Moose family on Gantahaz Road.

Morfee Mountain Summit looking East toward the Pine Pass and Powder King.  One positive of the recent recession was the make-work-project initiated to clear trash off the mountain and old vehicles from the bottom of the bowl.  People still feel the need to litter as evident by the numerous empty cans found on the way up.  A trait more characteristic of a developing country.  

Gantahaz Subdivision.  My home is down there somewhere.

Morfee Mountain ptarmigan.

Morfee Lake perspective courtesy of a new trail created from recession make-work money.  Forget ad-hoc trail construction, this baby is professionally built and connects into the new mountain-bike park and trail system.  I wish this stuff was around when I lived town…I just had a bunch of cattle-tracks to bike on when I was growing up.  I’ve inherited my dad’s old Garmin Etrex GPS unit and have started to map out some of the trails one openstreetmap.org (possibly more on that soon).  This old yellow-clad black and white LCD beast cannot run internal maps but it seems to grab points fairly accurately.

My brother being chased up the chair-lift by a mean black animal.  We found a couple of dollars in the hill parking lot and under the lift line.  Searching for lost money was a former childhood spring activity.

Azouetta Lake and Murray Range.

Still no jobs or interviews.  Frustrating, which would probably explain the relative lack of blogging…I’m also quite familiar with these areas and Mackenzie life and should have more to say about them.  Often the things one is most acquainted with need less words.    

Technorati Tags: azu, canada, gantahaz, mackenzie, moose, morfee lake, morfee mountain, murray range, photography, pine pass, powder king

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Snow patch.  One of the useful aspects of summer snow is that it creates a rather convenient bridge over alpine scrub allowing access to regions that might otherwise be painfully difficult to get to.

Looking down the Murray Range in the Pine Pass.  I don’t think any of these suckers even pushes 2500m and the side I was only probably is only about 2000. The Pine Pass itself is the lowest pass in British Columbia, with the summit barely reaching 900m.

Didn’t make it through the winter.  

Mackenzie is behind the range in the horizon.  This would be looking West.  Unfortunately there was quite a bit of trash up in the alpine.  I carried a fully backpack full of cans/bottles courtesy of your lazy neighborhood snowmobilers/skiers/boarders.   Folks don’t realize that the area is also used in the summer…and yes…just because it is covered by snow doesn’t mean it’s gone. 

Murray range within the Pine-Le Moray Provincial Park.  The park was created in 2001 as part of BC’s push to allocate 12% of provincial land-base as park.  To meet this goal, the Province appeared to just circle a bunch of land on the map without actually thinking very hard about what they were doing.  It’s kind of a map room park as I don’t think the boundaries have ever been laid out by a field team and the only indication that one is nearing park land are several run-down signs near a few of the trail-heads.  Apparently a management plan for the area doesn’t exist. 

This dog loves sticks…loves them.  She found this rather log-like stick on one of the snowfields and carried it all the way down to the bottom of the mountain.  Every so often she would drop it and wander down slope a dozen or so metres…only to notice that she had left it behind.  This sudden realization would send her racing back up the slope to pick it up.  She climbed the mountain twice for this stick. 

Technorati Tags: azu, british columbia, mountains, pets, photography, pine pass, powder king, travel

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North Korea vs. Portugal

21 June  8:30am (AT)

Lots floating around about North Korea’s attempt (105th in FIFA rankings) at football dominance in 2010.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the Dear Leader would be invoked as the force behind the team.

The North Korean player who scored a goal against Brazil in a World Cup match earlier this week has said his team will prove a strong contender if it fights with the "audacity of the General," regurgitating an apparatchik-like reference to leader Kim Jong-il.

I watched (about 75%) of their match with Brazil and couldn’t help but noticed the tiny red-clad DPRK cheering squad huddled together in the stands.  I assumed they were probably embassy staff. 

Nope.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the Sports Committee of North Korea distributed 1,000 tickets to a so-called "Chinese football fan volunteer army."

China didn’t qualify this year…but hey, free tickets.  I was looking for Team North Korea merchandise on the FIFA website…other than a t-shirt, there isn’t much.  I wouldn’t mind a hat…you know…for historical reasons…it’s possible they might not be around for the next cup!  There are couple I heart DPRK hats floating around 3rd party websites…going a bit far though I think.  I suspect if a white guys was spotted in the North Korean cheering section he might get a visit from some men-in-black.  

Technorati Tags: china, football, north korea, portugal, soccer, world cup 2010

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My job stalking landed me at the City of Surrey website tonight where I noticed an open Planner I position.  Surrey, like most larger communities, operates a rather silly and confusing online application system.  One doesn’t need to create an account to view available positions, but I thought it might be a good idea in case registering brought up anymore information on the positions.  So I set up an account and attached my resume and browsed back to the Planner I page.  No new information, so I logged out.

A minute or so later Outlook complains that it has new mail to push on me. It’s from the City of Surrey.

Dear Bryan,

Thank you for taking the time to apply for the Planner 1 job opening. Due to the volume of applications received, only applicants being actively considered for this job opening will be contacted for further discussion. Please do not be discouraged by the passage of time – as we often handle 100 vacancies or more at any one time, its not unusual for 2 – 4 weeks to pass before we have an opportunity to touch most files. We will do our best to work as quickly as we can.

Thank you for your interest in this opportunity and in joining a team focused on serving our community.

Problem is…I didn’t bloody apply for the job!  I didn’t click apply, or touch anything that would indicated that I wanted to submit a resume for the position.

I just wanted to look at the job…and was considering making an application…but it seems now that I’ve applied for it.  So I had to come up with a cover letter and fill in all of the redundant online forms (full of the same information that is on my resume).

I had a similar experience with the City of Calgary online application system yesterday.  To apply for a job one has to create an account and fill in the same kind of crap that is already on your resume.  One will then select the job in question and attach a resume.  One would then assume that there would be a box to attach a cover letter.   Nope.  That’s it.  Once the resume is attached the system locks out and the application is sealed.  Turns out…(in small print on a completely different page) that your resume and cover letter need to be in the same document.  So I sent a resume to a job, but no cover letter…unlike the Surrey job, I actually had a cover letter ready to go for this one. 

These  City HR sites operate some of the worst internet scripts I’ve ever seen online.  Even free do-it-yourself message forums offer up an infinitely better user interface and file management tools.  It’s unbelievably sloppy work.

What ever happened to old fashioned emailed cover letter/resume?  Too common for the big cities?

Technorati Tags: application process, canada, city of calgary, city of surrey, job hunting

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Jasper, Alberta is the exchange point between The Canadian and The Skeena, with the latter running between Jasper and Prince Rupert.  I remember when I was about 10 years old I decided that I wanted to live in Jasper.  That hasn’t changed.  Young population with everyone zipping around on mountain bikes.  My kind of scene.  Too bad they don’t hire planners.  

  Jasper Train Station

My first year of planning school we were told that small fridge = good city (a remark regarding local foods).  I think that full bike racks = good city.  As a resort community within a National Park, there are a lot of reasons why Jasper is the way it is.  Still, as far as resort communities run, I find Jasper remains a real community.  The ‘tourist’ centre is actually quite small and embedded within the greater townsite.  Everything is scaled and designed properly.  It’s a real place, relative to Banff, Tremblant or Whistler. 

China is everywhere these days.

Mount Robson, highest point in the Canadian Rockies.  I’ve visited it numerous times and have trekked Berg Lake, but the view is quite different from the rail line which is on the opposite side of the valley.  Robson is a baby by Himalayan standards, but what makes it interesting is it’s imposing mass…it dwarfs all surrounding peaks and dominates the horizon.  When I visited the Chinese side of Mount Everest, I couldn’t help but think of Mount Robson.

The Skeena is tiny…only four cars, one of which is baggage.  There were about only 30 people on the train (95% tourist) to Prince George meaning everyone gets a seat in the dome car.  The train also slows down for bears and stops for Mount Robson.

Technorati Tags: jasper, mount robson, rockies, the skeena, travel, traveling, urban planning, via rail

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Actually, there were more trees then I thought there would be.

Technorati Tags: canada, photography, praries, sunset, train, traveling, via rail

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Moving up through northwestern Ontario I received the impression that this section of the province isn’t doing to well.  The train didn’t stop that often (maybe only thrice) but each of one of these communities (Hornepayne, Longlac and Nakina) were considerably rundown around the CN station.  Boarded up, or abandoned buildings were the norm.  Rail remains a fringe form of transport in Canada, so I wasn’t expecting Union Station qualities, but the towns were not looking too hot.  The murals near the Hornepayne station didn’t seem to offer much in the way of economic assistance to the town.  Definite echoes of Siberia and the Soviet Far East as the train moved past closed up sawmills and abandoned industrial buildings. 

I think it was going past Longlac that I noticed a Northern outlet.  I didn’t think that company still existed.  We used to have one in Mackenzie.  We also used to have Boots Drugstore in that town as well…I didn’t think those existed anymore either until I ran into one in Bangkok (I believe it was in the mall that was recently torched during the riots).

I was surprised at the large amount of rail waste along the sides of the track.  Thousands of discarded rail ties stacked up and thrown over the right-of-way.  Equally numerous numbers of creosote (or some kind of oil) buckets scattered everywhere.   Rails, concrete ties, shacks and white trash (probably from work crews) was quite common.  The old telegraph lines still follow the track but probably won’t be standing in ten years time.

The first major stop was Winnipeg, and I had about three hours to take in some of the city…meaning the downtown area.  Being Victoria Day, the place was a ghost-town and it was hard to find even a breakfast place at 9am.  I quite liked what I saw though.  There are quite a few heritage buildings in the downtown area, some gentrified (The Exchange District) and some in a serious state of dilapidation.  Lots of old murals which I thought added a layer of uniqueness to the buildings.  Where can I get stomach powder?

One of the first buildings one sees from the train while arriving in Winnipeg is the Mr. Nutty building.  It seems at one point in history, Mr. Nutty controlled some prime real-estate in the downtown.  Presently, I suspect his famous high-quality candy empire is no longer dominating Winnipeg’s downtown core.  I also randomly wandered through Winnipeg’s Chinatown which appears to have seen better days…although there is a rather interesting modern-styled Chinese mixed-use building anchoring the community.

Winnipeg also has a Union Station.  Union appears to be the default name for train station in North America.  Apparently the name is used to describe the ‘union’ of several rail companies that shared the facilities.

Technorati Tags: chinatown, manitoba, murals, Ontario, the canadian, train, travel, traveling, via rail, winnipeg

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May 22-23 2010 –

I like to believe that train travel is a higher form of travel in contrast to the sardine can nature of economy-class flying.  In some cases, it isn’t as I can think of a few Chinese train adventures in hard-seat class that left me questioning humanity.  Those trips were before China’s ambitious high speed rail days.

Traveling on The Canadian (as VIA’s flagship line is known) is in the former class.  It is a sleepy, relatively comfortable way (even in economy) to move across the country…providing one has the time.  In my case, from Toronto to Jasper, and then from Jasper to Prince George. I think the comfortable aspect is helped considerably by high popularity of the sardine class Toronto-Vancouver economy flights.  No sane person would consider a 4.5 day journey in favor of a 4 hour flight. Suckers.  Thanks to those folks, passengers on The Canadian enjoy probably a 60% vacancy rate in the economy coaches.  This translates to everyone getting their own seat +1. $400 one-way to my destination…the sleeper equivalent would have set my back almost $1600 (meals included).  I had a first class ticket on the Trans-Siberian from Vladivostok to Moscow…$900.  Strangely, both my ticket to Jasper (from Toronto) and my ticket to Prince George (from Jasper) were exactly the same price…but the Toronto to Jasper leg is probably three times the length.    

The seats are giant and rival the foot&body room on the Japanese, Chinese and European trains I’ve taken. There is also access to the dome car, which seems to be a uniquely Canadian rail service (maybe Amtrak has these?). Even with these features, it still remains a challenge for one to discover their optimal sleeping position.  Two seats are perfect for a child, but present some challenges for adults.  Most people seem to prefer the ‘curled ball’ position which spans the two empty seats.  There are several variations with the head either being angled against the aisle arm rest or the window wall. One may also rest on their side, facing either the back of their seats, or the rear of the seats in front of them.  The odd maverick passenger might be bold enough to stick their feet right out into the aisle, threatening the wrath of the coach attendants.  I’ve been told that smaller folks have climbed into the over-head baggage shelves, slept under the seats or commandeered the dome car.  I always thought that sleeping under the seats (with newspapers) was strictly a Chinese characteristic in their hard-seat class…but we do it in Canada too.

It takes awhile to find your position.  I think I’ve decided on a combination of curled ball (head on aisle arm rest) and side sleeper (head facing my seat).  Kind of reminds me of pass-the-pigs positions.  The razorback is when one just lies down on their back in the middle of the aisle.

Northern Ontario is a lot like northern BC…mountains absent.  The forests are of similar species and size and in some cases I feel like I could be driving highway 97 from Prince George to Mackenzie.  There was some sections…I really don’t know where, that also had Siberian characteristics…low scrubby trees, open fields and run down rail line buildings and communities.

VIA trains are at the mercy of freight movement and play second fiddle to the 150-car behemoths that race down the track.  Freight train size may also be a North American characteristic.  I don’t think I ever saw a freight train in China and Russia that was larger than 50 or 60 cars.  There were a lot more of them though.  Canadian trains are exclusively diesel (although I believe there is some electric business going on in BC), in contrast to the heavy electrification of their Russian, Chinese and European counterparts.  I was always under the impression that electric train motors offered more power than diesel engines.  If the Russians can electrify their entire Trans-Siberian and associated spur lines…I’m not sure what our deal is…wait…we can’t even put in a high-speed rail line between Montreal and Toronto.  That is probably why.

Boarding The Canadian was my first time in Toronto’s Union Station (my urban planning buddies will probably laugh at that).  I was quite impressed with the size, architecture and relative efficiency of the boarding process. I was annoyed that I had to pay an extra $21 for my bag that was 7lbs over the 50lbs weight limit.  I understand weight and aircraft…but weight and trains?  Stop squeezing me for cash.

The silver HEP1 Coach Car is in good condition, but the style (blue pastel interior…carpet, walls, roof) is beginning to look dated (especially in comparison to the uber-modern and sleek Asian trains).  It has been retrofitted with electrical sockets which is a welcome addition (but no wireless yet).

The train is stopping to dump of some fishermen at the town of Alsace…that is where I am…but I don’t know where that is.  

I think I’ll dig out my camera.  My old Pentax K100D died in India.  Circuit board problem that would take weeks to repair (I brought it in in early May) and cost upwards of $300.  The camera store had a second had Pentax ist’D…which is the step down from the K100D.  I picked up the body for $200.  Resolution is a bit less and it doesn’t have an anti-vibration function…but it works fine and the shots come out great in RAW.  They also had the latest Pentax X for $700…maybe next year.

Tasty coffee on this train.

* after checking with Wikipedia…most of the passenger cars on VIA are over 50 years old.

Technorati Tags: Ontario, the canadian, toronto, train, travel, traveling, via rail

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I read with great interest the comments on running into Margo Carter, the Australian woman who moved to Tiger Leaping Gorge about ten years ago, ran a cafe at the start of the Gorge and became a life partner with Sean, a Tibetan who runs the Sean’s Guest House in the center of the gorge.

The comments that Margo was eccentric, or rude, seem so totally out of place with our experience, and thus I thought I should relate our tale. Mel and I met Margo in March 2009. I had heard about the great trek through the gorge and was very excited to do it. Mel (the more cautious half of our team) was a bit apprehensive because it was unclear from the maps and our reading, what we would do if we found the hike too hard and wanted to quit mid way (it actually is quite easy as you can always walk downhill to the road and hitch-hike back).

At any rate, when we arrived at the Gorge we ran into Margo…I told her of my desire to hike the entire gorge and sleep overnight on the trail… Mel on the other had mentioned his apprehension. She said "no problem" – I can help you both… and proceeded to offer to accompany us for two to three days (at an exceptionally modest fee) and be our guide. So the three of us took a taxi to Sean’s guest house, in the middle of the gorge, where we had a wonderful night in relatively luxury surroundings. We all ate at Sean’s by the campfire, and enjoyed meeting many other travelers and learning a bit about the gorge history. It was a delightful experience. The next day we took off on our trek. She was an interesting woman who had moved from Australia to explore China, and fell in love with the natural environment and decided to stay.

During our two days together we traded tales, and she was very accommodating to walk and talk at our pace. We stayed overnight at another guest house, enjoyed a fresh chicken stew (the chicken was killed in front of us) and continued on the next morning. Margo was opinionated… she did not like the commercialization of the gorge nor the fact that she saw many locals trying to take advantage of visitors. However our experience was that she eluded kindness, sensitivity, and had a keen intellect.

We continued to communicate when we returned home, and were shocked when a few months later we heard about the accident. The details were always very sketchy, and disturbing. I have a great picture of Margo, which I’d like to send you… so let me know how I can do it, and hopefully you will post it on your site. I’d like to promote in her memory the kindness she showed us during the few days we were together.

Diane Drey & Mel Winokur New Jersey, USA

Sean Xia (夏山泉), Diane Dey, Margo Carter, Mel Winokur – Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan 2009.  Margo Carter & Diane Dey – Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan 2009

I was just as surprised to receive an email from Ms. Dey (as well as Mr. Xia).

It was never my intention to offend, disrespect or instigate sadness among anyone.  I wrote largely based on my memories of  my brief time in the Gorge three years ago.  The above description is more fitting.

Technorati Tags: china, margo carter, tiger leaping gorge, travel, trekking, walnut grove, yunnan

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The all too typical situation was buying a beer at the bar.  This assumes, of course, that guy didn’t already clandestinely take his well-deserved “tip” out of your twenty or ten already. 

Bryan “here” (handing over cash for a possibly watered-down beer)

Barkeep “$6…gee…thanks *heavily laced with sarcasm*

(The above happened at The Duke a few nights ago)

Bryan “Well, you know I was going to put a dollar down on the table… but I think I’ll keep that for myself now”. (what I should have said)

Like I’ve said before…just chuck a 20% service charge on everything.  It’s just better for everyone.

Technorati Tags: bars, cynicism, tipping

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