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Hitchhikers in British Columbia
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Comox Lake, Vancouver Island: August 23, 2016
Since arriving in Canada, I’ve enjoyed a series of unplanned experiences with fellow travelers;
I camped in the forest on the outskirts of Nelson with other attendees from the Shambhala festival, who Salvaged over a dozen frozen pizzas from the local grocery store. we maxed out on pizza cooked by campfire for two days straight.
I offered a ride to an ambitious bicyclist named Ally who was stuck on the highway alongside me after a tragic car accident closed the road for hours. Cycling across Canada, she embarked on a solo round-trip journey to Vancouver and back east to Banff national park for a winter of working the ski slopes - living in a cabin on the slopes! We enjoyed our one night at a rest stop together watching “The Beach” on my phone and drifting off to sleep in the front seats of my car.
I met an elder hitchhiker, Hawk, while driving through the Okinaagen valley on his journey from California toward Alaska. Already in wine country, we had to stop for a wine tasting. THen before parting ways, we both enjoyed some extra winnings at a casino in Calgary.
Tofino, Vancouver Island: August 16, 2016
On my way to this next destination, I stopped on the side of the road to ask a female hitchhiker where she was destined to go. Upon realization she wasn’t traveling alone, we mutually decided there wasn’t enough room in my car: packed with clothes, blankets, drums, a guitar and a cooler.
Regardless, I paused while observing a conversation in my rear-view mirror. She was speaking to a woman named Jen who was heading north to her Auntie’s house in Ucluelet. Despite the clutter on my passenger seat, she jumped in my cramped car as if we already knew each other.
On our journey together, we made a pit stop next to a fence, covered in locked memories, bordering a rocky ravine flowing with a narrow, but powerful stream. Using the lock I purchased in Costa Rica months prior, we drew our own markings on each side and fastened it to the chain link fence.
Next, just past her original destination, we visited a hidden hangout spot known as “Sky Couch.” We appreciated the radiant sunset with some new friends - atop a handmade porch - Overlooking the west coast of Vancouver Island.
So many incandescent encounters along unknown roads; It’s easy to forget such miraculous places exist when spell-bound to convenience-rich cities.
As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change toward him.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Victoria, Vancouver Island: August 15, 2016
On a MOnday evening in Victoria, nothing sounds more fun than drinking and eating more food. Unless I spontaneously cross paths with a new friend or familiar face, I feel useless in this unfamiliar town of emotionally-deprived consumers surrounded by those discarded by society scattered about the sidewalks.
I made conversation with a sweet guy sitting along the road, strapped with an abnormally large backpack and drinking from a paper bag. Steve’s been living on the island for twenty+ years and yet has not found salvation here.
Clearly, the root of most societal problems lie deep within the consequences of modern law and business practices - as well as lack of consciousness. But It’s always baffling to witness bliss on the faces of wealthy consumers while walking past systematically-exploited and wounded souls. We can do better than provide drop boxes for used needles.
