We all know the zombie apocalypse is coming; pop culture is very clear on this point. If we can rely on the Walking Dead, and I think we can, conventional power sources will fail, cities will crumble, and hordes of the undead will roam at large. Imagine, if you will, a society that has gone to the brink, peered into the abyss, and then been saved at the last possible moment from finding out what would happen in the event of a zombie apocalypse. That mood of joy and giddy relief spread over the Nass Valley this last Saturday when the power finally came back on.
I should begin at the beginning. Monday Feb 10th was Family Day, and that was the day it started to snow. It must have snowed about a foot, and more came down overnight. I had gone to Smithers to ski over the long weekend and I drove back in the storm. I passed a police road block directing traffic around a head-on collision that had left one of the cars upside down in the ditch. I reached Terrace late in the day, but had just enough time to stock up on groceries before it got too dark to drive the last hour and a half to Gitlaxt'aamiks.
Tuesday was the last day people could drive into the Nass Valley easily. The snow kept falling, piling higher and deeper on the only highway to town. Around 4:15pm, the power went out. BC Hydro eventually told us that a tower had gone down deep in the bush and could only be accessed by helicopter. They told us the power would be on soon. It would stay out for four days.
My thoughts turned to the zombie apocalypse. What would I do? Out of everyone in this village I probably have the fewest practical skills. Law school doesn't train you live off the land. I have no way to get food except going to the grocery store, and that is an hour and a half away by car. In my temporary home, I am completely dependent on electricity. My furnace, stove, fridge, lights, phone, and hot water tank are all hydro-powered. With the power out I had no way of cooking anything, showering, or calling anyone, and I wasn't sure how long my fridge would stay cold. The temperature in my house began to drop.
I looked out the window and saw that my neighbour's lights were on, so I went to their house and they fed me. Then more people came over and we played cards. People really came through for each other. Many people up here are not electricity-dependent - they have back up generators, wood stoves or propane heaters. These safeguards didn't make the power outage easy for them, and there was always the danger of running out of alternate fuel, but they opened their homes to others so that all could stay warm. Each of the four Nisga'a villages in the Nass opened warming shelters and communal kitchens in the community centres. People brought food that was going to spoil and shared it with others.
If I had stayed in Gitlaxt'aamiks I would have gone to the community shelter, but as fate would have it I was scheduled to go into Prince Rupert for meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. The roads were icy and treacherous, but I was determined. I arrived at my supervisor's house (she lives in Rupert with her family) and was so happy to have a shower and eat a warm meal. I stayed away until BC Hydro repaired the tower.
When I got back to work this Monday, everyone was just so happy that the power was back on. People was laughing and hugging, celebrating having gotten through this ordeal intact. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, when escaping to Prince Rupert won't be an option, I want to be in the Nass.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Welcome to the Nass!
Dearest and most beloved readers,
Hello from the Nass Valley! I've missed you! Whether you're a longtime follower or tuning into my travels for the first time, this vicarious experience promises to be like no other. For one thing, I've gone north this time. I'm on a co-op placement with the Nisga'a government in the village of Gitlaxt'aamiks (pronounced git-LAHT-ah-miks) for seven weeks helping to develop a legislative project.
Gitlaxt'aamiks used to be called New Aiyansh, and maybe you know it by that name. It's about one and a half hours north of Terrace, BC. Getting here in the winter from Vancouver is an adventure all on its own. Many people fly, crazy people brave the blizzards and road closures on the Coquihalla and Highway 17, and I opted for the ferry up the Inside Passage. It was by far the best choice, since I needed to bring a car. It's a few hundred dollars (the price changes depending on the season, BC Ferries has the rates), but it's the cheapest cruise you'll ever take.
I hit the road early on Saturday morning in order to catch the 8:30 ferry to Vancouver Island, which would have landed me in Nanaimo at 10:30. That would have given me plenty of time to drive up island to Port Hardy, where you catch the Inside Passage ferry to Prince Rupert. But of course, it didn't happen that way. The 8:30 ferry was cancelled due to electrical problems - the first time in that's ever happened in all the years I've taken that ferry. So I had to catch the 10:30 ferry along with half of the lower mainland, and we left late because the ferry workers squeezed every last body and car onto the boat. When we landed in Nanaimo it was almost 1:00 and I was supposed to claim my reservation at Port Hardy by 4:00. Google says that it takes 4.5 hours to drive from Nanaimo to Port Hardy, but Google lied. You can do it in under 4 hours if you're motivated.
The ferry ride up the Inside Passage is so beautiful that it's one of the things you have to do in this lifetime. It's a 22-hour trip and you can book a cabin for about $85 for the night, or you can sleep on the passenger deck. I brought a sleeping bag and air mattress and passed out between two rows of chairs. A lot of people do that; the crew just kind of work around you. The sun shone all the way up the coast and the view took my breath away. I sailed through steep fjords, heavily forested mountains plunging into the sea. The water was calm, the sky was blue and the air was so fresh it tasted good. It was warm too, around 0-5 degrees. I thought about all my friends gripped by the polar vortex in Toronto, and smiled. They say schadenfreude is the best freude ;).
My view at breakfast
Beautiful BC :)
The weather held as we docked in Prince Rupert and I drove to my guesthouse, the Black Rooster. After a couple of days on the road all I really cared about was the shower, but after I felt human again I also appreciated the comfortable bed. I stayed at the Black Rooster for two nights waiting for my co-op supervisor to be able to drive with me to Gitlaxt'aamiks. It's only about a 3 hour trip, but there was no point showing up in Gitlaxt'aamiks without her as I wouldn't have been able to get into my home for the next 7 weeks.
We drove an hour and a half to get to Terrace, where we fuelled up because there's no gas between there and Nisga'a Lands, and then drove up Highway 113 to Gitlaxt'aamiks. It snowed hard and the road was twisty, icy, and dark. At times I could only see a few feet ahead. I would definitely recommend doing this drive in the daylight, and preferably in the summer... We arrived safe and sound, however, and I got settled into my cute little place.
There's lots to do around here, so stay tuned for lava beds, hot springs, and the upcoming Nisga'a new year (Hoobiyee) celebrations!
Hello from the Nass Valley! I've missed you! Whether you're a longtime follower or tuning into my travels for the first time, this vicarious experience promises to be like no other. For one thing, I've gone north this time. I'm on a co-op placement with the Nisga'a government in the village of Gitlaxt'aamiks (pronounced git-LAHT-ah-miks) for seven weeks helping to develop a legislative project.
Gitlaxt'aamiks used to be called New Aiyansh, and maybe you know it by that name. It's about one and a half hours north of Terrace, BC. Getting here in the winter from Vancouver is an adventure all on its own. Many people fly, crazy people brave the blizzards and road closures on the Coquihalla and Highway 17, and I opted for the ferry up the Inside Passage. It was by far the best choice, since I needed to bring a car. It's a few hundred dollars (the price changes depending on the season, BC Ferries has the rates), but it's the cheapest cruise you'll ever take.
I hit the road early on Saturday morning in order to catch the 8:30 ferry to Vancouver Island, which would have landed me in Nanaimo at 10:30. That would have given me plenty of time to drive up island to Port Hardy, where you catch the Inside Passage ferry to Prince Rupert. But of course, it didn't happen that way. The 8:30 ferry was cancelled due to electrical problems - the first time in that's ever happened in all the years I've taken that ferry. So I had to catch the 10:30 ferry along with half of the lower mainland, and we left late because the ferry workers squeezed every last body and car onto the boat. When we landed in Nanaimo it was almost 1:00 and I was supposed to claim my reservation at Port Hardy by 4:00. Google says that it takes 4.5 hours to drive from Nanaimo to Port Hardy, but Google lied. You can do it in under 4 hours if you're motivated.
The ferry ride up the Inside Passage is so beautiful that it's one of the things you have to do in this lifetime. It's a 22-hour trip and you can book a cabin for about $85 for the night, or you can sleep on the passenger deck. I brought a sleeping bag and air mattress and passed out between two rows of chairs. A lot of people do that; the crew just kind of work around you. The sun shone all the way up the coast and the view took my breath away. I sailed through steep fjords, heavily forested mountains plunging into the sea. The water was calm, the sky was blue and the air was so fresh it tasted good. It was warm too, around 0-5 degrees. I thought about all my friends gripped by the polar vortex in Toronto, and smiled. They say schadenfreude is the best freude ;).
The weather held as we docked in Prince Rupert and I drove to my guesthouse, the Black Rooster. After a couple of days on the road all I really cared about was the shower, but after I felt human again I also appreciated the comfortable bed. I stayed at the Black Rooster for two nights waiting for my co-op supervisor to be able to drive with me to Gitlaxt'aamiks. It's only about a 3 hour trip, but there was no point showing up in Gitlaxt'aamiks without her as I wouldn't have been able to get into my home for the next 7 weeks.
We drove an hour and a half to get to Terrace, where we fuelled up because there's no gas between there and Nisga'a Lands, and then drove up Highway 113 to Gitlaxt'aamiks. It snowed hard and the road was twisty, icy, and dark. At times I could only see a few feet ahead. I would definitely recommend doing this drive in the daylight, and preferably in the summer... We arrived safe and sound, however, and I got settled into my cute little place.
There's lots to do around here, so stay tuned for lava beds, hot springs, and the upcoming Nisga'a new year (Hoobiyee) celebrations!
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