Vancouver....I made cookies

Get in buddy!
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I woke up after 3 hours of sleep, feeling lethargic, to top it off my stomach was churning as though butterflies were flying around in my stomach. A sense of nervousness I thought. Nervous about hitch hiking, about not knowing what is going to happen, how many hours or days is it going to take? What if I run into some psycho path killer? All these questions circled my mind endlessly as I finished stuffing my backpack with clothes.

I went into the kitchen to round up random bits of food and water as I did not know how long I would have to wait when hitching. Then I scrambled through piles of cardboard in the garage and found a huge white cardboard then on the shelf, black spray paint. “Vancouver” in big black bold letters I sprayed on the white cardboard, then underneath in a smaller font size, “I made cookies” for a bit of humour. This was my hitch hiking sign. Then I gave Matt the ready signal to drive me out and drop me off on the side of the Trans Canada Highway west bound to Vancouver. Matt pulled over on the highway just on top of a hill, I pulled my backpack from the car and dumped it on the side of the road then I gave him a hug as we said our goodbyes and the sign was up. It was 11 am at this time and cars pass by ignoring me and honking their horns but within 10 minutes of waiting a car pulled over on the side of the road and reversed back to where I was. I went up to the passenger side and saw a young couple. “Vancouver?” I asked.

The TransCanada Higway
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“We’re not going that far, probably only up to Lake Louise.” The girl who was driving replied.

“Anywhere along the way still helps” I replied free and easily. So the guy unlocked the passenger door behind him and authorized, “Hop in then buddy.” I quickly opened the door and threw my backpack and sign into the car and jumped in. I couldn’t believe how fast I had scored a ride. Ailene and Andrew were their names; they were getting married in the next few months and were checking out some good locations to wed in the Rockies. Along the way we shared some funny and interesting travel stories which were a good laugh. Just throwing travel stories back and forth made the time go by so quickly that I was already getting dropped off again on the highway just outside of the turn off into Lake Louise. It was 1am at this time, before Ailene and Andrew drove off I handed them my email address and waved them goodbye and again my sign was up like a billboard with two hands advertising for the next ride.

Okay lets do this
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One hour went by….no one stopped….two hours … a couple of honked horns and a light shower but no one had stopped…threes hours into it with already hundreds of cars who pass me by, the only human interaction I had was with a couple of hitchers walking past me as they hung their thumbs out by their side. “One more hour” I said to myself. Then I planned to walk into Lake Louise and hopefully catch the Greyhound bus. It was getting cold as the sun was starting to set, at 45 minutes, I decided to pull the pin 15 minutes early and as I lifted up my backpack over one shoulder, a commercial truck pulls over 20 metres in front of me. I stood there for a few seconds waiting to see if it would reverse back, thinking “Is that for me?” Then as I clued in that nothing else is around here apart from me, I smiled in disbelief and ran towards the truck like a waddling duck carrying my backpack my right shoulder. As I got to the door I opened it and saw an Indian truck driver in a red fleece, his hair was sweaty and was scaled back as though he hadn’t taken a shower for days. “How you my fren?” he asked in the strongest Indian accent I’ve heard since I’ve been in Canada. “Good, Vancouver?” I replied pointing to my sign

Gone to do a piss
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“Fordy Doleers okee” he requested. Explaining it was for the toll way.

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“Sure” I agreed straight away knowing in the back of my mind that I rather this than walking back into town for a ride. So I ran with it. I passed my bags up to him and then my sign but then he arched is body and head back waving both his hands back and forth frantically saying “You don’t need that.” I turned around and threw left the sign on the side of the road and climbed up into the Truck and slammed the door behind me I then handed him $40 bucks as he started driving to Vancouver. Alvin was his name and a 34 year old guy. He was headed to Victoria Island himself.

Okay.... you look way too happy
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On the way as the sun was setting I took pictures and we chatted about random things but it was quickly revealed that he was a very promiscuous person and fortunately not with guys. A few hours into the drive we stopped at Mc Donalds in the town of Revelstoke for a quick toilet break and some takeaway dinner before getting back on the highway again. From here we still had just under 600kms to cover to get to Vancouver. By 10.30pm we made it to the town of Kamloops and where the toll way starts on the highway however still another 360 kms until we get to Vancouver. After Alvin paid the toll we pulled over on the side of the road and used the communal toilets before we were on the road again.

Just looking out the window
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About an hour and a half later we stopped at a rest stop service station at Chilliwack, a town that was only a little over 100kms away from Vancouver. We were getting close now. It was 12am by this time and while Alvin asked for directions to get to Victoria, I gave my cousin Sally a call to confirm that I’ll be arriving within the next couple of hours. She confirmed the address and gave me the door access code to get in the house so that I wouldn’t wake anyone up. After the phone call I bought coffee and tea and hotdogs for us before we were on the truck again.

Some scenery along the way
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By 2am in the morning I was dropped off on the intersection of highway 17 heading to Victoria and highway 99 heading to Richmond where my cousin Sally lived. I looked at the map to locate exactly where I was and which direction I had to walk in before I got off the truck. I shook Alvin’s hand and said goodbye. It didn’t look like too much of a walking distance to get to Richmond so I threw my backpack over my shoulders and started walking along highway 99. Parts of the highway were dark with minimal street lights and there was the occasional after midnight car that drove past every 5 minutes. It was a bit nerve racking walking along the highway in the middle of the night not knowing exactly how long the walk would take but I just kept on walking and walking. I walked until the highway turned into a tunnel and stopped for a moment to analyse the safest way to walk through. There were raised concrete platforms on the outer walls of the tunnel however they looked tight, barely enough room to walk along. So I opted to walk over the tunnel, it was dark with no lights and so I reached in my backpack and got out my torch to navigate my way only to find out that there was a bay ahead and it was fenced off, the tunnel actually went under the bay. So the only option was to walk back down and threw the tunnel. Again, I stopped and analysed the tunnel contemplating the safest way to walk across, down the middle of the tunnel was a wall that separated the 2 directions of traffic and again a raised concrete platform about 30cm from the road. However it did look somewhat wider than the platforms along the outer walls. So I decided to walk along there and against traffic so at least I can see the cars that are coming towards me rather than ones coming from behind.

Just some tunnels along the drove
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I crossed the road and started walking on the platform against the middle wall; my backpack was bouncing against the wall as I walked and occasionally throwing me off balance and onto the road. So then I started walking on the road. Then I heard an echoing noise of tires spinning against the road, along with the acceleration coming at me louder and louder and in the distance I see headlights shining brighter and brighter towards me. I quickly hop up onto the raised platform and push myself against the wall as close as possible and a commercial truck surges past me within metres at 100km an hour leaving behind it a trail of gushing wind to blow past me with such force that almost catches me off balance. I thought I was going to die, it was such a dangerous idea. I keep on walking hurriedly and again experience it another 3 to 4 times as cars zoom past. By now I was sweating from carrying my backpack and walking for at least an hour but I was ¾ of the way threw the tunnel. I hear another car coming towards me and prepare myself again, getting up and standing still on the raised platform. Then flashing blue and red lights set off and the car stops right beside me, I sigh in relief that it was a police car. He winds down his window and asks suspiciously “Have you got any weapons?”

More scenery,
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“No!” I replied. Questioning silently in my head “Am I suppose to have some?”

I was then told to get into the car and so I took off my backpack and threw it in the back seat and got in the police car. After a few routine questions about where I’m from, where I’m going, and whether I had any ID on me etc. I asked him for his name. “Constable Morosoff” he answered. He was on freeway patrol and didn’t get off work until 6am. After a brief chat he dropped me off outside my cousin’s house but handed me an official warning. I asked him “What does this mean?”

Revelstoke!!
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“Nothing just put it in your scrap book” He joked.

I laughed as I picked up my backpack and asked him if I could get a photo of him waving for memory before he drove off and so he posed for me waving at my camera. I said bye to Constable Morosoff and walked towards my cousin’s house. I punched in the access code that Sally gave me, the door unlocked and that was the end of my crazy hitching journey to Vancouver. Don't think I'll be doing that again anytime  soon.