Working in the Wilderness of British Columbia

This is a travel guide to destinations no one can really travel to. Many of these places were located at the far end of a logging road, hundreds of kilometers from the nearest town, often accessible by helicopter only. These are my tales from the road least traveled.

This is the story of my extreme wilderness adventures, from a time when I worked for a Geophysics company searching for gold in the mountains. The views were often out of this world and I continue to send retroactive thank you to the 2005 version of myself for bringing a camera along for the ride. Sorting through these pictures was a fun trip down memory lane.

We travelled along dirt roads for hours just to catch a helicopter somewhere else, visiting places that are too far off the beaten track to even explain how to get to. I’m not even sure that given unlimited resources I could even find some of these places for a second time.

These locations are basically off-limits to the normal person. If it wasn’t for my job, I would have never been able to experience these things. Working in the wilderness funded several international vacations – to South America, India, and Africa – and as some people say, the journey is the destination. I think this journey was one of those events.

What makes the Wilderness of British Columbia so amazing?

Travel is about exploring new places and experiencing new things. These hard-to-reach places in the remote parts of British Columbia are not places that many get to explore. It’s good to know that if you ever needed a break from reality, it is easy to find isolation in these big open spaces. It’s hard to imagine how much wilderness there was here, even just a hundred kilometres north of Vancouver. Especially as the crow flies, there are places that many will never visit once you leave the highways and known trails.

These are the destinations at the end of the road, far away from civilization. There are no crowds. You don’t have to talk to anyone except the small group you arrived here alongside.

The year that I spent working in the mountains was unforgettable. I will always be thankful that I carried my small point and shoot Olympus everywhere I went, so I can always remember these places. Camp life was hard, and working with a small crew of 6 meant that there was plenty of time to butt heads with your co-workers. During the day, we would be sent on our own path to work in isolation, with nothing more than my shadow to keep me company.

There are places I will never be able to return but I will always have the memories. These pictures are from the Southern half of British Columbia, Canada’s westernmost province, and really were a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s pretty exciting to share them today.

Working next to Mighty Glaciers

This one goes way back to 2004. When I was 22, I got a job doing mining exploration in the northern parts of British Columbia. Many of the camps we worked out of were accessible only by helicopter and we had to ration our supplies. Most of the time we were closer to Alaska than the 49th parallel. This was the wilderness in all its glory and the places we visited were truly epic.

My first job was located along the British Columbia/Alaska border, somewhere in the panhandle. Receding glaciers are prime locations to discover new mineral deposits once hidden. We climbed mountains and took helicopter rides over glaciers. As you will see from the following pictures, this was an unforgettable journey. Even though this isn’t exactly a tourist destination that one can visit, these pictures are worth sharing.

This was an extremely wild and untouched outdoor experience, accessible to a few lucky explorers. Here the trees and mountains went on forever. It was incredible and awe-inspiring every day. This was my life for a year and a half, during which time I worked for a geophysics company and spent months working in the remote wilderness of British Columbia. We saw bears a few times and heard wolves outside of our camp a few nights as the pack passed by.

North of Prince George

Most of our time was spent in the far north, above Prince George but south of the Yukon. The following post features photos from the Rocky Mountain Trench and North Coast, Omineca, and Skeena Mountain Ranges in British Columbia. Many of these places are more or less inaccessible unless you have a few key survival pieces, including satellite radio, GPS equipment, and several days’ worth of food and water.

We spent a lot of time in the wilderness north of Prince George, close to the Rocky Mountain Trench.

During the working day, I carried a small point-and-shoot digital camera with me for every job. In total, I worked in the mountains for about a year and a half, with a 6-month trip to South America sandwiched in the middle.

We were visiting parts of the province where active logging and mining were going on. I’ve been to some of these places and could never “find” them again even if I tried. It also requires a big truck with a 2-way radio and an understanding of how logging roads work (when someone calls out on the radio “30 loaded” you need to know exactly what that means and where you are in relation to this fully loaded truck).

This was a once and a lifetime experience for me, and it was the first time I was truly able to appreciate the wild untouched beauty of the North. I’m excited to share these with everyone today as I got to relive some incredible memories, without the pain associated with hiking and climbing over rocks and up steep mountain slopes to achieve these shots.

Central British Columbia

These are the adventures of 2005 when my mountain experiences kept me in the southern half of British Columbia. These pictures are from a variety of locales, primarily from the Coastal Mountain Range, Interior Plateau, and the north end of Vancouver Island. We based ourselves out of tiny places like Merritt, Boston Bar, Port Hardy, and Harrison Lake and commuted to our job sites.

This was one of the most rugged and exciting two years of my life. It was hard work, but there were a few unforgettable moments, many of which I captured on my camera. There were days and moments where I knew that I was the first human to stand, and it made me feel quite accomplished conquering new land in search of gold. I saw a lot of really cool things and explored a lot of wicked awesome outdoor places.

This was a once and a lifetime experience for me, and it was the first time I was truly able to appreciate the wild untouched beauty of the North. I’m excited to share these with everyone today as I got to relive some incredible memories, without the pain associated with hiking and climbing over rocks and up steep mountain slopes to achieve these shots.