|
Born and raised on the west coast, I've lived here long enough to know that I don't want to live anywhere else in Canada. Grew up in White Rock BC, currently living in Victoria. I'm studying medicine at UBC in the new Island Medical Program in Victoria, which is great because I can get up and surf before our afternoon clinical sessions. I've got a bit of a diverse background in random outdoor activities, and I've got sports gear from almost everything I've tried lying around the house; surfboards, skateboards, climbing gear, skis, snowboards, sailing gear... I got my rope skills from climbing in Squamish, which came in very handy on the SSP when we needed them.
Corby first approached me about the SSP because he knew that they needed someone with safety gear experience and a familiarity with the west coast of the island. We were the 2 person scouting team that went in from Carmanah in search of a non-existent trail, and ended up fighting our way through the dense coastal rainforest for 8 hours on what we were told was a 2 hour walk. This really put the reason for the west coast trail in perspective for me; without the trail, no-one could reasonably expect to make it out of that part of the coast alive (particularly after washing ashore from a sunken/obliterated boat).
I had never met Brad or most of the team for that matter before the trip, but we gelled as a team instantly. I knew that the trip was not going to be easy, but what I didn't expect was how well we handled the trail as a team. Every person played a vital role, and brought their particular skill set and personal qualities into use when they were needed. I was also unsuspecting of the impact of seeing Brad out there would have on me; perched on the edge of a rock overlooking the ocean watching whales and waves roll by, sitting in a modified wheelchair! A wheelchair! I'm proud to be a part of the first group to bring a person with a significant physical disability out to the west coast of Vancouver Island, and I can only hope that if I were in a similar situation, that I would be able to do the same. |
