well, summer is over. officially. i'd say overall my summer was pretty kick ass, but at the same time, it was shorter then ever. you see, I am a ski bum, and that requires me to work my ass off all summer so I can do nothing but ski to my hearts content all winter. This summer I worked the longest I've worked any summer since I began working. Last winter wasn't exactly the winter of Darryl. With me busting my ankle two days into the official ski season (from being drunk, not even a ski injury) I was unable to ski until Feb. so there went half my winter (and this was after the horid winter of 04/05, lets just not talk about that). I started my summer on April 20th this year. Treeplanting in the interior of BC. I planted for 65 days this year, my longest planting season yet. Started in Cashe Creek, then it was off to Lovell Cove (it's a logging camp at the northern end of Takla Lake, 200km north of Ft. St. James), then back down to Cashe Creek to plant the higher elevations that were still covered in snow back in April. We finsihed off our BC plant in Horsefy (small town just east of Williams Lake). Then it was off to Alberta, Drayton Valley to be exact, to plant for July.

This year planting was pretty awsome. It was nice planting around Cashe Creek because of the huge contrast in climate from the valley floor where it was basicly a desert to the plateau's above. Some kick ass views of the Thompson River valley and the Coast Mountains as well. As for Takla Lake, if anyone has a chance to check out that area (or anywhere in the Skeena Mountains) I hightly recommend it. The Skeena Mountains were amazingly beautiful, and if you get a hold of a helicopter they would be pretty kick ass to ski as well. The're not huge mountains exactly, but they're half alpine with lots of snow and good features, they're just in the middle of nowhere, so you know.

I explored Wells Grey Park this summer as well, and there are some kick ass waterfalls there. I'll work on getting pictures up.

After treeplanting was over I had 5 weeks of summer ahead of me to chill out and enjoy the weather. Spent a week in Vancouver with my girlfriend, a week in Whistler chillin' at the lake, went to Winnipeg for a week, and I gotta say, there really is nothing to do in winnipeg. After Winnipeg I went back home to Ontario for two weeks to see my family and friends. While there I managed a trip to Canada's Wonderland. It's too bad there is nothing that compares to Wonderland anywhere else in Canada, maybe one day...

After my summer break I went up to the Queen Charlotte Islands to work at a fishing lodge at Englefield Bay for the last two weeks of their season. It was my first trip up to the Queen Charlottes and I gotta say, it really is as beautiful as everyone says it is. The lodge was in an inlet off Englefield Bay on the west coast of Morsbey Island, and I got to ride in a sweet ass 22 person helicopter (it's the same model the president rides in) with leather seats and a washroom and shit, to the lodge from Sandspit. The work was cool, the largest fish I saw come in was a 206lb Halibut, but the largest fish of the season was a 305lb Halibut. At the end of my two week stint at the lodge I got to take one of the fishing boats back to Sandspit. It was the best boat ride of my life. 3.5 hours in the boat, 1.5 hours of that trip out in the open water, and around the same amount of time in the Skidigate Narrows. It was the first time I was out in the open water, and it was crazy cool.

So now I'm here in Vancouver, got in on the 20th and officially on vacation till next April. Here till the end of October (when I will be going to Rossland again for the winter) attending ski/snowboard premiers, going to punk shows, and doing the city life thing. But I'd say the most exciting thing right now is that I am on my gf's new laptop on the internet writting this blog. I haven't had a computer or the internet since I moved out of my mothers house over 4 years ago. So now you don't have to hate me anymore Doug! hehe, just kidding. you'll always hate me ('cause I still don't have my drivers lisence. muhahaha!!!)

Hope you all had a good summer, and I hope you all made lots of money, because we all know working in the winter is for losers.