WELCOME TO THE TAILGATE MOTEL. PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL
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DIRTBAG
Dirtbag Road Trips are about discov- ery. Discovering where the locals crash for free, or where seasoned vagrants score a cheap shower. Discovering day-old pizza in the backseat from that late night highway diner with the bleary- eyed waitress. Getting lost and discov- ering paradise off the map. Dirtbag trips aren’t about deprivation; they’re about doing more with less.
SAMPLE TRIP: VANCOUVER ISLAND TRAVEL: 14+ days MILEAGE: 950 kilometers
HIGHLIGHTS: Riding the M.V. Frances Barkley to the sheltered inner waters and 100 ruggedly beautiful islands of the Broken Group in Barkley Sound; Clayoquot Sound’s hot springs, bald eagles and the giant cedars of Meares Island; endless sand beaches, perfect island campsites and rafts of sea ot- ters in Kyuquot Sound; and paddling with orcas in Johnstone Strait.
STOP-OFFS & DETOURS: En route to Tofino, stretch your legs and your imagination in the Tolkien- esque magnificence of Cathedral Grove. Feel small as you wander
64 ADVENTURE KAYAK | SPRING 2013
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quiet boardwalks beneath towering, 800-year-old Douglas fir.
After a salty stint on the coast, rinse off beneath snow-capped mountains in Sproat Lake. Lying alongside the Pa- cific Rim Highway, Sproat Lake Provin- cial Park has camping, hot showers and a grassy picnic area perfect for drying out crusty paddling gear. Like all B.C. provincial parks, day use is free.
Take the ferry from Campbell River to Quadra Island to surf some of Van- couver Island’s best park-and-play tidal rapids. Skookumchuck it ain’t, but you’re likely to have the green wave that forms at Surge Narrows an hour and a half after peak flood all to yourself.
BEST DIGS: The sprawling network of B.C. Recreation Sites offers some of the finest free and dirt-cheap car camping in the province. Rec sites on Vancouver Island range from oceanfront just off the highway to out-of-the-way fishing holes on punishing logging roads.
DIRTBAG TIP: Long drives, pit toilets and back-to-back multi-days leave little opportunity for housekeeping—invest in a roof box. —Virginia Marshall
BUDGET
Budget Road Trips are for those who don’t want to sleep in free roadside pullouts every night, yet also would rather not be pampered at fancy re- sorts. The solution is balance: primitive versus posh; cash versus comfort; and seafood versus sandwiches. Do it right and you’ll capture the best of every- thing without feeling like a dirtbag or breaking the bank.
SAMPLE TRIP: ALASKA PANHANDLE AND THE KLONDIKE TRAIL
TRAVEL: 7–10 days MILEAGE: 680 miles (1,100 kilometers)
HIGHLIGHTS: Paddling amongst gla- ciers and icebergs in Tracy Arm; life-list wildlife viewing including brown bears on Admiralty Island and humpback whales in Glacier Bay National Park; sprawling lakes and alpine hiking in Kluane National Park; and the empty roads of the infamous gold-miners’ route on the Klondike Trail.
STOP-OFFS & DETOURS: In Juneau, you’ll want to paddle right away. It’s an easy four-hour trip to Oliver’s Inlet on Admiralty Island, an overnight backcountry destination and gateway
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