, new challenges to be faced, and unanswered questions to be explored. Perhaps new heroes will emerge with their own motives, persuasions and quirks or perhaps existing ones will fall to the mundane, their adventurous hearts forced to bide their time for new opportunities. Perhaps propane is not the way to go and sundecks not meant for mobility. But is that really a world we want to live in?

Thank you to everyone who followed on this bizarre and blatantly anticlimactic story so far and especially to those who shared it with others! Whether or not new chapters will emerge remains to be seen but at the very least some throwbacks and perhaps a proper epilogue will follow. Any new blogs that relate to this adventure, myself or these two “boondockers” will be linked to this adventure.

Cheers!

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Always wondered what it would be like to drive in a 1987 Grumman but didn’t want a job in the postal industry? You’re welcome.

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Chapter Four: Heartbreak and Cliffhangers

After making the journey to Jasper National Park without incident, our heroes head up the gorge to check out some picturesque waterfalls and meet some new friends, a woman from Montreal bound for Salt Spring Island, the second and third a couple other dudes from Germany “boondocking” BC and Alberta. The duo set up camp in Whistlers Campground and began to ponder what adventures might await them with daybreak.

And what an adventure daybreak had in store for our intrepid heroes! They set off on a five-hour foot journey through canyons, lakes, rolling elk-laden hills and people-laden trails. Nature at its finest I’m sure. Nonetheless, the views and scenery are reportedly spectacular. Eager for adventure and prepared to take on the remaining 8 provinces the duo reunite with their 6-wheeled companion and head for Jasper for a propane top-up. With the propane tanks full the duo set off for Edmonton for a less populated campground – the local Walmart parking lot.

The next morning Molly makes her return as the raging antagonist with sluggish response times and a perverse propane appetite. Caleb spends some time in the morning doing advanced calculations and determines Molly’s true gluttony -  2L/km to be exact. With heavy hearts and encumbered souls, the pair is left with some big decisions to make. If her performance isn’t improved the true cost of crossing the Great White North may be substantially higher than the duo ever anticipated. Is this the conflict needed to advance the story, nay, the legend of our humble heroes?! There were decisions to be made and what better place to make such decisions as the West Edmonton Mall? At the very least our “boondockers” could enjoy the change of scenery.  

After some time at the mall and a stop at The Twisted Kilt our heroes depart for Drumheller where they will have to decide if they continue their adventure across the country or if they cut their losses and enjoy their time and money elsewhere. They continue to monitor their mileage closely and stop at Red Deer to satiate Molly’s gluttonous propane appetite. After a chat with the local propane and propane accessories salesman the pair decide to make some adjustments to Molly and see if they can’t improve her mileage with some new sparkplugs. With renewed hope and elevated spirits, the duo does notice some improved driving performance from our antagonist but long before one would expect Molly’s temper flares up yet again and she struggles up the rolling hills approaching Drumheller, forcing our protagonists to engage the reserve tank. But where in this empty land were they to find propane?! They stopped multiple times but were unsuccessful in locating the clean-burning fuel. With hot tempers and anxious thoughts, the pair decide to try and make it to Drumheller on the reserve tank. Fortunately, it was downhill to Drumheller and the pair roll into Drumheller on an empty tank. Would crossing the country even be possible with fuel mileage such as this?! They calculate their mileage to have improved slightly but would it be enough? The pair sleep on their problems, each in their heart knowing the biggest decision of this story would have to be made the following morning…

Would our heroes continue their journey? Could they continue their journey? Is propane really a clean-burning fuel and is freedom really achievable or are we bound and restricted by the latest in fuel technology?! Find out next time…

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Our heroes put BC behind them and cross provincial borders into barely Alberta!

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A little zap-straps and tape can fix anything.

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Canoeing on Badger Lake near Kamloops.

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Chapter Three: Stormy Skies and the Vengeful Grouse

Night gives way to day and our heroes rise (drop) from their hammocks and swing the rear doors open. They enjoy a homemade breakfast with friends before lacing up their boots and heading into the hills in search of adventure, and indeed to they find adventure. The duo begins by following the main trail up the mountain but soon find a less traveled path and true to their nature, they follow it. One has to wonder what their lives would be like if they were the other type of people, those that follow the main path. They soon make it to the breezy mountain peak and take a moment to reminisce in how small life’s problems really are from heights such as these. They head down from the peak, opting once again to take a shortcut before the stunning reality that life’s problems are not always little hits them. Sometimes instead, problems come in the form of a 400lb grizzly bear lounging on a pine on the trail in front of you. The duo doubles back and opts instead for some time spent bushwhacking a wide birth around the bear before cutting back to the trail well below. Jordan and Caleb find out later that bear cubs have been seen in the area as well.

 After this brush with potential danger, the duo leaves Vernon and head for Kamloops to visit some more family and explore some more of BC’s abundant wilderness. This was not without incident however as a windstorm had rolled in and was pushing Molly around.

While the design of the 1987 Grumman incorporated as much sex appeal as an 80’s motor vehicle manufacture could into a 2,700lb postal-delivery machine, it also incorporated an older technology used by many ancient civilizations to traverse the mighty seas. The sails used on the 1987 Grumman however, are not adjustable and instead serve to push the vehicle from side to side while trying to drive a straight line.

 The duo persevered however and manages to keep Molly under control despite the four story tall dirt devils occurring beside the road. They make it to Kamloops in one piece and visit some of Jordan’s family, taking on some electrical work and spending some time the next morning scouting their next destination in a borrowed car, Badger Lake. After spending some time up at the lake and determining the road to be within the realm of possibly for Molly to handle, they had back for Kamloops down the back roads. After a good while of driving our heroes hear a thump and see a puff of feathers hit the windshield. They stop and find a little grouse sitting at the side of the road, seeming to be fine despite the collision with the windshield it had just experienced. They apologized, get back in the car and continued on down the road. In the rear-view mirror it appeared the grouse was not finished with them however, as it pursued them now on foot down the road. Was the bird really okay? The duo sped up so as not to have to worry about it and the grouse soon fell out of sight, not to reappear until the nightmares that were sure to follow.

The next day our heroes descend was again from their lofty perches within Molly and say goodbye to their Kamloops’s hosts and take Molly up to Badger Lake – now sporting a 16 ft. canoe on the sundeck. After a quick stop in Kamloops to buy a memory card for his phone, after Jordan discovered his was stolen, the “boondockers” make it to Badger lake and launch off in their canoe, only to snap one of their two paddles in half on the fifth stroke. But what can’t be fixed with a little zap-straps and electrical tape? They “fix” the paddle which lasts for about 20 minutes (just long enough for the rain to begin) before they head back to shore to get out of the oncoming rain and make some dinner. They wait out the storm for the night, enjoy a morning paddle, and then depart for Jasper National Park. Perhaps there they could find a moral for our story, or at least a new antagonist? Or some conflict? A revelation or two? Find out next time…

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When a picture raises more questions than answers.

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But they soon switch to 90′s rural rap.

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The “boondockers” produce their first rap/country crossover album cover.

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The duo’s sleeping quarters.