crossing the canadian border & journey to prince rupert

Dates: July 11th, 2022 - July 17th, 2022
Distance traveled: 1,515 mi / 2,438 km
Route: Redmond, OR > Toledo, WA > Lynden, WA > Chilliwack, BC > Enterprise, BC > Smithers, BC > Prince Rupert, BC

This past week has felt like the start of something new. We’ve done a lot of the same old things like waiting around for packages to show up at drop locations, washing our clothes at local laundromats, and hanging out with some of our favorite people. But now, these everyday things feel like they have a little more purpose behind them–it feels like we’re on a mission.

I’m sitting in the camper parked at a marina in Prince Rupert. We just had halibut fish and chips at Bob’s on the Rocks for lunch and took a walk along the Rushbrook Trail, which runs along the water (a short one for me, longer for Mike and Granger). Our goal for this past week was to make it to exactly where we are in order to catch the ferry to Ketchikan, Alaska at 12:45am tonight (well, technically tomorrow). It’s a moody, overcast day with misty rain and clouds hanging low across the water. We love this kind of weather.

Viewpoint on the Rushbrook Trail.

Reflecting on the past week, so much has happened in a short span of time to get us here. Our journey began on Monday in Redmond, Oregon when we packed up from Overland Expo Pacific Northwest, bid our friends farewell, and hit the road with our friend Brina in tow in her BruTrek rig.

Crossing the Canadian Border

Along with Brina, we made our way north to the Canadian border. The campsites we stayed in along the way weren’t anything to write home about, but it’s worth noting that the Lynden-Bellingham KOA has a really nice, wooded section for tent and truck camping, and it’s only ten minutes from the Lynden-Aldergrove port of entry into Canada. 

In preparation for the border crossing, we:

• got health certificates for Granger and Walker by an accredited veterinarian within 30 days of the border crossing. We got ours from Bend Veterinary Clinic in Oregon.

• dowloaded the ArriveCAN app, uploaded necessary documentation (i.e. photos of passports and covid vaccination cards), and selected the port of entry and time of arrival.

• Ensured we didn’t have any food items in the camper that weren’t permitted to cross the border (i.e. poultry/eggs, raw meat, etc.).

Individual experiences can vary greatly at borders, so it’s important to always do your research about what is required ahead of time to be fully prepared. In our case, we were only asked a few questions about why we were entering Canada and what kinds of things we were carrying with us. We were let through with no issues. Including a brief 10 minute wait in line, our entire border experience took all of 15 minutes. 

On the other hand, Brina faced a bit more scrutiny and additional questioning, possibly because she drives a company vehicle. The border officer asked her to pull up her banking account to prove she had enough funds to cover potential injuries, so that she wouldn’t become a strain on the healthcare system in Canada if something were to happen. Ultimately, she made it through without any issues.

Fun fact: this is my second time visiting Canada. The first time was maybe 8 years ago when Brina and I drove from Michigan to Toronto for her birthday. How cool is it that she was with me this time too!

It’s safe to say that we received a warm welcome in Canada. We spent our first night on our friends’ beautiful property in Chilliwack. In addition to the delicious food and great company, we enjoyed touring their property, at the behest of their 5 year old, and seeing how much they care for and utilize their land. A coop full of chickens and guinea fowl, bushes of salmonberries and blackberries, a small vineyard of grapes and blueberries, planting boxes full of carrots, beets, lettuce, watermelon and more. This is the kind of stuff Mike and I dream about for our own future home someday–our own little, self-sustaining haven. 

Though we wanted to linger in Chilliwack, we had people to see and places to be. We hit the road after coffee the next day (Thursday). It was at this juncture that we would be parting ways with Brina, which is always hard to do, but especially hard this time after not having much time together. She continued on her own Canadian adventure and we headed north towards Smithers. 

Smithers 

Because I was scheduled to speak about my ongoing experience with long covid at a virtual conference on Saturday, we rented an airbnb from Friday through Sunday in Smithers, BC to ensure we would have solid internet for the conference. After two days of driving and about 700 miles (1120 km) later, we made it to Smithers, but unfortunately, our airbnb wasn’t ready for us. The water was unexpectedly shut off and the owner wasn’t sure when it would get fixed. Realizing that our cell service was actually pretty good in Smithers, we canceled the airbnb and booked two nights in the Riverside RV Park, a very clean and well-managed campground.

As luck would have it, our friend Marshal, who is currently bicycling the Pan American Highway, was nearby. He began his journey in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in June of 2021 and has made it all the way to Costa Rica, with the exception of the Canadian segment due to the borders being previously closed. He recently flew back to Anchorage and continued pedaling from Alaska into Canada towards the Canadian/Montana border to complete this section.

Marshal found his way to our campground, courtesy of three different hitch-hiked rides, and we got to hear his first-hand account of the insane adventure he has been on for over a year now. (Note: we aren’t awful people who forced our friend to hitchhike to us when we could have easily driven to him. We offered to come to him after my speaking engagement and no longer needed good internet.) Our rooftop tent might not have lived up to his airbnb hopes and dreams for the weekend, but we did our best given the circumstances. 

Follow Marshal’s incredible journey here.

One of the decadent meals we served Marshal.

On Saturday, I gave my talk at the virtual Dysautonomia International Annual Conference and listened to the inspiring stories of others. One of the most impactful things about this health journey I’ve been on with long covid has been hearing how others have faced and overcome similar challenges. There’s so much humanity and life lessons wrapped up in these experiences that it can be powerful to hear these stories. 

Dysautonomia is an umbrella term used to describe several different medical conditions that cause a malfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System. The Autonomic Nervous System controls the "automatic" functions of the body that we do not consciously think about, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, dilation and constriction of the pupils of the eye, kidney function, and temperature control. People living with various forms of dysautonomia have trouble regulating these systems, which can result in lightheadedness, fainting, unstable blood pressure, abnormal heart rates, malnutrition, and in severe cases, death. Many people dealing with long Covid, like myself, have also developed conditions of dysautonomia. 

After the talk, feeling amped up, I decided to ride my motorcycle to meet up with Mike and Marshal at the Smithers Brewing Co. I don’t usually ride my bike in town, as I’m still an inexperienced rider, but it was a short drive and I was feeling up to the challenge. I started gearing up and felt onlookers in the RV park taking notice. I put my helmet on, buckled the strap, slid on my gloves, mounted the bike, started the engine, and took off. 

It started to rain as I got closer to town. I stopped at a red light and nervously awaited my turn to go. I took off smoothly on green, made a couple more turns and pulled up right in front of the brewery, the rain falling steadily now. Mike and Marshal were sitting at a table on the front, covered patio. I took my helmet off, pretending not to notice the stares, and joined my people at the table feeling pretty cool and proud of myself. 

We didn’t explore the town of Smithers too much, but what we saw, we liked. The brewery had great beer and cool vibes, and our pierogi and cabbage roll lunch from UFO - Ukrainian Food Owesome was delicious, and what an incredible name for a restaurant. 

Onward to Prince Rupert

On Sunday, we packed up camp and “picked up" our first ever hitchhiker, Marshal, to ferry him back north a ways so he could complete the same route south by bicycle (there’s no cheating on this rigorous journey of his). We left him, stranded, at a gas station where he hoped to hitchhike to Stewart (3 hours out of our way). It felt wrong  to leave him, but this is literally his life and he’s more than capable of getting by on his own. 

The drive from Smithers to Prince Rupert was stunning. I battled fatigue and drowsiness to keep my eyes open and fixed on the scenery as it unfolded. “It’s hard to imagine Alaska being more beautiful than this,” Mike said at one point.  

We rolled into Prince Rupert, a small port city just south of the Alaskan border, around 4pm. We found ourselves in Breaker’s Pub for a tasty dinner where we were joined by a bald eagle who landed just outside the open window near our table.

From here, we’ll catch the ferry to Ketchikan, our first Alaskan destination.