***NEW*** You can now download our complete trip route for viewing in Google Earth. Simply follow this link:

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=996868&page=0&vc=1#Post996868

PURPOSE / GOAL

The temperate rainforest of the Central Coast of British Columbia is home to many diverse peoples and species. This environment is both spectacular and unforgiving at times. The majority of the coastline is accessible only by boat, which helps to maintain and preserve the pristine nature of this wild and ever changing environment. However human impact from various resource extraction initiatives as well as spreading development is directly and indirectly affecting the coast.

The people of western society are just beginning to truly understand their role in exacerbating environmental and energy use issues. With terms such as ‘Peak Oil’, ‘Climate Change’, and ‘Habitat Loss’ used more and more by the press and politicians it is becoming clear that people are beginning to think differently about their day to day activities.

We are planning to kayak from MEC Vancouver to the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The journey will travel through Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park, Broughton Archipelago Provincial Marine Park and will conclude on the white sand beaches of Cape Scott Provincial Park. This will be our way of showing that an epic trip can begin right from one’s doorstep, and that getting to the starting point of a journey should not necessitate hundreds of miles of airplane, or car travel. We will challenge the very notion of what people consider the word ‘epic’ to mean by showing that while your wilderness adventure should be epic, getting to the starting point does not have to be.

LOGISTICS

1. Departing right from MEC’s doorstep
2. 14 days of paddling
3. 3 sea kayaks
4. 3 epic adventurers
5. 270 nautical miles (504km)
6. Cost will be minimal
7. Non kayak travel will be limited to a one-way car trip from Cape Scott to Vancouver

DOCUMENTATION

The trip will be recorded in its entirety though photo and audio documentation. Jochen and Alex are both accomplished photographers, especially in the trying environments associated with wilderness travel. The goal is to produce a complete multi-media presentation using photographs and radio sound clips about the journey, environments and cultures experienced.

In addition to presenting our own perspective on the experience of our trip, we will bring back a record of interviews with the people of the local communities to which we travel. We will share their perspectives on the places in which they live and the changes to their natural surroundings that they have perceived over the years.

Fundraising

Mountain Equipment Co-Op will match, dollar for dollar, the funds that we raise up to a limit of $25,000. So we're making that limit our goal. To paraphrase a literary genious, the wilderness is big, really big, so it's going to take a lot of money to preserve it!