North Vancouver Island - THE GREAT CANADIAN OVERLAND ADVENTURE // Episode 1

Hey guys, so what I have in front of me is a map of Canada and I just want to show you the whole country and then we'll zoom in on where we are now. Our goal with the Great Canadian Overland Adventure is to go from the west coast, zigzag through all these provinces, work our way all the way east up here, take the ferry across into Newfoundland, right to the Atlantic Ocean on this side. Hi, I'm Peter. And I'm Carol. In 2016 we sold almost everything we owned and we took our three teenage kids on an epic family road trip around North America and the world. We knew we could always make more money, but we could never get back time. As a family, we valued time more than money and experiences more than things. Along the way, our kids grew up into awesome young adults while developing the entrepreneurial skills and life experiences that have set them on their own adventurous paths. In our new chapter as Empty Nesters, our adventure continues both off the grid at our cabin in the wilderness and on the road exploring distant places in our well-equipped expedition truck. Good morning. This was an incredible camp by the river. We learned two things here. One, I've got to watch for nails when I'm wearing flip-flops and two, we need some kind of a charging system. Actually we have a bunch of them over the years, we've bought so many. They're back home in the Jeeps, but for this truck we need to get something in, in case we wear down the battery. But really what I learned is not to charge a big battery off of the truck battery when it's not running. So anyway, what that did was force us to stay an extra day and I'm awful glad we did because it's just, it's been a wonderful two days here by the river. It's extremely remote and quiet and peaceful and thankfully somebody came by just for a short visit and got us going. And impressively clean, the whole campground. All the campers, any campers that have been here, you've done a great job of cleaning up. There's absolutely no trash or anything. The one thing was the nails, I picked up all these just in this one area and typically I guess that happens because there might be snow on the ground and you're burning skids or you know those crates, wooden crates, and so once it burns the nails fall to the ground. And there's no real easy solution for that other than maybe if you can find the fire pit and burn there then all the nails will fall into the fire pit, but we see that everywhere. It's kind of a, I can understand the problem because you know if there's snow on the ground you can't tell where things are. But anyway, look at all these rusty nails. That was just in walking distance here and that one I think went in my foot. My foot's doing great, thankfully there's no swelling or anything like that. Carol gave me polysporin and a couple other things to me right away and I got them on it and kept going overnight so that turned out great. The last thing I want to say is if you're putting up tarps around trees and you wrap a cord around the tree, always cut that cord off because especially nylon, as the tree grows up it also grows out and the nylon won't give and so it eventually kills the tree so that's it. Alright, let's try this again. So this is the north part of Vancouver Island and in our video this week we work our way up north here, past Port MacNeil, we keep going up along the coastline, not quite to Port Hardy, and then we cut into a logging road and start heading to the west end of the island. Interesting. Alright, we're off the pavement now and we're heading to the west, the far northwest of the island, really, really remote place and there's a small provincial park up there which we're looking forward to seeing and I think you can walk right out to the ocean and all that so this road is pretty bumpy and if it gets much worse we're probably going to have to stop and air down the tires but it's beautiful country out here, very, very wild, remote. It's about an hour and a half of this kind of road and it is pretty rough so we're just going to go and air down a little bit, maybe take 10 or 15 pounds of air, 20 out of each tire and get back down the trail. So, wow, that is a big stump. We're in the middle of, on our way to Cape Scott of the middle of the island here and there's a little camp or, not quite a town but it's a logging camp, they have a tiny store, it's really a neat looking place in the middle of the wilderness here. But now we're heading back onto the trail and working our way up there. The roads here are logging roads so it's a good thing we aired down but they're in pretty good shape. So, yeah, we'll take you with us, we're heading to the coast. Signs, we got to a crossroads and there was no sign. When we get access to the Starling, I'm going to make sure I punched in the right thing, I put in Cape Scott but it may be different than Cape Scott Provincial Park. So, in the meantime we're just going down some pretty narrow backcountry roads. So it looks like we're going in the right direction but what's throwing me off is on my GPS it says it's only 15 kilometres ahead and it's saying an hour and a half travel time so that's what's kind of confusing me a little bit here but I think we'll just carry on. Two huge elk bulls I guess with their massive antlers. A sight to see, hopefully it shows up on camera. Three feet or so we're seeing a massive bear poop. So I think at night the bears are out here eating, gorging themselves on all the fresh berries but this looks very not proper. Yeah, we're going to probably end up having to turn around. But yeah, it's definitely bear country out here. So we took the wrong turn at Albuquerque. This is a blocked off deactivated road, very narrow. when we get to Dirt Road we switch to Onyx but the Apple Maps had a whole route planned right to Cape Scott Park so we followed it and we came all through here, down here and then it pointed us up this way and we took this road all the way to the end and yes the park is up here but the road was blocked off so we turned around, came back and we saw the signage where we went wrong. Instead of turning right to go north here we should have just gone straight and we made it out to the park. I don't think I've ever had salmon berries before. Alright, we're at Cape Scott Provincial Park. We're out on the, by the water. We did a little four and a half kilometre hike to get here through beautiful rainforest but the weather has been amazing. Carol and I did a lot of exploring here a couple of years ago in the winter which is the rainy season and that too is beautiful but this can't be beat. And the temperature is pretty nice. I'm a little hot now but compared to what, three days ago we were in 100 degree weather it's now 60 degrees or like 20 something Celsius so yeah we're going to dip our feet in the ocean and then we begin a long and wonderful journey through backcountry across Canada and eventually we'll be dipping our toes in the Atlantic. Getting some saline solution on my feet here is probably the best way to heal that little wound from the nail. Nothing better than salt water. After a nice hike at Cape Scott Provincial Park and dipping our toes in the ocean we opened our OnX OffRoad app and followed the trail all through here and down to the official start of the TransCanada Adventure Trail in Grand Bay. The trail back in here is, it's much narrower and steeper. You might even plop it into four high just on some of these hills but we're getting close to the end or the beginning I guess. It almost feels like side by side trails sometimes in here. Yeah, it's a Ross Monster, we'll make it. This is crazy, this guy is reversing so far. He's doing a good job. You can see the van is scraping on both sides so is the truck. That guy's awesome. Wow, that was a nice gentleman, eh? Yeah, he knew how to back that thing up. He went pretty fast. Very friendly guy, he's from Washington State. He looked like the guy on the, what was his name, Samuel from Anne of Green Gables. Was it Samuel? Matthew. I can hear the ocean. This is crazy, it really feels wild out here. It's not even a park, it's just wild. It's amazing. So this is the official start? Yeah. You're kidding me. Wow, white sand beaches. Oh my word. So we walked through the beautiful forest, some old growth stuff in there, amazing. And that takes us out to Grand Bay. And you have the beach to yourself, there's one or two tent campers just kind of hanging out, it's such a peaceful, remote beach, it's hard to believe that these places exist. You can hear it, you can see it, it's amazing. So when we first got here we thought, well, since we're way up at the north of the island, why don't we go to the provincial park, and we did, and you can do that too if you want, but this pretty much gives you the same experience but even more remote. The beach is just as nice, not quite as big, but just as nice, and the walk through the forest is incredible. So this is the beginning of the Trans-Canada Adventure Trail, and after we enjoy this place for a little while, we're going to be heading all the way south and all the way east, so it's going to be an epic journey. That was so much fun, to go out and explore a little bit before making dinner, and just kind of look around. I can't wait for tomorrow and really explore the beach. And there was a couple that went swimming, so Pete and I were like, well, I guess we're going to have to go swimming tomorrow. It should be fun, kind of like when you go up to Tuktoyaktuk, you have to jump into the ocean, so I think it would be a great start to our trip, and we'll jump in at the Atlantic as well when we're in Newfoundland. This morning is so quiet. I decided to go and take a walk on the beach, get some exercise done. But this place is unreal. So pretty. Looks like this morning I'm all by myself on the beach. It's kind of neat. It's crazy how far it is out there. And then probably during the winter, storms and stuff, like look at that, the water would be right there just rolling all those logs. So powerful. Kind of feels like the movie Castaway. Hello! Anybody! It's a weird feeling. There's some little crabs. When Daniel was little on our road trip, he'd get driftwood like this, carve it out and make a little fin and glue it in there and make little surfboards and then do decorations with his wood chisel. Really cute memory, so now whenever I see one like this shape, always makes me think of little Dan back then. I think I'm going to hike out across the water over there. This is kind of a special place to be. It's like you're under the sea. It's really neat. So many mussels here. It's beautiful. I should have brought my sandals. This rock is so sharp. This has me so excited for Pete Jr. learning to sail. At first I was a little, I don't know, a little scared of him doing it. But I think there's a reason why we're on this trip. And I'm beginning to get a glimpse of what his future will be. I mean could you imagine sailing and then you see a beach and you can just take your dinghy over and go and explore it. It's really just, my mind is blown. It's incredible. Somewhere where a vehicle can't take you. It's kind of like hiking or sailing. Probably what it's like, you know, diving or scuba diving. It's just a whole new world opens up to you. Unbelievable. So yeah, I'm really excited for him. And I hope we can go with him. That was fun. I wish Pete was here so he could just really push me out there. Ha! Blast. I don't know if the GoPro will do it justice just how big those trees are. They're so big. Then there's a cliff with ferns. It's like Jurassic Park. Beautiful. Well that was an incredible beach. It's so far back there, it's so remote. Obviously not too many people make the long journey back in there on the rough road and everything. But that makes it so you have a beach almost all to yourself. It's just an incredible way to start the adventure trail. It's a little dangerous because that place is so beautiful that you don't want to leave. And we've got a long journey ahead of us and we have to get back obviously for the wedding. So we have to pry ourselves away from that little piece of paradise. But it was great having a swim and we're all refreshed. Now begins the Trans-Canada Adventure Trail. Let's go. On the official trail, two kind of starting points. One was Grant Harbor or Grant Bay where we just were. And now there's one called Winter Harbor. We've just turned onto the road to head there. I figure we're way out here, we might as well see both sites. And then we can check those off before we go. The meat's white. Cut them into rings. Yeah. But yeah, the guts pull out easy. Stick a finger in there. So cool. I love it. Nice thing is there's a little store here too. We were in need of a few things and everything was here. Tiny little, it's called the Outpost. A little grocery slash hardware store. So that was such a quaint little village. I loved it. I love... My kind of village. Yeah. And even the people, the vibe, everything is just super, super... What is it? Laid back, cozy, remote. It's a fishing town. Everyone here knows they're far, far away from the rest of civilization. And they're just enjoying every minute of it. So yeah, definitely check it out. It's worth it. And we fell in love with it. So hopefully we get to come back someday. Alright, hopefully there's a camp spot down here. Looks like a beautiful place so far. It's right on a lake. Anywhere that's level. How's that? Sloping back, but I'll find a log or a rock. Look how big that thing is. There too. Oh, that was a monster. I bet you some good fishing in here. Beautiful. So many lakes and rivers and massive forests. Mind boggling. So we had the battery issue again this morning. We haven't had time to stop and get one of those chargers. Thankfully we're in a campground with the other campers. Someone's going to give us a boost. But before we go too far remote, we definitely got to get this situation solved. If there's a store nearby with the equipment, we'll get one of those boosters. So that we can boost ourselves. The gentleman's coming to get us boosted here. So these two gentlemen trying to help us. It's been, I don't know, probably pushing a half an hour to 40 minutes. They stopped everything with their kids and their camp to come over and help us. We actually interrupted their coffee break. Our morning coffee. Super nice guys. They're just trying to work out everything. Here we go. Let's try again. So it's nothing again. It's just crazy. We've been having it charged, like I said, for the half an hour. Nothing's going. The gentleman over there, he just got his truck boosted too. But he's heading into town. He's going to see if there's a repair shop and have them text me. I'll give them my number. Hopefully we can get it going in the meantime. But that's at least something. That's plan B. Ready? Try it now. Press two knobs twice for three seconds. That is awesome. Alright. Wow, that took forever, but you persevered. Hey, my pleasure. We'll go straight to town. Just don't turn it off. So Miles and Brian spent the entire morning. I'm sure that wasn't in the plans. They're here to go camping. But they spent the whole morning boosting us and getting us going. So thanks a lot, buddy. Hey, it's what we do. Appreciate it. Absolutely. Have fun enjoying the rest of your trip. Hope to see you on the road somewhere. Awesome. Well, we've got it temporarily solved. At least we can get into town. And hopefully it's nothing major. He had all the tools for checking the amps and everything. And he seems to think, just from a quick inspection, that the battery on this side is shot. Which is weird, because it's brand new. But if that's all it is, that would be easy. That would be an easy fix. Those guys were awesome. They're friends. Neighbors, actually. And they're camping together. Just make sure everything's good. They saved the day. They did. So, it's Saturday. So I don't know what's going to be open in terms of shops. But we'll find something. So we're just at Napa Auto Parts. And he's testing the batteries. And one of them says battery place. Which means you typically have to change up both of them. Which is fine. But it sounds like that's probably the issue. Which would make life very simple. We love the Napa batteries because they have a three year warranty. And you don't have to come back to the same place. It can be any Napa in Canada and the U.S. Which is super handy for us. Keep this battery as a spare. That's smart. Okay, there you go. Awesome. Thank you. You're welcome, sir. Appreciate it. Let's see if she starts. She should. I think that was it, guys. The batteries went bad. For whatever reason. But now we replaced both of them. And we know a lot more about the electrical system on the truck. So we feel good. He's tightened everything down. Shut her off. Start her up. Wow. Even the sound of the starter. Starting system is much more aggressive. Okay. We bought a battery charger as well. So if something crazy were to happen. With these batteries and we're in the backcountry. At least we could charge from our solar powered system. And just charge up the battery. And hopefully get going. We want to buy one of those boosters. But they didn't have one big enough for this. 6.7 liter diesel. So we'll buy that somewhere else along the way. Well, that's good. All's well that ends well. Let's go find a place to eat. Got a little bit of food. Filled up with gas. Got new batteries. Battery charger. I think we're good. We're going to head into the backcountry again. Well, let's just see if it's a short section. It's all recently grown in. In the last couple of years. Nobody's done this trail in a while. You can tell. We might have to find a workaround. But we're just going to walk up here with our bear spray. And see how long of a stretch it is. If it's not that long, we might be able to just kind of squeeze through. But we'll check it out. I mean, so far it's doable. So, um. When I read up on the TCAD or the Transcanad Adventure Trail. It was designed for motorcycles. Sections of it are doable by truck or jeep. Other sections like this one here. Absolutely no way. I mean, this first part we'd get through. But down the way it just got more and more narrow. To the point where it's just tracks for a four wheeler. Or a motorcycle. So, we're going to be working our way across Canada. Doing as much of it as possible. Of the actual trail. And then finding our own way. And that gives us the freedom to go check out things that aren't included on the trail. So, in essence. Over the next couple of months. We're going to be creating our own Epic Family Road Trip. Cross Canada Adventure Trail. Which takes you to some of the most beautiful. And some of the most remote spots. Adopting as much of the TCAD as we can. Sound good? Let's do it. We came here with the kids. With the two jeeps. Probably three years ago. And there was a full abandoned. Wood mill there. I guess it was. Or a pulp mill or something. And now it's completely taken down. And they're restoring the land. Which is amazing. This is the spot we camped in the winter. With the kids. And some local folks were just relaxing by the waterfall. But we'll camp here tonight. And then we'll head out to side bay tomorrow. Where you can drive on the beach. It's going to be amazing. Check out this camp spot. Pretty amazing. What a place. We'll put a drone up. But if I recall. Caroline put a drone up when we were here in the winter. And the waterfall goes up another layer or two. You can't see it from here. But from up there you will be able to see it. We have partially obstructed satellites. So tomorrow's video might be late. But we'll try our best. Now this camp spot. It's going to be hard to beat. We're going to open our door and have a waterfall right out the door. And in the meantime. We'll see you down the road.