Expedition Canada

Just as the crampons are due to arrive! Thu Jan 13th Dakota Ridge After nearly four weeks of snow and ice, temperatures have climbed above freezing and storms together with heavy rain Tuesday and overnight Wednesday, have cleared most of the ice and snow except where it's ploughed up at the edge of the road.  Having both gone over on the icy roads we, along with nearly everybody else on the Coast who didn't already have them, have ordered crampons to reduce falls and slips.  Inevitably they will arrive after we need them unless new snow arrives.  That said we'll have them for next winter!  They are, we have decided, an essential accessory. The heavy rain and wind caused quite a bit of damage around the southern coast of BC as it coincided with King (Spring) tides.   Low lying areas around Vancouver were flooded and logs washed up on the beaches. The sea wall around Stanley Park, a circular walk and cycle route that goes under the spectacular Lion's Gate Bri...

Salmon in Danger Bus stop furniture Tue Nov 23rd As we have driven along the Coast we've been amused by the variety of cast-off chairs that are gifted to bus stops along the highways.  I've shared the odd picture before.  These Adirondack chairs have clearly seen better days but have been recycled to the bus stop at Langdale.  Quirky, rather than transport utilitarian. The floodwater that hit much of the Fraser Valley from Merritt in the north to Abbotsford nearer to the US border has started to recede.  BC has mobilized to clean, dry, repair and rebuild - houses, roads and railways affected by the landslides and flooding.   There is some interesting footage from a helicopter pilot who flew in supplies to a flood isolated camp, which shows some of the devastation that took place.  A second video he did a few days later shows the water receding.  Some of the bridges that have been washed out are not expected to be back in service until the new yea...

News Travels Slowly Wed Nov 17th      If you depend on BBC News to keep you up to date, you would be three days behind the events of the last few days that has been breaking, literally, across southern BC.   Of course if you are a regular reader of this blog, you would have had an early heads up!   The ' Atmospheric River ' that hit BC on Sunday and Monday of this week has caused major disruption, significant flooding, road and rail washouts which has effectively cut southern BC off from the rest of the province and the rest of  Canada.  Port Mellon, our nearest weather station recorded close to 200mm of rain.  Sky News , to their great credit picked up the story onMonday.   Highway 1 - Tank Hill in the  Fraser Valley So the ' Yesterday's Chip Paper ' prize goes to BBC News ! Sadly one person is known to have lost their life as a result of a landslide on one of the highways and searches continue.  Sever...