A rare patch of Canadian Soil that managed to escape the last ice-age the Brooks Peninsula juts West into the Pacific forever at war with the Pacific Ocean. Wind and waves have shaped the land and trees, their influence is visible everywhere.

Mount Seymour dominates the Eastern end of North Vancouver. Its slopes stretch from the Seymour River all the way East to Indian Arm. Up at the top, three rocky peaks look down upon the city, their gaze cast South East to Mount Baker and then West all the way to Vancouver Island.

Hiking, biking, paddling and climbing. It's like they made the Sunshine Coast just for us! All this adventure is only a short ferry ride or two from Vancouver and the water is some of the warmest ocean swimming anywhere along the Pacific Coast.

On the Northern tip of Vancouver Island, Port Hardy is the gateway to the rugged, remote coast of Northern Vancouver Island. Miles and miles of uninhabited coastline stretch between here and the Alaskan panhandle with only a few settlements along the way.

Nestled within the peaks and valleys of the Cascade Mountains the town of Leavenworth, WA stands proudly unique self dubbed 'Your Bavarian Getaway'. The Bavarian theme is all good by us but we have discovered a different reason to visit this land of lederhosen. Can you say "Biking, hiking, paddling and climbing?". I think you can!

A rugged undeveloped coastline hammered eternally by the open Pacific. Settled by Danish immigrants in 1897 and later abandoned, the mist has reclaimed these lands. Wolf, bear and cougar live amongst these beaches and trees now. Elusive guardians, waiting, watching.

Liana and I were planning a visit to Port Hardy to see Dad and Sylvia in the summer of 2007 when he mentioned this  rugged new trail that some people were building. The local hope was that the new trail would spark a renewed interest in Port Hardy as a destination for tourism bringing a needed boost to the local economy.

As soon as the words "new trail" and "rugged" were mentioned I was in. I started working on Liana and before long had her interested as well... interested in placating me at the very least.

 

Imagine you are on day 3 of a 5 day trip in the Broughton Archipelago, you have spent the afternoon paddling among orca's, sea lions and salmon and now you are returning to camp to share stories with the rest of your group over dinner. As you pull your kayak up the beach you catch the scent of fresh bread, grilled over a charcoal fire and covered with tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Did Panago just open up a fly in delivery service?