Photos

This summer I was fortunate enough to have spent two weeks working (planting trees) deep in the Omineca Mountains. The nearest town was Mackenzie and was nearly 300 km away down a series of logging roads.

Most people thought we were crazy, but seven co-workers and I hiked up a random, and as far as I know unnamed mountain on one of our days off. It began around km 22 of the Upper Osilinka Forest Service Road. There was no trail. We walked up a cut block at first, and pretty much immediately after that gave way to forest we were walking in snow. The region only became accessible by road about a week and a half earlier due to higher than average snow levels. To approach the peak we had to make our way along a narrow sliver of rock jutting out between two steep snowy chutes. We stopped our hike at this point where I took this picture, even though it would have only taken a few minutes to reach the summit. So far away from the nearest hospital it would have been silly to risk injury.

This area in general is blank on most maps (northwest of Mackenzie and northeast of Fort St. James). I used to think that meant it would be pristine wilderness. Unfortunately our footprint extends to such a remote place as well. Logging and Mining operations extend hundreds of kilometers further into the wilderness, forever changing this incredible place that few people have ever visited. Despite all this, I felt very privileged to have visited this amazing place that constantly left me in awe and gave me goosebumps thinking about how this continent would have been a thousand years ago.