The Call of the North: From the Trans Canada Trail to Alaska aboard Queen Elizabeth

Continuing Our #Hike4Birds Through the Inside Passage

 
After a long season of walking north along the Trans Canada Trail, we found ourselves back on Canada's Pacific coast, preparing for something rather different. Instead of lifting our backpacks and setting out along another remote highway, we were getting ready to board Cunard's Queen Elizabeth for a voyage through the Inside Passage to Alaska.

 
It has already been an extraordinary year of travelling. Earlier in the spring, we had crossed the Atlantic aboard Queen Mary 2, walked several of Britain's national trails, and returned across the ocean before resuming our r travels had taken us along Wainwright's Coast to Coast, the Pennine Way, West Highland Way, Great Glen Way, and Hadrian's Wall Path, through landscapes that offered fascinating contrasts to those we had encountered while walking across Canada.  After which, upon returning to Canada, we once again turned our attention to the northern spur of the Trans Canada Trail, where thousands (3800 km) of kilometres still separated us in Fort Saskatchewan Alberta from the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories.
 
Ultimately, given a number of factors, including the mental stress of walking on highways daily and the topography of our trek, by the time we arrived into Whitehorse, we were exhausted.  And I do mean deeply, deeply weary after months of hiking, finding water each day, and dealing with resupply issues in remote regions and ever-changing conditions.   While there is no denying that our hike on the TCT this year has offered us extraordinary experiences, they have also required considerable (physical and mental) effort. Even when we are not hiking, there are photographs to organize, travel journals to write and keep up to date, equipment to repair, and the ordinary responsibilities of life that somehow need to fit around everything else.

 
Having set out across the Atlantic, hiked across England and Scotland and now completing much of the northern spur of the TCT this year, the sensible decision might have been to stop travelling for a while, put our feet up, and enjoy the opportunity to stop moving and sleep. 
 
Instead, given that we are rarely sensible, we decided to go north again.
 

The North Continues to Call

 
One of the unexpected consequences of walking across Canada has been how much it has expanded our curiosity about places beyond the Trans Canada Trail itself.  When we began our expedition at Cape Spear years ago, our attention and excitement were largely focused on the route ahead. We hoped to explore Canada at walking speed, recording birds and wildlife, discovering the histories of the places we passed through, and encouraging others to venture outdoors.  As the years passed, however, each new region and each new landscape seemed to introduce us to others we had not yet explored. The Atlantic coastline of Newfoundland inspired an interest in maritime environments, the Prairies gave way to histories and ecological relationships that were fascinating, and the mountains of western Canada drew our attention toward the extraordinary landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.  Our journey north this year has only strengthened that curiosity.

There is something compelling about northern landscapes, where geography, weather, wildlife, and the distances between communities shape daily life in ways that are often quite different from those experienced farther south. We have spent years learning about these relationships from the perspective of a walker, but we have become increasingly interested in understanding how the same regions appear from other directions.  And so, while the Arctic Ocean remains the ultimate destination of our Trans Canada Trail expedition, given that our energy to hike has run out for the year, we have decided to take advantage of an opportunity to explore the Pacific coastline of British Columbia and Alaska aboard Queen Elizabeth.  It promises to be a very different kind of northern journey.
 

Returning to Vancouver

 
Our departure from Vancouver feels particularly appropriate because the city has already become an important part of our lives as well as our travels across Canada.  When we originally reached the Pacific coast on the Trans Canada Trail, Vancouver marked a remarkable moment in our westward progress. After years spent walking through forests, agricultural landscapes, small communities, cities, mountains, and vast stretches of countryside, we had finally arrived beside the ocean we had been travelling toward since leaving Newfoundland.  As we walked across the city, the TCT led us around the seawall of Stanley Park, to Canada Place and to the Seabus Terminal before crossing the harbour to North Vancouver.

 
Now, instead of continuing westward on foot, we would be setting out from the same area by ship.  Indeed, only a short distance from Canada Place, where Queen Elizabeth would be waiting, are pathways and trail markers that we had passed during our earlier journey through Vancouver. The familiar waterfront, mountains and harbour therefore offer us an unexpected connection between these two very different experiences.
 
It still seems strange to us to consider that, after spending so much time carrying almost everything we needed on our backs, we will soon be travelling aboard a vessel where accommodation, meals, transportation, and countless other necessities would be provided for us.  We would not need to search for somewhere to camp, calculate the distance to the next grocery store, or worry about finding drinking water before the end of the day. I confess that, after so many months on the trail, the prospect held considerable appeal.

 
Yet our intention is not simply to exchange a tent for a comfortable cabin. We have become increasingly interested in travelling by sea as another form of slow exploration, one that allows us to observe landscapes, marine life and communities from perspectives that cannot be experienced while hiking.
 

Exploring the Inside Passage

 
Our voyage is set to carry us north through the Inside Passage, following the complex network of waterways that separates the mainland coast of British Columbia and Alaska from the countless scattered islands lying offshore.  It is a region shaped by glaciers, tectonic forces, ocean currents, temperate rainforests and some of the richest marine ecosystems in the northern Pacific.
 
Unlike our transatlantic crossings aboard Queen Mary 2, where days at sea allowed us to appreciate the enormous distances separating continents as we waited patiently for seabirds and whales, this journey will repeatedly bring us back to land, navigating glacial fjords and docking in set ports of call.

 
Each time we go to sea, we are once again particularly excited about the opportunities to observe marine wildlife.  The waters of British Columbia and Alaska support a remarkable diversity of whales, porpoises, seals, sea lions, seabirds, and other marine species. I have become increasingly interested in marine biology and whale conservation, and I am hoping to learn more about the ecosystems that support their seasonal migrations along this coast.   In addition, there is a possibility that we will get the chance to spot Tufted Puffins, Rhinoceros Auklets, murres, cormorants, and other seabirds on board.  
 
In addition, we are also hoping to encounter glaciers and the landscapes they have created. Much of what we have experienced while walking through Canada has been shaped by the movement of ancient ice. From the exposed bedrock of the Canadian Shield to the valleys and mountain landscapes of western Canada, glaciation has influenced the terrain of the country for thousands of kilometres.  Travelling into Alaska's fjords will give us another opportunity to consider those geological processes, this time from the water.
 

History, Communities and the Northern Coast

 
As with our walking journeys, however, we are interested in far more than the scenery.
Our itinerary includes opportunities to visit historic coastal communities such as Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau and Sitka, places whose stories have been shaped by Indigenous cultures, maritime traditions, trade, fishing, mining, and the development of transportation routes through the North.  We are particularly interested in Skagway, where the history of the Klondike Gold Rush connects the Pacific coastline to the Yukon.

 
After spending so much time considering how Canada's northern communities are connected by highways and waterways, the opportunity to explore another historic transportation corridor is fascinating. The White Pass route between Alaska and the Yukon illustrates how geography has influenced the movement of people and goods through a region where travelling even relatively short distances could present enormous challenges.
 

A Different Way of Travelling Slowly

 
There is, admittedly, something slightly contradictory about two long-distance hikers choosing to explore the wilderness aboard a ship such as this.  We have never been particularly drawn to conventional cruising, with its emphasis on entertainment, shopping, organized excursions and the comforts available aboard large vessels. Much of what we enjoy about hiking comes from the opportunity to live simply, spend time outdoors, and experience places without the constant distractions of modern life.
 
Yet our previous voyages aboard Queen Mary 2 have reminded us that travelling by ship need not be defined entirely by its onboard amenities.  For us, some of the most memorable experiences have occurred while standing for hours and days at the railings, watching seabirds skimming along the waves, watching changes in the weather, and simply experiencing the enormous distances involved in travelling from one place to another.

 
Aboard Queen Elizabeth, we hope to spend much of our time doing exactly that.  There will undoubtedly be opportunities to attend insight lectures, learn about the ship, enjoy Cunard's traditions, and meet fellow travellers. We are looking forward to those experiences as well. But we suspect that the real attraction will remain beyond the railings, where the forests, islands, mountains, marine life and the northern Pacific will provide all we want.  After years of hiking, we have become accustomed to spending most of our waking hours outdoors. I doubt that stepping aboard a ship will suddenly change that habit.
 

The Journey Beyond the Trail

 
There is another reason that this voyage appeals to us.  Although our immediate focus remains on completing the northern portion of the Trans Canada Trail, we have increasingly come to appreciate that our travels are part of something larger than any single expedition.

 

The pilgrimages and Caminos of Spain, France and Portugal, Britain's national trails, the Trans Canada Trail, our journeys aboard VIA Rail, and our crossings of the Atlantic have all introduced us to different ways of experiencing the world. Each has offered new opportunities to explore nature, cultural traditions, histories, and the relationships between places.  In many ways, those journeys are connected by the same curiosity that first led us to begin #Hike4Birds.

 
We have never believed that there is only one proper way to explore a landscape. Walking may be our preferred means of travelling, but skiing, paddling, sailing, travelling by rail, and even simply spending time observing the natural world from a single place can reveal things that might otherwise remain unnoticed.
 
The important part, at least for us, is remaining curious enough to look.  Alaska offers an opportunity to extend that curiosity into another northern environment, to experience the Pacific coastline from the water, and perhaps to discover places we may someday wish to return to and hike. It is also an opportunity to rest our legs while continuing to learn, explore, and appreciate the world around us.
 
For those who have followed our journey across Canada, we invite you to join us on this rather different northern adventure aboard Cunard's Queen Elizabeth to Alaska.  As with our hiking journals, we hope to share more than simply the places we visit. The daily accounts will include our photographs, wildlife observations, reflections, and the practical experiences of travelling aboard a vessel that offers such a different perspective on the landscapes we have come to love.
 
See you on board!