Daily Excerpt: Travels with Elly (MacDonald) - British Colombia (chapter beginning)

 

Excerpt from Travels with Elly (MacDonald) -

from chapter 1, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Beginning of the chapter:

Many Canadians we met during our journey were not quite sure where our hometown of Powell River is located. “Are you on Vancouver Island?” they would ask. “No, but we can see Vancouver Island across the Strait of Georgia. We’re on the mainland two ferry rides north of Vancouver.” Plans are in the works for building a road from Vancouver, but until that happens, Powell River will remain somewhat remote. The town was established in 1910 to sustain a lumber mill that once employed over 2000 people. When we left in 2009, the town had become a city with 15,000 residents and a tenuously surviving paper mill employing less than 400. Powell River has become more of a retirement haven, especially for those who enjoy out door activities such as hiking, biking boating, and fishing. The pace is slow, people are friendly, and the climate is moderate, making it a desirable place to call home. We still do, even though we’re gone most of the time. After re turning from Arizona, we spent a couple of months at a local campground, just long enough to reconnect with friends before setting off on our big adventure.

A well-worn proverb states that every journey, no matter how long, begins with a single step. We began ours by walking knee deep into the Georgia Strait, pumping our fists excitedly as if the Canucks had just won the Stanley Cup. As every Canadian male over the age of four knows, the term “Canucks” in this context refers to the Vancouver ice hockey team. It also refers to Canadians en-mass, generally in an affectionate way. Elly joined us by walking in chest deep, emphatically stating, This is quite far enough in my studied opinion. I’ll elaborate on the rationale for this comment later in our journey. 

Our departure date of July 1 coincided with Canada Day, a statutory holiday for citizens to celebrate the birth of Canada. We would learn the details of this birthing process during our visit to Prince Edward Island, the province where it all started 142 years ago. In spite of the anticipated heavy traffic, we chose to join the masses headed to the ferry terminal south of the city. About 15 minutes along a twisty stretch of highway, Buster reliably reviewed his breakfast in a towel we kept handy for such emergencies. 

 Along this same stretch, a disturbing number of stumps, discarded saplings, and logging tracks extend down to the highway. Vast areas of such clear-cutting are prominent along many of BC’s highways and much con troversy exists between logging companies and environmentalists. John Vaillant in The Golden Spruce describes the history of the logging indus try in BC, including its destructive practice of indiscriminate clear-cutting. The main character Grant Hadwin was initially a logger but convert ed to a staunch environmentalist, and thereafter became frustrated with his futile attempts to convince political figures and logging companies to change their ways. Unfortunately, his misguided strategy to shed attention on the plight of BC forests was to cut down an ancient and rare golden spruce in the Queen Charlotte Islands that was revered by the Haida Indi ans. He was suspected of doing so and in fact admitted it, but disappeared, presumed drowned, before coming to trial for this grievous but profoundly premeditated act. 

 I asked Elly what she thought about this practice of clear-cutting forests. Like most of my friends, I much prefer to walk in a forest, than in a field of stumps. A quote from Henry David Thoreau came to mind: “Thank God, they cannot cut down the clouds.” The decreasing demand for lumber worldwide has decimated the lumber industry in BC with more mills closing or downsizing each year. Another related concern is the widespread destruction of forests by the mountain pine beetle. This rapidly spreading insect lays its eggs under the bark of pine trees. After hatching, the larvae feed on the trees, killing them within a year. Throughout the province, stands of dead pine present as red and grey splotches on otherwise verdant mountainsides, providing a potential source of fuel for forest fires. Only a stretch of extremely cold weather can kill this beetle, but with global warming on the rise, this out come is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Reportedly, in just a few years pine beetles will have destroyed most of the marketable pine in BC — a dismal picture for those whose livelihoods depend on forestry.

American Bookfest Best Books Award Finalist

For more posts about Travels with Elly, click HERE.

For more posts about Larry MacDonald and his books, click HERE.

For more book excerpts, click HERE.

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