Kayaking at Whitecliff

I put the kayak in at Whitecliff yesterday. That's something I've wanted to do for a while. Paddled around the little island we climb on then over to Horseshoe bay for a snack and back again.

Paddling to Bowen Island is totally realistic. I just want to get more experience and keep working on my balance first. The ocean is sure different than the flat water. I've been paddling up and down the Bedford channel of late.

Bobbing up and down in the waves like a cork was interesting. I can see how people get sea sick after a while. Nevertheless, the water is clean and I like that. I checked out Ambleside and Deep Cove that afternoon and both were totally calm. Not sure why there were a few waves where I was but it was good experience and I'm getting more comfortable with the balance thing. More trips ahead.

Fires, Drift Nets and Social Responsibility

This is a picture of the Kelowna forest fire in 2003. Recently we received word that the thousands of people who have been evacuated from their homes in West Kelowna are now allowed to return home because the three wild fires have been contained. Good news but the charred remains of a once thriving forest remain as a reminder of our social responsibility.

In 2003 we are told the fire was started by lightning and dry summer conditions. This time we are told the three separate fires were caused by human intervention. As a result there has been a great deal of hating on careless smokers who toss their lit butts from their cars. Not very bright or very socially responsible. Yet it happens all the time and we see it everywhere we go. Many vent about the stupidity and carelessness of these individuals.

Only a few homes were lost in the recent fires. It could have been a lot worse. Yet what I find so devastating is the destruction of good forests in a time we need them more than ever. Logging and clear cutting is a sensitive issue here in Canada. I remember handing out flyers with a friend in front of the Art Gallery in Vancouver once. A group of rowdy thugs started to heckle us. "How many trees did it take you make your flyers?" one cocky kid yelled.

"How many trees did it take the last time you went to the bathroom?" I yelled back. The guy just had this stunned look on his face then turned to a girl in his group who explained: "Toilet paper. It takes trees to make toilet paper." They all shut up for a while as they thought about the dilemma. We all hate logging but we all need paper and trees to some extent.

That's where social responsibility comes in. There is validity in arguments for tree harvesting as opposed to clear cutting. Nevertheless, tree planing is an essential element of social responsibility. Logging companies are required by law to spend a certain amount of money planting trees. To me it's simple. You log an area, you should replant the entire are you logged. It's that simple.

I really like hiking in the mountains. Getting the heart pounding and breathing the fresh air. Now that's what I'm talking about. Contemplating the fact that trees need the carbon dioxide we exhale and we need the oxygen they create instills a sense of belonging with nature. Yet all the CO2 emissions from our cards and cities is creating a huge imbalance in the system. We need to plant more trees. Gardening is the solution to world peace.

Kelowna, Vernon, Peticton are all magnificent. The lakes in those areas are wonderful. The dry summers are great for orchards and can be a refreshing change to the rain on the coast. Planting trees in that area is more problematic because we need to include irrigation when the tress are small. All possible if done within pipeline distance from one of the many lakes in the area.

Drift nets are another serious concern. I was surprised to discover that a great deal of our oxygen comes from the oceans. Yet we are clear cutting our oceans as we speak with drift nets. Not wise. We all started buying environmentally friendly tuna that wasn't caught with drift nets to save the dolphins slaughtered as waste. Now it's time for us to become socially aware and not buy any seafood that was caught with bottom trawling drift nets.

The University of Victoria is finalizing an under sea observatory on line at: http://www.neptunecanada.ca/

It is certainly worth while learning about what these bottom trawlers are still doing to the planet. They even clear cut the living coral on the bottom of the ocean and created a clear cut desert in the ocean.

Martin Ignasiak - Iggy Huckleberry

Well it looks like Darren found another Bobble head lawyer to harass me again. This one's a Rodeo Clown from Calgary: http://www.stikeman.com/cps/rde/xchg/se-en/hs.xsl/Profile.htm?ProfileID=832718

What's with that sore saddle look on his face? Why would someone pick that for a profile picture? And what's with that name? Is that for real? Sounds a lot like a Liberal Liar I know who wants to be Prime Minister.



No wonder Darren picked this other Iggy. He's got a few scandals of his own up his sleeve. In 2005 he resigned from being Police Commissioner in Edmonton.

CBC reported that in 2005 Martin Ignasiak "had deflected numerous calls for his resignation during his controversial four-year tenure, but said he wasn't pushed out." http://www.injusticebusters.com/04/Edmonton_police.htm

Ya see he is an environmental lawyer but his law firm represented the Edmonton Police force which would indeed be a complete conflict of interest.

His involvement in the drunken stake out had nothing to do with his resignation. Much. Why did he skip town to Calgary then? Environmental law? Which side? When someone says they do Labour law they are either for or against labour. When he does environmental law is he for or against the environment?

I'm sure we have a few people in Calgary and in Edmonton that could check this guy out. He resigned from being Edmonton's Police Commissioner the same year the Micheal Ritter scandal came out also in Edmonton. http://finiansworld.blogspot.com/2008/12/michael-ritter-larry-osaki-and-merrill.html

Darren continues to censor the Internet through an abuse of copyright law. He claims that any song written about him that he doesn't like is subject to copyright because it mentions his name. Wrong! He wants the DE web site shut down and claims he has rights to that domain because he is connected to Telus. Wrong!

The Harper government made a web site slagging their political opponent at: http://www.ignatieff.me/ Micheal Ignatieff does not own the rights to that domain neither does the Liberal party of Canada. It's called Free Speech.

Don't worry. A Liberal (or so the author claims) did the same thing to Belinda Stronach when she jumped ship and changed political parties at: http://www.belindastronach.org/ Belinda doesn't own the rights to that domain so she registered http://www.belinda.ca/ instead.

Oh but Darren is special. He's better than everyone else and owns exclusive rights to anything said about him. He is the censorship king so he is. All hail the Rodeo Clown and the Bullies of Bobble heads.



Now that's taking the Bull by the horns. Brokeback Mountain style. No wonder Iggy Huckleberry has that sore saddle look on his face. Rednecks. Go figure.



Ah ha... here it is. Martin Ignasiak fought against environmentalists to promote the Oil Sands.

He even stated in one case "There is no need for public participation at this stage." (on the issue of greenhouse gases.) Aren't the Oil Sands referred to as Dirty Oil? Me thinks this bully has his hands dirty already: http://www.dirtyoilsands.org/thedirt

Maybe that sore saddle look on his face is just the smell from his client being the second largest source of sulfur emissions in North America. If it looks dirty and it smells dirty...

Baker in July

Baker is nice to visit any time of year.

The ski hill isn't actually on Baker it's on the peak right beside it. You have to take a back road to get to Baker Vista and the Heliotope Ridge trail. Unfortunately the road is closed so I hiked up the road. When the road is open the heliotrope ridge trail is one of the best trails I've seen. Turns out on the south side of mount Baker is a snowmobile area and Mount Baker Lake. More to investigate.

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Widgeon Creek

Widgeon Creek is nice. Much better in the summer.

You paddle up the creek to the camp site then hike up to the waterfalls. It's a great day trip.

Here's a clip of the falls on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Z3ekbMxns

Cliff Falls - Kanaka Creek

We took the voyageur canoe up Kanaka creek from Fort Langley a while ago: http://finiansworld.blogspot.com/2009/02/kanaka-creek.html

Ya cross the Fraser then go up this shallow creek till ya hit the fish hatchery. Just past the fish hatchery are some nice waterfalls at Cliff Park. The Fort Langley crew tells me the name Kanaka Creek is Hawaiian for "the people.".



Google tells me that Kanakas were Hawaiian Labourers. Some came to Fort Langley with the Hudson Bay company. Others went to Australia and the United States. Interesting. Although our climate is nothing compared to Hawaii, I think the falls at Cliff Park on Kanaka Creek is the closest we come to Hawaii here.



Here's a video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7NvTKDtJAQ

My Kayak Journey Begins

I finally found a kayak that fits. I have an Azul Argon. It’s perfect. That other one I had was too small. My knees were sticking out of the cockpit. That makes it very unstable. I am told the five points of balance for a kayak are toes, heels, knees, butt and back.

The idea is that you spread your knees out against the side of the kayak inside the cockpit. If your knees are together all your body weight is high centered. It is like walking a tight rope with your hands held in. When you lower your legs and spread them out it spreads out the weight like walking a tight rope with a balance bar.

I was a bit worried but now realize this dream is doable. I just need some more time to practice to get a feel for it. I was in Crescent beach today paddling in the shallow water. Great to practice. I could see the Lions off in the distance and much closer I could see Golden Ears and Alouette Mountain which I hiked up last Saturday: http://finiansworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/alouette-mountain-revisited.html



Once I get good I can do the Indian Arm, Ambleside, Whitecliff, Pitt Lake, Stave Lake, Harrison Lake… the list goes on. I remember seeing a photo of some kayaks in the arctic. The water was very clear and very cold. It looked magnificent. I could see me doing that. Kayaking to a point then breaking out the snowshoes and going for a trek. Now that’s what I’m talking about.

When we did the moving water on the Fraser in Voyageur Canoes from Yale to Hope they told us to bring wet suits in case we fell in. One guy showed up with a dry suit. It’s like this space suit that keeps you warm even if you fall into freezing water. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Cheers.

Canada Day in Deep Cove

I didn’t feel like joining the crowds today but did make it up the Baden Powell trail in Deep Cove to the Indian Arm Lookout. That’s a nice spot to visit. I read the congratulations on my daughter’s commencement certificate from an MP today. I like Dave Hayer. I hate Gordon Campbell but I do like Dave Hayer.

He said congratulations and said in your life you will face many challenges and unlimited opportunity. It kind of felt like being on the other side of the veil being commissioned to embark on this mortal probation. All of us face challenges at some point. What do we do when we face those challenges reveals who we are.

I remember receiving a poster from my parents when I was in Ireland many years ago. It was a picture of an old work horse pulling a loaded cart in a blizzard. The caption read “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” My parents have instilled in my a strong work ethic. Indeed when times get tough, that’s the time to get to work.

Economic recessions come and go. Not having work is indeed challenging. I’m grateful to have a job I enjoy and to work for a company and management team I like and respect. That makes a world of difference on the stress level. Getting a reduction in hours is a challenge but soon it will be time to pick up the slack with a second job. Suck is life.

Nevertheless, life isn’t all about work and I still enjoy getting out and enjoying the lower mainland. I still like Whitecliff. My father took me there when I was young and I still enjoy it there. Deep cove is nice too. A nice quiet way to spend Canada Day. I’m not a big flag waver. Canada is nice but no better than anywhere else. I remember watching the sun set behind the Nile in Egypt when I was young. That was really nice too. Every area has nice quiet places to enjoy.