Hello to the three people that stumbled upon this blog from either my social media or my mom bragging to the neighborhood. If you want to get an idea on what the blog is about, check out the About the Blog section before continuing! Thanks for joining me in not just my first ever blog post, but the first time I’ve done any writing for public scrutiny, ever. Wish me luck!

I was going to begin my blogging career with a blog about Week One of this trip explaining the ups and downs of driving across Canada – but that seemed like a big jump over a lot of important parts of the story. Many plans and decisions came into consideration long before I hopped in the car. Let’s start from the beginning, well before I departed Innisfil, Ontario on May 1st.

The Travel Bug

The discussions for this trip began back in early 2020. A sudden proclamation to anyone that would listen was that I wanted to head to New Zealand for at least one or two months. I was hyped up on a recent re-watch of Lord of the Rings, ready to hike the path of Mordor, maybe spend a night in the Shire.

But alas, plans don’t always go as expected. As you may remember, early 2020 was the glory days before we had ever heard of the pandemic that rocked our world for the last 2.5 years. I’ll try to avoid mention of this particular C-word, as no one wants to re-live these memories. But worthy of a sidenote, this pandemic shut New Zealand’s borders with the country having some of the world’s most stringent protection measures, and they would not be fully re-opened for what seemed like a long time. My plans were dashed.

But the travel bug stuck, and I felt a change of sights from New Zealand to somewhere a little closer to home could be appropriate. The eyes landed on my home country of Canada, and the Rockies, as always, were calling.

How Soon Can I Go?

With the general ‘where’ satisfied, timing became the burning question. When would I be able to get over to Alberta and British Columbia for a month or two between my personal projects and career responsibilities? And was a couple months worth it, or should I look to head out there for a longer duration? At this time, I was working on a customer site in a remote destination situated on the shores of Lake Huron.

As my time on the customer site came to an end, I put in a request to take a ‘Leave of Absence’ between ending the remote work and returning to the office job. This request was not for one or two months as I had initially planned for New Zealand, but a full year. Hence, the plans for the year long vacation began to form. Go big or go hom… err, stay at work, am I right? This timing led to the May 1st, 2022, departure date, a day circled in red on the calendar months in advance.

Who’s Coming With Me?

I did not make this decision in a purely individual fashion. Much input came from friends, family, and coworkers on what the best plans would be for my upcoming year. I appreciated all the good suggestions and did add in some stops of noteworthy places that interested me – but in the end, the plan formed around how I wanted to spend my time, not how someone else wanted to spend my time.

While this trip revolves around many friends that you’ll meet along the way, the main companion joining me on this adventure is Becca, my partner. She is and has been totally on board with taking time from work and exploring, whether it’s North America or New Zealand. After ~3 years of a long-distance relationship between Toronto/Kincardine and Ottawa (a 5-7 hour drive), this vacation felt like a celebratory end to long distance that we both needed.

Method of Travel for the Trip

When, where and who is decided – how would I get from Ontario to the west coast? Drive, fly, hike a bike my way across? I’d want some form of vehicle when I got to the planned destinations, was it worth renting/using public transit when I got over there for planned day trips? Or would having my own vehicle the entire time be optimal?

My current car when these questions were popping up was a Mazda3, a great commuting car for the paved roads in Ontario. But the terrain was changing. Paved roads turning into logging roads to get to unconventional trailheads. I knew the trusty Mazda3 would not be enough.

The trip from Ontario to British Columbia driving was always an item on the bucket list, plus I had already done the flight a few times now. Driving was selected, but a large enough vehicle to pack for activities for an entire year would be required.

Pack List

The pack list we created that was required to fit inside the vehicle included:

• Backpacking Supplies
  • 2 x 65L Backpacks
  • Tent
  • Sleeping Bags/Pads/Pillows
  • Gas Stove
  • Boots
  • Smaller Essentials
• Biking Supplies
  • 2 x Gravel Bikes
  • Helmets
  • Biking Clothes
  • Shoes
  • Cleaning/Maintenance Supplies
• Clothing
  • 3-Seasons worth of clothing
  • Shoes
• Toiletries
• 2 x Laptops/Laptop Bags
• Cooler for food/snacks

For cleanliness and safety, the bikes would be inside the vehicle on our trip across Canada. Leaving bikes on a bike rack outside a vehicle on over-night stops would have led to some sleepless nights staring out the window.

Vehicle Selection

We now had a requirements sheet for buying a new vehicle. Large indoor storage capacity, and AWD/4WD capability with solid ground clearance. Test drives were required. Feeling like we hit every dealership under the sun, the following list shows some of the vehicles we tested.

• Ford Bronco/Bronco Sport
• Ford F-150
• Ram 1500
• Jeep Grand Cherokee
• Honda Pilot
• Honda Passport
• Toyota 4-Runner
• Toyota Tacoma
• Subaru Ascent
• Subaru Forester

I also went back and forth between new and used vehicles, due to high interest rates and an insane used car market.

The final selection was a 2022 Subaru Ascent, base model. Benefits included high ground clearance, 86 ft³ of interior cargo space, AWD capability, and ready for the off-road. I had finally joined the Subaru Gang, or Subbie Gang as my brother and I always joke. Really can’t wait to get the bumper sticker for my car!

We had the vehicle and the destinations. As the days crept closer, we also had the drawn-out goodbyes and farewells.

The countdown to May 1st was officially on, and before we knew it, the Subaru was packed, and we hit the road to begin an incredible year long vacation!