300km on the map today, a timezone change, and a short “leg stretch” that turned into one of the best unplanned hikes of the trip so far. Jasper was waiting at the end of it — wildfire scars, bugling elk, and all.
A little more sleep and feeling noticeably better meant I was finally ready to get out and explore. Another blue-sky day, warming up nicely, which always helps — and after the last couple of days, we were overdue some good luck.
Not every day on the road goes to plan. Whistler to Clearwater covered some of the most staggering scenery of the trip so far — and also turned into one of the toughest, as a rough stomach caught up with me somewhere between Lillooet and Lake Heffley.
First full day in Whistler, and our first real test of van life, gondolas, and whether Garmin’s sleep score would forgive a new bed and eight timezone changes.
Departure day arrived on 12 September, and 48 hours later we were parked up at our first campsite with a fire going and an ice cream in hand. Here’s how the first leg went — an unexpected airport lounge upgrade, our first real look at Vancouver, and our introduction to life in the campervan we’ll be calling home for the next month.
After two and a half weeks in the Canadian Rockies, we drop the campervan in Vancouver and fly east to Quebec City — the beginning of a 12-night Eastern Canada leg that takes us through some of the most culturally distinct cities in North America before we fly out through Reykjavik to Edinburgh.
We didn’t plan to do the Rakiura Track. A friend ended up with two extra hut bookings after another person in their group dropped out — did we want to come?
Most of our EBC preparation has happened at the Auckland Altitude Training Centre — masks, treadmills, and hypoxic machines. But the other half of training for a multi-week mountain trek is simply getting out and walking on real terrain with real elevation.
In nine days we leave Auckland. Four months of travel. Canadian Rockies campervan, Eastern Canada, Iceland stopover, a week in Scotland, Everest Base Camp via Gokyo, the Trans Bhutan Trail. Back in New Zealand in December.
We arrive in Bhutan on 13 November 2026 — three days after the Evertrek EBC trek ends in Kathmandu. Eighteen days at altitude in Nepal, three nights recovering in Kathmandu, then a 90-minute Druk Air flight west into Paro.
