Trans Canada Expedition - Day 20, 21

Aug 02 & 03, 2013 – Day 20 & 21

Locations: Hudson’s Hope, BC; Chetwynd, BC; Bijoux Falls Provincial Park, BC; Jasper, AB; Mount Edith, AB; Hinton, AB; Edson, AB

This blog will be a combination of Day 20 and 21. This was because… well, you’ll see why.

We started off the morning waking up at the rented house of Hudson’s Hope. Everyone scrabbled to do their packing while the cooks of the day made breakfast. The students had an early morning walk towards the park, while the HQ team put away the equipment and the cleaning team of the day cleaned the dishes. The students who walked towards the park liked the scenery they saw and had a bit of fun doing ‘PT’ at the playground. We left soon after towards Jasper, making a lunch stop at the Bijoux Falls Provincial Park. We made and ate lunch and saw a waterfall. When all leftovers were finished, we all hopped into our vehicles and left. The night before, we heard that Jasper was storming, and as soon as we entered the rocky mountain range, we noticed the dark clouds and occasional rain. We tried to find accommodation in a town near Jasper, but they either are all fully occupied, too expensive, or we missed our stop. We ended up driving all the way to Jasper to stay for the night. We bought late night dinner, had a tour around town, admired the night scenery, and stars (as well as shooting stars), and went to sleep in the vehicles since there was no motel availability.

Morning came and we all woke up stiff. We freshened up at the public washrooms and drove towards Mount Edith. When we arrived, we saw the sign that trailers are not allowed up the mountain. We parked the trailer, made breakfast, dressed appropriately for the weather and hike, and drove up towards Mount Edith. We first hiked to an area and saw the glaciers. It is a lot bigger than the one we saw at Tombstone Mountain. We stayed for a little admiring the view before we officially start our hike towards the summit (although not the top of Mount Edith because it would take at least 36 hours to hike up there according to Billy’s past experience). We walked in groups; everyone sweated a lot; after many landscape changes, we finally arrived at our destination. We all sat down and stared at this amazing scenery before us. Many of us rested, wrote our blogs, and listen to Billy tell us that the very spot we were at, was the place where the idea for Monticle was born.

We stayed at the summit for a long while, until the sky darkened and everyone hastened to get down the mountain. Walking down the mountain is a lot harder than walking up because we all had to be careful and not slip. As we gathered at the base of the mountain, we noticed that there were a lot of people and cars. It was a good thing we managed to escape the crowd. We headed back towards Jasper with the intention of buying dinner, but there were just too many people. We went to the next town, Hinton for dinner instead. We also tried to find a motel for the night, but because it is the long weekend there was just no space. In the end, we finally managed to find a motel with some help.

This is it for the past two days.

Animals seen: Stellar’s Jay (Blue and Beautiful, someone thought it was a woodpecker); Mice (which looked like a mix between a chipmunk and squirrel… and they go “Eep”); Groundhog (hid in between rocks); Chipmunks (that did not seem very much afraid of people)

Marco

From the first day to the 21 day, it was pretty tough but really worth it. So many things I have never seen before, so much good sceneary I could rarely see in my life. I think I did ok this year. I met new people and became good friends. I also learned so much new things for example how to set up a tent, how to pack my things well and more. Doing this expedition I also missed lots of things. Sometimes I just regret sleeping in the Sprinter. While I was sleeping I missed a whole bunch of things.

Right now I am kind of on top of Mount. Edith. I am in the place where Monticle is borned. While we are all writing our blogs we are enjoying the sceneary of the real Mount. Edith. When we all are walking up the mountain, it was really really tough, I have never felt this tired before. I always though my schools hike is also tough, but now when I look it’s just a tiny bit of Mount. Edith, it is not hard at all. At first when I was hiking up, I wanted to give up, I thought it won’t be so special up there but I didn’t. While I was hiking I was thinking what will happen if I actually gave up, what if my thoughts was wrong. So I continued walking up. Finally when we are on the top, I was thinking in my mind that I never thought that the world is so huge and beautiful, I never thought the world is that quiet. Sadly the expedition ended already, we are just going back to Toronto.

In the expidtion I think I could improve myself a lot. I shouldn’t do that much stupid actions. But I improved a lot from last year I think I’ve got a feeling that I have better leadership skills, I got more mature from last year.

Howard

Awe. If anything, this is the one word I can use in this situation to describe what I’m feeling. Due to the pure wonder of the current situation I must describe what I am seeing since my camera is out of batteries. In front of me is a thin glacier melted over many years. On my left is a mountain range that is unreachable by normal feet, and under me is a cliff made out of rocks or clay, Monticle’s birthplace.

Yesterday, we headed out of Hudson’s Hope to make our last stretch to Jasper. We made a few stops including a town famous for chainsaw carvings and a beautiful waterfall. After a long drive, we finally arrived at Jasper in the morning.

After a short sleep, we packed our stuff and readied for the challenge of the day. Mounting the Mountain called Edith. We marched up, me with aching legs, through rocks, forests and slopes. It was a lot of hard work but I’m finally here.
It’s amazing to thin that it was this exact spot where Billy was given the idea to create the Monticle foundation. Thinking back, many things have happened during this trip. I was placed in Bravo group, travelled through the provinces, worked on navigating, cleaning, tent set up and cleaning, slept in camps, motels, and even in a parking lot, and enjoyed almost every minute, I’ve seen a lot of places, felt a lot of emotions, and experienced many events. So now I’m gonna stop using this generic recounting and I’m gonna go down this mountain and not die.

Tiffany

The finale, Mount Edith. With the past experience, the past failures, the past laughs, We all gather here on top of Mount Edith reflecting on all past. What have I learnt, What have I gained? (except weight) From day 1, saying goodbye to Alpha group, messing up the groupings, to singing constantly on the bus, we end up here with out stomachs empty, hopes up high, sore feet, laughing while others pass out.

Looking out towards the glaciers, I see the magnificence of mother nature. 21 days, gone. 21 memories permanently carved in my head, 21 laughs, 21 times reflecting and stepping on my faith. I guess my journey just begun.

As I chatted with my fellow mates, I realized: 20 years from now I’m going to meet my friends here again, where monticle was born. Wherethere snowstorm or windstorm, rain or sun, successful or not successful. Where we’re sitting right now is where Monticle was born. 2000, July 21^st Billy and three of his mates walked up mount edith, past where we are and came back down to where we are and discussed monticle and now, 13 years already, see how much its developed?

This to me is leadership, having a plan and excecuting it. I hope I live and become somebody like Billy, having a dream or goal and achieveing it to a point others inspire and follow on.

Looking back… Day 1, we met each other. Ethan tries extremely hard to make matt laugh at the dinner table. Day 2 we introduce each other, Ice break, delay entire schedule. Day 3, we learn about “testing” 1^st lesson about managing a group. Day 4, we head out, experience our first delay, and learn the first lesson about time and logistics management. Day 5, take down wet tents and instantly change nav schedule.etc.etc. So many things happened that I can’t even list it all. But all I can say is, we learn from experience and in this trip, mother nature taught me humanity.

Kathy

Yesterday was the twentieth day in monticle. We drove all day and we arrived at Jasper about 12:30 this morning, and had a rest until 6 A.M. in the car. Today was the twenty- first day in monticle. We had hiking at Edith mountain today. I really made me felt very tired, but the view we can see on the mountain really nice. The first 1000 metres is the hardest, the steps are very high and full of rocks, all the clothes were wet and I felt out of energy, even wanted to gave up. Bit then, this feeling was no longer on me. I felt much better and better, although I still felt tired. I wouldn’t thought of gave up any more. When we finished  the half of the road, it become much more dangerous. The road just one-metre-wide, ad hasn’t step, just made up of rocks and mud. Billy asked us if someone wants to stay out half way, nobody wanted to gave up, even if most of us were scared of  the height place. At last, all of us get to the toppest place we can get, sea level about 2600 metre, totally used three and a half hours. It was a hard work, because the road not easy to walk on. We lay on the ground at the toppest place we can get, close our eyes to enjoy the silence. I can heard the water and the wind blew to us., We did it, we had already get here, just like all the difficult we finished in the last twenty days in monticle. we had happiness, disappointed, surprised, sadness, we lived just like a big family, we learned a lot from monticle, such as teamwork, or never said give up, or keep clean at any time. We just left a week then we will finish our trip, time pass so fast, but we can do nothing, the only thing we can do is enjoy our rest trip, and remember forever.

Quince

8-2-2013

We traveled a lot ad we reached Jasper we ate a very good meal yesterday. we reached Jesper, We ate Pizza Hut for dinner and we brought pizza our own. We did a midnight walk and we didn’t stop until 2:30 A.M. So we did at least 1 fun thing to do.

8-3-2013

So that is how Mount Edith looks like. A mountain that has a big glacier on  the mountain. Anyways, today was Aug 13, 2013. We travelled 3 hours and 30 minutes. We hiked more than 700km. We are at the top of Mount Edith. Well technically at the top. We reached as top as we possibilly can. Well we have to climb back down which is scary because if u trip u will fall down the mountain. It is sunny and cold, which is crazy. There is a bbery good view up there. I wrote Qs or Quince on stones. Maybe I can see next time when we climb Mount Edith. We started to go down and the path is really steep. You can’t imagine how steep it is. But it is really steep. We get to eat KFC fro dinner. Honestly the chicken in Canada is much tastier than HK Chicken in KFC. We are driving to a 4 star hotel called Howard Johnson. It is in Edson. The next city. Oh yeah. I lead a team to the top of mountain. OK. I kinda did, because I went up the first. There is 76 km left to go to EDson, which is close. If Billy didn’t called country friend help, we won’t have stayed in Howard Johnson. we would have stayed in the car and sleep. So yeah! This is awesome.

Roman

We arrived at Jasper at around 12:30a.m yesterday. We slept in the car from three to six and then we headed toward Mount Edith Cavell. I am writing my blog on top of the mountain across from Mount Edith. This is the best view ever, I hope you guys were here to share this this moment with me. Even though it was a long tireing, hot way up, it was totally worth it. The altitude is around 2600m above sea level, on the way up there are barely any flat places it is always going up. For the last couple hundred meters the trail is only 60cm wide, both left and right side are cliffs that are hundreds of meters deep. Even though I am really scared of hights and my bag is big and wide, I still made it to the top. We stayed at the top for around thirty minutes to one hour. After we wrote our blogs and took our group photo, Billy told us that Monticle was founded where we were sitting thirteen years ago. I wonder what Monticle will be like thirteen years after today, maby we will go to the Moon or something. Monticle have taught me how to be a good leader, and have given me a chance to put it in action. I wish to come to Monticle every year. Whe I get older I’m going to be a instructor at Monticle and help the youth of that generation. I came up with this idea because we couldn’t find a motel for tonight, but Billy called the army friends and they were able to get us G rooms. Billy said: The army friends helped us because I serve the country. So I’m going to help Monticle, because Monticle have helped  me. I’ll write more to you guys tomorrow.

Jason Wong

Today we are writing about our trip. I had a good time especially the hiking in Alberta. my most favorable moments were the time we were in Inuvik, climbing a mountain, eating Arby’s. I had never been to the northern parts of Canada, so it was a nice experience, seeing the town, going inside the church and learn some history of the church/town. I was expecting it to be cold but it ended up being hot. It was the most north I’ve never been. It was a lifetime experience climbing a mountain and have a nice view of the other mountains. I feel good that I climbed up all the way and no regret at all. I hadn’t really complain even through I wasn’t feeling pain in my legs. It has been a while since I had arby’s for lunch, Ever since it wasn’t at Fairview when the mall moved the food court. I missed it so much until when we were in the West Edmonton Mall I felt happy. It still tastes good. I forgot to mention another favourite moment which was when Billy said I was the best navigator for 19 days. Navigating is an important job for road trips because you can’t always rely on technology and as a leader it is important otherwise people just get lost. Also it is important to pay attention to the signs to know what speed to drive, any animal warning signs, also communication with the driver is important, as being the navigator. I feel good that I was the best navigator. It was a good trip and I can’t wait to be back home.

Lemuel

I am currently about 3000m above sea level on Mount Edith. Yesterday was a long drive so we were unable to write our blogs. Made our way to Jasper in 10 or so hours but was unable to find accomadations. And so, we ended up having to sleep inside the vehicles. Had about 5 hours of sleep and moved out to start our hike. As I said before, I am on Mount Edith, so expect some pictures when we get back.

Calvin

Since the trip started I thought that it would be a walk in the park. I was sorely mistaken. There is much more things that are different than the Alpha groups. Since being put with more responsibility I have learned things that I would not have learned as a student. As for me being a drive, I now see that it is not easy at all. I think my driving skills have definitely improved. All the bad and good will be with me forever. Hopefully I will be able to stay awake after todays hike.

Edwin Chan

On Aug 2 we drove from Hudson’s Hope to Jasper that was about 1000km. So not much happened beside sleeping in the Sprinter in Jasper . Now we are at Mt. Edith writing our blog while looking at the glacier with some nice wind blowing. It took us about 3 hour 30 minute to get to our point. While we were walking up the Mountain it was hard because the altitude gets higher so it was hard to breath a bit it’s also fun to get up from the parking lot to here. The point we were at was where Billy and his friends founded Monticle. Coming up here to the mountain is an awesome experience. Well I don’t know what else to write so Have fun.

Kendra

It’s already been twenty-one days in the Trans-Canada Arctic Expedition and this journey is coming to an end… We experienced many challenges, gone to many places and had a few hiccups along the way. All of these things we accomplished as a team, as a big family. We’ve been through good times and bad times but in the end, we reached our destination and had a great time. We also made some wonderful memories together. Even though we are a large group, we still make things work and figure things out as a team.

Over these twenty-one days we lived in many different locations and conditions. We lived in campsites, motels, houses, parking lots, the vehicles, sometimes it would rain, sometimes it would be windy and other times it would be sunny. I enjoyed myself in all these locations because we spent our time altogether and had fun together. Some other location were better than others but it was fun either way.

We went to many places, too. I felt so happy when we went to so many different places and made so many memories. I got to visit so many more places including Inuvik the top of the world and the Arctic Circle. Anyways, I’ve had the time of my life at this program and I wish this journey would never end.

Well, today we went to where Monticle was born. In 2000, at Mount. Edith, Monticle was born. We hiked up and down Edith today. We had lots of fun and got to enjoy the view. Edith is so beautiful… That was it toady, only 7 days left…

Jennifer

We didn’t get a chance to write our blogs yesterday as we drove late into the night to make it to Jasper. We had a long discussion as a group with Billy to sort out differences and clarify any ambiguities. This resulted in us leaving a bit later than schedule, but I feel as if the meeting was very effective. We set out for Jasper, making a stop in Chetwynd and admiring the carved wooden statues that were crafted with chainsaws. It reminded me of the “PATIENCE” written on the back of my notebook. Speaking of which, the passengers of Bravo vehicle have terrible bladders and we begged Billy over the radio to pull over on the side of the highway. After being yelled at because there were bears in the area, relieving ourselves and continuing down the TransCanada Highway, we realized there was a rest stop 400 metres away. They radioed me about the back of my notebook after they pointed out the sign. Yesterday was also great in that I found a singing partner in Mike. I really enjoy spending time with him and I feel like working with him allows us to be analytical and creative.

Today, we climbed Mt. Edith. For me, this is my second time, and it was definitely a very different experience this time. For one thing, I’m out of shape now, so it was a real physical challenge for me. I was lagging behind and I started thinking of the Niagara Walk last year. I definitely did not want it to end up like that. To make it up the last stretch, Billy put me in charge of the first team – the “summit team” – made up of Quince, Crystal, Kathy, Grace, Kendra. I knew I’d be put up front because I’m so slow, but I’m still grateful to Billy for knowing me so well and giving me a small and supportive team that I would never wish to fail or let down so that I could keep going.

What I’ve learned thus far which I believe is most important is patience and self-belief.

Ryan

Today was a great and fun day. That is because we completed an ultimate challenge which is we climbed Mount Edit h. we are at the summit of some hills. It makes me feel very strong that I am able to do this trek even considering I have asthma.

Yesterday we were at Hudson’s Hope. we were there for a short time and we actually went to the park to enjoy ourselves. We played a little game of grounders and it was kind of fun.

After that it was mostly us sitting there for 10 hours. eventhough after my but becoming numb we made it to Jasper. Midway through we saw many cars leaving Jasper. Our car freaked out thinking there was a terrorist attack in Jasper. Of course that is not true but it did leave a funny moment.

In reflection of the two days I feel happy and hopeful. This is because of my recent accomplishment and me understanding what Billy meant when he said sit back and see the big picture.

Alan

Today we Hiked up mount etive (where monticle started), we woke up at 6:00 and went to mount edive. It took us 3 hours and 30 mins, we finally got to the “top” of the mountain next to mount edive. the view on top was beautiful so it was worth it, it was quite there and the air there is fresh.

for the past twenty one days, I think I have learned a lot of things, for example I had to put a peg in at 45^o and at summen it wasn’t actually cold unless it was morning. I am kind of disappoint because I didn’t see the northern lights. I kind of regret not bringing enough money because there was so much things to buy.

Grace

21 days, 504 hours, compare with our life time, it’s only a very short period of time, but I won’t forget all the places we went and all the students, instructors here.

Within these 21 days, we went through many difficulties, pains, happiness, but all these moments are unforgettable.

Today we climbed up the Mount Edith., The road is rocky and it was difficult and tiring to climb up. But after we reached the mountain summit, we saw the beautiful view, it is worth it to be exhausted.

The view we saw changed a lot when we climbed up. At first, we saw trees, when we climbed up, there are bushes, at the top of the mountain, we could only see some glaciers and grass grow on the rocks.

Time flies, this camp is almost over, I miss my friends and my mom in Shanghai, also ipad, TV and computer, but I am sure that I will miss all these people in monticle. The happy thing is we still have 6 more days and I will remember all the 28 days I spend in monticle.

Edwin Cheung

8-2-2013

We have a long drive to Jasper from Hasonhop, BC. We have a long hour drive. WE head to drive McEdith try to find a motel to sleep, but no vacancy, so ate puzzia hut for dinner and walk around street. We sleep in the Sprinter for a night tomorrow, we head to Mc.Edith to have a hike…

8-3-2013

On the past 21 days, We have bin through problem, hard time, good time, and we have gone through together. We have traffle together for 9000km over 14 day to Inulk together. Everone start from people to family to brothers. I have bin with HQ team together more 21 day like brother to the bones. The most special moment in this t ip is when we first down in Arctic Circle on LAT 66 ^o 33 ^o N. The tempurture have a huge different, along the way you can see dead tree and wet rainy day. I see Moon with the Sun and white night (“24 daylight”)

Secondly, we head to Inulk. We learn a town for 300-350 people work under bad situation like snowstorm, power ran out. They allway has a 16h contingency plan. They are also very friendly people. They work together to get town going. On Augest 2010, J.J, Jennifer and more monticle student and me head to Mo. Edith for a couple of hours. It was a amazing place that few with glacier big rock and Mountain. At the the I did something that I have shouldn’t done. Also it is pretty wet and fuggy that day. We also are core with levave over KFC chicken at that time everthing just taste amazing.

Now, On Augest 3 2013, we head to Mc. Edith with our team Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. Everthing working well. Just a few hake up. I was responsible for the climbing rope, climbing haneases. I also hike with my team, Micheal Fu, Allen, Jeason Wong, Mick, and me. It take us a few hour to get up there. It is steep, rocky, sandy and very high mountain range. We stop for a few break and slowly head up to Mountain. Our group work very well together. We sing a head up to the Mountain. We meet and stop at a point. We have OREOS, chocolates, Cookies and juice boxes for lunch. Later, Billy came and we all head up to the hill that make all the different. Before, we were about 2500 meter off. We then head up another about 2600 meters. This place remind me a lot of memory about what happen on the West tran-Canada in 2010. Billy ask us write our blog and show our feeling. We head off to Mc. Edith at 3:00. We then determine go for KFC down in Jasper. But there is to much people and cars. Billy decide to go to Edmonton is about 256km away about an hour or so… Later, we head to and there is no vacancy because too close of Jasper. Later, We went to KFC for dinner. We have fried chickens and French fried. It was tasty. Also, Billy try to find motel for 6 rooms in Jasper. No too Long later. We find a hotel call Havard Johnson in edson. It include breakfast. We were all really happy. This trip broad together all my members friends. This might be one and only. I miss all of you guy. Thank Mom and Dad for this trip <3 p="" you.="">

Mickey

We will dismiss in one week later. In this 3 weeks we pass-by hardly teamwork. Today we get to the climb the hightest in this hill. I thinking many thing. Team need the teammates help study eachother. In fact, we like many rocks the trees grow up in the raining. crowing. Yesterday night we sleep in the car again. It hard to sleep, so I visit the sky. There are so many star, thing, the start like something happen in the life. Of couse, everyone both want to be the eago flying in the sky, but even eago, they are pass-by many hardly, so he can fly. The road is finding for yourself. When you in the hightest of the hill, have a look you walked that road, you will feel how easy. In monticle I really feel happy and I can studying. So many friend together to life. such as Michael,owen,Alvin, And team alphk. We pass by so manything. In the way of go back to Toronto, Billy and HQ help us so many so I want to say thank you. In fact I am so miss my mom and dad, I know they are so worring about me, I am find, I miss you. I don’t know buy what gift for them. Hope that gift they will like it. Billy said he don’t know what he can teach us more. I want to ask him why! I feel so tired today, that is! Hope they will send e-mail for me. Night!

Owen

Today we are going to Jasper, The place of people mountain people sea. Because of the distance , we had to travel all day long. But, I wouldn’t sleep since I was the co-driver of our car. I thought I was not suitable for this job because I feel asleep 3 times in 10 minutes.

Since 24 hours daylight no longer exists, we had to travel in mid-night. The sky was black and we  could only saw the area with lights.

Restaurants in Canada are weird. Billy bought pizzas from Pizza Hut, but the plates were KFC’s. I don’t know why.

Since it was min-night, we didn’t have time to find a motel or setting up tents. If you were logical, you would know that we will sleep in the vehicle again!

Today our maindish is hiking again. The difference between this and before was this time the mountain was higher, covered with ice but no river.  We need 3 and a half hours to reach a summit of a mountain. It is very high but not the highest. It’s about altitude 2500 meteres high.

While we were enjoying the view, Billy told us that there was the place that Monticle born. In 2000, July 21, Billy discussed the future of Monticle with his friends about 4 hours. He was the founder of Monticle. But… why he isn’t the big boss? I don’t know why.

Here comes the official end of the trip. We are now travelling back to HQ. We a had a good time in this trip. Although there were good, bad things happened, these are memories.

So make me cry, make me smile….

Justin

Today, we accepted our final challenge, climbing Mount Edith. Climbing of the entire trip striking more than two thousand feet above sea level. the mountain is a challenge before we set food on it. Everyone of us knew that conquering the mountain and reaching the summit would not be easy, but we believe however hard the challenge is, we have the power to overcome it. As is the numerous challenges we encounter throughout the past three weeks we walk along the hiking trek, carrying o9ur heavy backpack, water the extravegent heat, struggling to make another stop. None of us yield, none of us are cowards, all of us are determined future leaders that would not give up easily. We reached the peak after more than three hours of walk, but we could not have achieve this without the support from one another. I am strong as an individual, we are stronger as a big group. In this past three weeks, we need the power of teamwork to accomplish great success and tackle problems.

It is the time for us to enjoy and celebrate our accomplishment that reaching a peak is never the end, a success is temporary, for there is always a taller mountain to conquer and more problems to tackle.

Mireille

Yesterday: august 2^nd we leave the house at around 10 or 11 am, Billy let us relax a little bite. Then we went to Bijoux Falls Provincial Park and ate lunch there and took some picture. Then at night we arrived to Jasper ate pizza and took a walk but all was close without bar and restaurant. Then at 00:15 we come back to the car to sleep inside.

Today we woke up very early at 5:40am I think then we went to hiking. Now it’s 2:23pm we  arrived to our destination . Then we have to go down. I feel this is the 1^st time I hiking because last time we hiking was very easy compared to this time. Indeed we walked until very high but I feel the view is better. For dinner we ate KFC then we got 45 minutes to go shopping. I just bought an Ice tea. Now we’re going to a Hotel because everyone is tired and the driver too because of hiking and because yesterday we all slept in the car.

This is an unforgettable trip. Indeed we saw so different place, did so many thing, ate good food (different from where I’m from and if I won’t come I’ll never try local food and Billy’s food) and spoke to a lot of nice people. I mean local people. I’m very happy to join Monticle that I got this chance to see so many place in Canada.

Fro this TransCanada West Expedition trip I particularly keep a good memory of Inuvik city. Indeed Inuvik was the aim of this trip and we stayed there for 2 days that I’ve time to see the city and talk to people.

Moreover of course we had bad day like stay so many hours in car or sitting here by eating by mosquitos. But we also had good day like shopping, hiking, visiting city. Thanks to this camp I learn to cook (a little bit) work in group (people here are very nice)

I think after this trip I’ll be quickly when I do something. Indeed here we have to do all quickly. I know this trip try to make us have a leadership behaviour. So I hope to improve this side of me at the end of this trip.

Crystal

Right now, I’m thinking to myself… where can I sit so I don’t fall to my death?

Writing my blog while sitting at an altitude of 2600m above sea level is a whole new experience.

We didn’t do much yesterday even though we were travelling from Hudson’s Hope to Jasper. We had a few stops and a delicious Pizza Hut dinner as soon as we arrived. Even though we made it to Jasper really late last night, we had a quick walk around the block before heading to sleep on the Sprinters.

We woke up at around 6am this morning and quickly drove to Mount Edith. Then, after a “learn to dress warmly” lecture, we repacked our day packs and drove to the base of the hiking trail. We visited a nearby glacier area and took a few photos before starting our long hike on the very steep ascending trail.

Finally arriving at the monticle at the end of the walking tail, we had an hour of rest/blog-writing time. I really enjoyed the silence and the breeze up at the summit of a mountain located right in front of the “real” Mount Edith. Then, Billy told us about how Monticle was “born” and how he used 37 hours to climb up the real Mount Edith and then 5 extra days to descend.

After, we descended after a reasonable amount of time as a big group and drove back to Jasper just to find out that it was crowded with tourists. So, we decided to continue to the next town, Hinton, to (hopefully) find a comfortable accommodation nearby. But unfortunately, we found out that there was no vacancy in any of the motels and so we continued even further to the town of Edson where Billy had already “made his connections” and found accommodations.

It’s only one more week until we will be returning back to Toronto. Time honestly passed by so fast, other than the first week though. I’ve gained many amazing, once-in-a-lifetime, super awesome experiences during this trip. This expedition has really changed my expectations of myself and how I changed from last year. I think that I’ve accomplished so much more than I expected. Getting all the mosquito bites and blisters was so worth it. Once this expedition is over, I will miss everybody and the wonderful memories we made together.

Matt

Whoa! It’s a whole new world here! I’m sitting right on the summit right next to Mount Edith. This is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen so far on this trip or maybe in my whole life. It took a pain in the butt to get here but it’s SO worth it. Luckily there’s a nice cool breeze to relieve our aches and pains of walking up this steep summit. Also we wouldn’t have made it without everyone’s help, teamwork and determination.

We arrived to our destination half an hour earlier than Billy planned. I think we’re all proud of that. Last night we slept in the sprinters because Jasper has lots of tourists. At 0600 we left to Mount Edith . Our hike took about 3hr 30min.

Sitting here and reflecting on our entire trip: there has been lots of things that have happened. From demotions to flat tires to crossing the arctic circle. There are also so many lectures that Billy has gone through with us. For example always concider other peoples benefits and in the end the people will respect. Also the 2IC’s including me, all became friends with the students pretty quickly. We’ve all learned time management from our failed and successful experiences. We have all improved greatly and it is almost close to the end of our trip. Hopefully we can keep this flow continuing.

Mike

2 Blogs in one! So yesterday was a trip that took us to Jasper and was pretty boring. However that long 12-13 hour trip made me miss the 24 hour daylight of Inuvik, and also made me relies that Jasper is empty at night until you see the bars.

Today was definitely a lot more interesting than yesterday. After waking from the sprinters. we drove to the base of Mount. Edith and started hiking. After 3 ½ hours of upper thigh burn, we arrived at the founding location of Monticle. After resting for a bit (I slept a bit), we are now here writing our blogs. Sadly, this is also the place I ripped a hole our of the snow pants. (It’s directly on the butthole.) Thankfully it’s just the outer fabric and the inner fabric is still intact.

When we get back down, we’re going to Edmonton and back to HQ, as Calgary is still in repair from floods. After today, we still have 6 more days (August 9 end) to reach HQ with the last day reserved for certificates and clean-up (Oh god no). Hopefully, we can go back in time, as we still have to go through 4 provinces, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and finally Ontario. According to Billy and my past experiences, Ontario takes 2 and a half days to go through while the other 3 provinces also take the some time.

Lastly, this blog is also supposed to be a reflection on everything from Day 1 till now and looking back made me realize that I have actually done a lot in this program/trip. First of all , throughout this whole trip, I felt the mixture of emotions when being a 2IC, as last year I was just a regular student who had no idea how things worked. For me, it took the first 2 days to get used to how things worked and to just sort everything out. However it was during the first week, as I felt the pressure and stress of handling 30 people with all equipment and timing.

The second week was a lot smoother personally, although we had a lot more additional jobs and plans, I started to get how being a 2IC worked and went to be friends with most people in this trip. The second week also included a lot of sight-seeing which acted as a semi-stress reliever, as we had to take care of the students, but I also had my own free time last year in parks and amusement areas, but as I was a 2IC, the rest times were more “rest” instead of wasting the extra energy we had when I was a student.

The third week was the week of rush, in a sense, as we had to rush back to HQ as we were running out of time and Billy also had to do assessments on each student, including Team captains and 2IC’s.

Now we’re on our fourth week and our main sight stops have ended so we just have to finish our work. this includes the 1500 continued essay and my own Charlie Group student assessments.

Jason Wang

Day 21, the last day of our expedition before we start our push back to Toronto. We started the day off at 0545 when we woke up to have our final washroom break moving to Mount Edith. At 0610 we were finally on the move. Due to the series of winding roads leading up to Mount Edith’s base, we had to remove our trailer. Due to that unaccounted logestic hiccup, we were forced to do our repacking and eat breakfast at the trailer drop off station. At 0822, we were on the move once again, head to Mount Edith.

The hike was about three hours long with a convoy of 29 people, we got up her in record timing. To be honest it was shorter than I expected but felt much longer than that. Right now, we are writing our blogs on the cliff in view of Mount Edith, with the same majestic view that Edwin Cheung, Jennifer and I saw the last time  we were here in the first Trans-Canada west expedition.

In six days, we will be back at Monticle HQ, clean up our gear and either head home or stay and wait till Bravo formation begins. Over the past few days, I have seen the potential of many individuals as well as the wasted potential of many others in addition to abilities and the lack of abilities of other people. Hopefully, certain individuals will learn.

Mich F

Finally, Finally, Finally… Today marks the official completion of our trip’s mission. We are required to do our blogs right beside the top of the hill nearby Mount Edith. Even though we are not going further to another top of the hills as it is too dangerous, we are so honored to sit on the same spot, on which the Monticle Leadership Association was established thirteen years ago. Thanks to Billy and many other members of the Monticle family for their perseverance and determination.

I enjoyed so much traveling with Edwin Cheung, Alan, Jason the Senior and Mike as a team. I appreciate everyone in this team, especially Edwin, who carried some o the safety equipment. Although he occasionally stopped for rests, we still withhold our tolerance and patience and perseverance to complete the mission as a team. Through this hiking, as one of the leaders of the 6 hiking teams, I learnt so much about considering each other’s benefit. This experience triggers the reminiscence of what I have done 2 years ago – when I was walking together with Billy, Edwin Cheung, Calvin, JJ and Alastair from Toronto to Niagara Falls. You must travel as a team, despite challenging my patience and tolerance which go against my eagerness to travel quickly and make awesome world records. Today is just merely re-enactment.

21 days are just only 3 weeks; it could just be only a minute, insignificant part of my life. Yet, what makes these 21 days so meaningful and inspiring is having Billy as our guidance. This trip differentiates from those I participated two/three years ago because those in the past were only small groups of 5 to 6 or even individual. This trip is relatively gigantic as Billy has to deal with the interests of 29 people, including: giving tailor-made education, food, accommodation, lectures, outdoor activities, activities that put our teamwork into test and so on. Throughout the trip, Billy demonstrates how he acts as the head of a microcosmic country, in which we have the cops (discipline), the cleaners (cleaning team), the president (leader of the day), the transportation (drivers, vehicle assistance and navigators), the food providers (cook) and the loaders who are also responsible for shelters (tent). The key of success for running this Monticle 30-people country is flexibility, adaptability as well as time management. At the very beginning, we always endeavored to maintain the rule of ‘not eating until everybody get their food’ and other sorts of rules that underscore equality. Flaws of equality nevertheless started to surface. IN spite of feeling that sense of equality, the whole rundown becomes inefficient and perhaps bulky. By the time we realized the problem, Billy had already implemented his own alternative way of operation. People who have their job done should eat first, so that the kitchen will not be suffering from long queing ups and so on. Yeah, you know what I mean if you read my previous blogs. In short, we should aim for efficiency with flexible operation system.

Personally, I have  got used to living in the environment in which holds people with diversified cultural background. Some are locals calling themselves zhuk sing and banana, some from mainland China who experienced a totally different living style and culture in this trip for sure, some from Hong Kong… Some of them are intelligent, but they utilize their wits inappropriately. Some of them are not that intelligent, but they still outshine anyone else in unexpected but useful and helpful areas as well. Living with these guys, which is not a coincidence, surely expands my horizon to have  a taste of different cultures. Really glad that participating 30-men trip is a lot better and fruitful than I have expected before!

Not to mention that we made a quick visit in Jasper on Day 20 during midnight. What we saw there were drunkards wandering around pubs and overnight restaurants… We could only sleep inside the vehicle, which was expectedly inefficient and ineffective, but still better than nothing before going to make some crazy hiking. After hiking, we traveled along Jasper again! Yet, what we saw this evening was a totally unexpected scene! Cars and people all around the places. We could not imagine that cars are queuing up for gas or diesel like we do in Causeway Bay; not queuing up KFC or Pizzahut so long that we might need to spend 15 minutes until we could reach the counter. So much stuff that we missed this time because of the tight schedule and the difficulty of finding accommodation there. Well, I promised myself revisiting these sites again in the future to remind myself of what I have learnt throughout these 21 days. Despite short, these 21 days are just… substantial and fruitful. Invincible experience…