Hitching Part 3

When we got to Regina we had time to kill so we headed to the mall for wifi and coffee. It was here that I first thought about life after the trip. Seaghan asked what I would be doing after and I had no answer. I knew I wanted to travel but was torn between New Zealand and Australia. Seaghan suggested we flip to decide. And so a coin toss decided the next year or two of my life. Australia. After the trip, I would work hard and save. Six months or so later I would leave for Aus.

Our host that evening was a friend from my days at Ocean Island Inn. She was the first person I ever served a mixed drink to and it was her birthday so we finally got to party a bit for the first time on our trip. Another friend from OI was there and we had a great little reunion with far to much Lucky Lager. Regina, the city that rhymes with fun!

The next morning we got a ride to the truck stop and were picked up in barely one minute. This was our last ride. He brought us all the way to Sudbury. It was a tight squeeze though. He had a big black lab and a guitar plus luggage. We each had a pack and I had my mandolin. Whoever sat in the back had to ride with the dog on their lap. Good thing he was well behaved!

That day we made it as far as Winnipeg. My home. It had been 8 months since I'd last been home. The prairies are so drastically different from the coast. Kilometre after kilometre of flat wheat and canola fields. The only trees are planted in thin rows to protect the crops from the wind. There's a lot of cows and the occasional grain elevator. A prairie girl at heart, it was nice to be back in Manitoba <3

We landed at the Forks where we were greeted by friends and family. The Forks is where the Red and Assiniboine meet and it has been a gathering place for thousands of years. The buildings that stand there now are left over from the sites days as a train yard. There are two markets, a museum and a hotel. There's also water buses that give tours and buskers throughout the site.

Our evening there included coffee from Espresso Junction, a long time favourite and a couple of bottles of wine from Fentons Wine Merchants. After dark, we headed down to the waterfront, cracked open our wine and visited. I played my mandolin for the first time on the trip and everyone sang. It was a perfect reunion.

Our time in Winnipeg was short and we were soon off withour new companions to the Trout Forest music festival in Northern Ontario. Ear Falls to be more specific. We had sent an inquiry email about volunteering for the festival but our e-mail was sent late and we hadn't heard anything back. We decided to chance it and go anyways. We arrived a few days early for setup and they were nice enough to take us on. They set us up with a place to camp and fed us whenever we were working. The other volunteers were so friendly and made us feel right at home.

The festival kicked off two days later and it was great! The music was mostly country but some had more rock influence, some folk. There was a nice variety and the performers were very talented. My favorite artist of the weekend was Brock Zeman. I loved his raspy bluesy voice and melodic guitar style. I bought a download card for his album “Welcome Home Ivy Jane”. There were so many talented artists that I wish I could have invested in. Other artists I liked included Petunia, the Travelling Steam Show, and the Weber Bros.

Kokom's Bannock Shack was another festival highlight. From bannock burgers to sugar coated bannock balls, if it tastes good with bannock, they made it! For those of you that don't know, bannock is a delicious fried bread that a lot of Aboriginal people here make. It tastes great and its aweful for you. Seaghan and I ate there three times.

The festival wasn't all sunshine and roses though. Our new companion picked us up in Regina and brought us all the way to Sudbury which I really appreciate. He seemed totally normal, until the first time he drank with us that is. He said a few creepy things but I ignored it. Then when we got to the festival he kept trying to get me alone. One night I went to the bathroom and he followed. He then insisted I come back to camp with him. When I asked why he said he wanted to have a smoke with me. We went back to camp and he forcefully tried to kiss me. I just pushed him away and told him I was in absolutely no way interested. I walked away but he wouldn't leave me alone. We got back to the stage and he tried again so I cuffed him and told him not to come anywhere near me. He avoided me like the plague the next day and didn't so much as put a hair out of line for the rest of the trip. Sometimes as a single female its easy to become intimidated but never let that get the better of you. If you're in a situation you're uncomfortable with, stand your ground or get out.

Towards the end of the festival, I started to come down from the crazy life I had been living in the last few months. I withdrew from other people and didn't do much but write. Our last two days were uneventful and the trip was over before I knew it. Its been three months now since I arrived in Sudbury. I got work as a flagger and labourer on the highway and am saving for my next adventure. When I started the trip, I had no direction and didn't know where I would land up. I took a leap of faith and it paid off. I've never been happier and I'm proud I made it this far. I'll never forget my experiences or the people that got me this far. Thank you to everyone who helped along the way <3

Hitching Part 2

Edmonton was out of the way but I really wanted to stop in. I used to live there and a friend was nice enough to put us up for a couple of days. We were dropped off at Canada's largest shopping centre, West Edmonton Mall. If you've never been its worth going just to see its outrageous size and attractions. These attractions include a skating rink, water park, pirate ship, aquarium, theme park, arcade, movie theatre with fire breathing dragon and more. It also has more than 800 shops and services. I've never been much for shopping though so we grabbed a sandwich and headed for the bus.

The next morning I stopped in at one of Edmonton's hidden gems, Bedrock Supply. Its a massive hobby shop dealing in everything from lapidary equipment and gemstones, to metalsmithing, lampworking, fibre art, and more. It also has a studio available and I was there to make use of their silversmithing equipment. Their studio is so well equipped and organized and studio time is only $10.00/hour. They have a wide variety of tools and resources so the options are endless. I made a simple little silver ring that I have worn every day since.

That evening I gave Seaghan my tour of Edmonton. We left some time after 10:00pm towards downtown and the beautiful Alberta Legislature. In front of the Leg is a large fountain that beautifully reflects the fascade of the building. The water is about knee deep and although signs indicate no swimming security never stops anyone. After wading in the fountain for a while, we walked over to the high level bridge. At night it has the most spectacular view of downtown Edmonton. From there it was off to Whyte Ave for a late night donair at Mike's. My time in Edmonton was short but sweet.

Pro Tip: Edmonton is a great city to cycle in. The river valley has a long section of the Trans Canada Trail that is well maintained and winds along some cute bends and creeks. Edmonton Bicycle Commuters is a community bike shop that rents refurbished bicycles for only $20/day or $50/weekend.

Hitching in Alberta that afternoon was harder than anywhere else on the trip. We took public transit from Whyte Ave to a suburb called Sherwood Park. Public transit stops right near a Flying J truck stop. As we walked towards the highway we were stopped by an RCMP officer. Our hitching sign was clipped to the back of Seaghan's bag so we couldn't very well deny what we were doing. He warned us that the place we were headed for, North Battleford, was a rougher town. He checked our I.D.s, asked where we came from and sent us on our way. Hitching is illegal but there wasn't much he could do about it. Just be honest and straight forward.

We were picked up by a wonderful older couple that took us as far as Vegreville, a Ukrainian town with the world's largest pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg). They took us out of their way just to show us the egg. They took pictures for us and even tried to get us another ride. They said they picked us up because we looked like good kids and it could be their kids on the road. They were sweet. They left us in a good spot and another ride took us an hour down the road to the middle of nowhere.

No trees, no houses. Just prairie. And there we sat. It was getting late. If we didn't get picked up soon we would have to camp in the ditch with the vicious mosquitos and no buffer from the sounds of the highway. After an hour and a half, on little car stopped to pick us up. Thank god!

Overjoyed, I ran to the window. I asked them where they were headed. They were headed as far as Regina and could drop us off wherever we liked. I ran back, ecstatic, to grab my pack and give Seaghan the good news. As I went to grab my pack, he says to me, “I don't even care that they're naked”. It took a minute for what just said to register. “What?” I asked. “I don't even care that they're naked” he repeated. I had gone up to the window and talked to them and hadn't even noticed. I was just so relieved that someone wanted to pick us up. They, put on clothes, made room for us in their car and took us all the way to an information pull out just outside Regina. Turns out there's some sort of nudist retreat in rural Alberta and they were just coming back from vacation. The guy driving smoked so much pot. At least twice an hour the whole way. But, they got us there in one piece and that's all that matters.

We rolled into the information pull out just after midnight. There were no trees, no shelter, no bathroom and no trash can. There was litter everywhere. It was a dump. We camped there anyway and our tent blended with the prairie grass very well. When we awoke the next morning, we were in good spirits. We were only 30 minutes from downtown Regina and the weather was great. There was a truck pulled in when we got up. We ate our breakfast and did our thing for a bit. The driver fussed under the truck. As we started to pack, he asked Seaghan if we needed a ride into town. We accepted his ride but were both uncomfortable. The guy seemed sketchy. Almost absent. He spoke low and mumbled a lot. He looked tired and sweaty.

We got in but both sat in the back of the cab. My mandolin case was sat on my lap, pocket open, with my little swiss army knife tucked just inside. I felt uncomfortable but I wasn't alone and we only had to make a 30 minute trip. I tried to relax but just as we pulled out he stopped, he opened the centre console to his right and started fussing with something. I couldn't see what. He put the console back down, started to drive away and proceeded to snort coke. He asked if we would mind and I replied “Are you sure you're going to be ok to drive?”. We probably should have gotten out of the vehicle then but we didn't. He snorted again and drove us to town. I was so glad when he dropped us off. I had become so trusting of people on the trip and that ride served as a harsh reminder that not everyone is stable. Always stay on your guard. Luckily things got easier from there.

Check back tomorrow for Hitching Part 3 which includes our time at the Trout Forest Music Festival!

Hitching East Part 1

Hitching east is the greatest thing I have ever done. Its changed me wholly. Seaghan and I travelled across Western Canada mostly on the generosity of others and people were so nice. I met some of the most beautiful people in Canada. These people made travel so much more accessible to me and showed me it can be easy if you are willing to commit to it.

Our trip started in late afternoon on July 28th in Victoria, BC and mine ended in Sudbury, Ontario two weeks later. We hitched the whole way. We never stayed in hostels. We mostly pirate camped or stayed with friends along the way. We set out from the Ocean Island Inn using public transit and the ferry to get to Vancouver where we were camping in a friends yard. This is where I first found out that Seaghan had no gear. No sleeping bag, no mat, nothing. Just coats to keep warm. He toughed through it though.

I asked my friend for advice on where to get cheap breakfast and how to get out of town. They reccomended a place called Bon's for breakfast and it was so cheap! $3.95 and I was full. As for directions, they recommended we walk to commercial drive and talk to a crust punk. After breakfast, we headed to commercial and Seaghan found a punk right away. He was a young bearded guy with a duffel and ratty clothes. Perfect. We asked directions and he gave us hand written instructions on hitching out of town.

We followed his instructions and stuck out our thumbs for the first time. We also had a sign. I think signs are important. After 20 minutes of waiting and snacking on wild blackberries someone told us we were on the wrong side of the road. Oops! We repositioned ourselves and had our first ride within 5 minutes.

A pair of missionary siblings got us as far as Abbotsford. We were barely out of their car and at an off ramp when we were picked up by a transport. I remember standing on the side of the road. Seaghan got a huge cheshire grin on his face. “This one”, he said like he knew the guy was going to pick us up. We were ecstatic! We had only planned to ride with him to Kamloops and then split off to the north but we wound up staying with him right until the Icefields Parkway in southern Alberta.

Riding with the trucker was great. He had been picking up hitch hikers for around 30 years and had a surplus of stories. Late that night, as we rolled through the mountains near Revelstoke, he even told a storey about the night he swears he and two hitch hikers saw Sasquatch. We made it as far as Golden, BC that night and camped on a patch of grass behind a gas station. Many long haul truckers park there over night so we had no troubles camping there.

I woke up late the next morning and made the mistake of hitting the road with no food. When we were dropped off at the Icefields Parkway early that morning, we had nothing. The road was mostly frequented by tourists who don't pick up hitch hikers. When we were picked up, it was by a hiker in a cool car who took us as far as the Crows Foot Glacier. This was a terrible place to hitch from because all of the tourists pull in to take pictures and then avoid you pulling out. So many tourists took pictures of us. It felt so strange. None of them picked us up.

Eventually we were picked up by a coal miner coming back from a music festival. BC has lots of great music festivals that I'm ashamed to say I never took the time to enjoy. Anyway, he took us as far as Jasper through the prettiest stretch of mountains I have ever seen in my life. The Rocky Mountain range covered in glaciers and snow caps is absolutely breathtaking.

Pro tip: Do not fuel up along the Icefields Parkway. Our ride had to gas up at Saskatchewan crossing and paid $1.90/litre compared to $1.30 everywhere else. Food was also overpriced, we hadn't eaten yet that day and were going to grab hot dogs but they were a whopping $7.00 a piece.

We made it to Jasper by early afternoon and had some wicked poutine with our ride before he left. We offered to pay for his food but he declined as did every ride we tried buying food for but I always felt it was important to express how grateful we were. If it weren't for people like him, we never would have made it. I can't stress enough how thankful I am for every person who helped us along the way <3

We paid for camping that night. $30.00. That's the only time we paid to sleep somewhere and it was worth it. I love Jasper. Its the first place that I ever visited the Canadian Rockies and every time I visit I'm amazed at how quiet and serene it is. Jasper is not overly commercial for a tourist town. Its small. They don't allow large franchises so there are no Wal Marts or the like to take away from the natural beauty of the place.

We stayed at Whistler's Campground where $30.00 got us our own site and as much wood as we wanted. The park was very well maintained and park staff were friendly and knowledgeable. We were in a designated hiker/biker site and almost every camp had someone with an instrument. My only complaint about the site was that the fire pits were so tiny and the wood only fit in one day. It didn't make the greatest fire to cook by.

A friend of ours hitched to Jasper on the same day and stopped in at our camp. He's very gifted with food and helped us cook. The guys climbed a tree and well after dark we called it a night. We met up the next morning for a relaxed breakfast in the visitor centre lawn and then checked the thrift stores for cheap cookware. Our friend walked us along the dirt path to the highway, pointing out fresh herbs along the trail. Lavender, sage, and one for tea that I can't remember. It all smelled divine and I really wish I had picked some to take with. After a fond farewell, we stuck out our thumbs once again and were picked up within 10 minutes by a speedy Algerian. He got us to Edmonton in no time.

Check back tomorrow for Hitching East Part 2 which includes our most interesting and our worst rides!