Across Countries

A series of voice memos from my time backcountry camping near Algonquin.

A few interesting recounts of my last 36 hours from meeting Christian and Teale in Winnipeg, Jason on the TransCanada Highway, and feeding deer on mission island in Thunder Bay!

The prairies still suck. That is all. But also, I've been driving a lot and I am exhausted! At this point I just want to teleport.

I've taken the scenic route through BC and Alberta back to Edmonton and it has been amazing. The Okanagan Valley and the Icefield Parkway is stunning. I had to keep pulling off to the side of the road to get photos and videos of the views I was seeing. Must do for anyone making this trip.

I said from I think the fourth day of this trip that I needed to interview someone who was biking across Canada and today I made that happen! I met Jeremy through a Facebook Group that we're both in, https://www.facebook.com/groups/yesfamcanada (Yes Fam Canada), and knew I had to have him on the podcast. We connected earlier in the trip through Instagram and found out that we'd be crossing paths briefly in Jasper so we made it happen! I asked questions like: Has he shit in a hole on the side of the road (a question I get a lot) Where does he shower? (another one I get a lot) Why he's doing this trip and why now What is he hoping to take away from this trip and much more Make sure to follow him and his story on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jer_bikes/ (@jer_bikes)! He's going to start documenting a bit more hopefully so here's to the start of that! Make sure to follow me too while you're at it https://www.instagram.com/lukeblessed/ (@lukeblessed)

Lots of questions from the latest AMA on my Instagram @lukeblessed. Thanks everyone for asking! Some of the questions include: Any plans for Across Canada part 2? East Coast? Territories? Where and when is the next destination? What are you most excited for on the drive home? Take a listen for all of them!

On my last full day in Vancouver I did the Grouse Grind and met up with a couple old friends from my high school days. So it was a great day! I also talk a bit about my feelings of starting the trek home shortly and some of the emotions I think I will be processing over the next couple weeks.

An 11 hour hike isn't the most fun thing in the world but we did it anyways! It was a long day done on little sleep but it was so worth it. The views are amazing and some of the best I've seen on this trip. In the evening I went to my friend Alex's photo print party and got an awesome piece.

We headed off for Joffre Lakes early in the morning to get an early jump on the hikes. After we finished, we went to Whistler village and walked around for a bit. After that, we went our separate ways for dinner and came back together to prepare for Garibaldi, Panorama Ridge!

Today Jacob, Nancy and I all hiked to the top of the first peak of Stawamus Chief in the rain. Here's our recounting of the hike.

From doing podcast editing to driving down to the 0 mile marker on the TransCanada Highway to tasting Lee's Famous Chicken Recipe, this is how I spent my last 24 hours on the island.

On this episode I meet two people during a 4 hour road closure that are awesome! I end up spending the rest of the day with them too. And I learned how to throw a javelin which is pretty freaking cool. Make sure to check out the video of that on IG @lukeblessed.

The first few days on Vancouver Island have been a blast! I've reconnected with old friends and met some amazing people and had some top tier food. There have been a few challenges but overall it's been some of the best moments of the trip for sure!

I just said her name wrong to her face and now she's mad at me but I'm posting nonetheless. Enjoy. Alisa is fun. Just said it wrong again. I knew she would be a great reviewer (mainly because she liked me a lot so that's good for the future).

This episode I talk about the tourist trap that is Capilano's suspension bridge, going to Deep Cove and my parking troubles, and whale watching on the Pacific Ocean!

I drove ten hours from Canmore to Vancouver in one day to avoid the smoke and fires... only to drive through a couple where I legit though I would die. It was not a fun drive for most of it. Very scary.

My AMA is over on my Instagram @lukeblessed for the next little bit! But this episode is a review of August 12/13th as I did not that much at all and some extra touristy hikes.

August 10th was a pretty action-packed day as I woke up at 6 AM, drove to Lake Louise, summited Mount St. Piran, did Little Beehive, almost did Devil's Thumb, and swam in Lake Louise! Follow me on Instagram @Lukeblessed for daily IG content.

On this episode I discuss the following: My interaction with a wonderful lady at Canadian Tire Spending my morning planning my BC route Why I headed to Sulphur Mountain last minute Details about the hike that make it pretty hard The beautiful views from the mountain My IG rant about work, life and vacation Coming back to Canmore to shower and swim My plans to hike Devil's Thumb and Mount Piran in one day Follow my on Instagram @lukeblessed for more content!

Hey everyone! I met Raymond at the top of the Sentinel hike near Lake Moraine and knew I had to get him on the podcast after our conversation about landscape photography. Here is https://www.flickr.com/photos/116195145@N05/ (his Flickr account).