Exactly, and rescues out there are not easy. Since every time something happens in the rockies we hear it on the news and there are some pretty tragic things and yes often comes down with lack of preparedness and underestimating the hazards. It's popular but it's still the wilderness and unforgiving.
I have thought of one day maybe publishing trail guide books based on my stories here of the different parks in the future when I have enough knowledge and material for each location, there is so much to explore! I do want to sell some swag in the shops, I already talked to them and they would accept it but I have to bring a finished product to them. I didn't put much effort towards that yet tho since I'm pretty shy about my work still.
The walking up to the wildlife burns me especially when they do it in crowds, I hate it, it really stresses them out along with being extremely dangerous, there has been some attacks. Sometimes the animals walk up voluntarily out of curiosity in my experience and running away is the absolute wrong thing to do, there is different scenarios with animal encounters but knowledge is power and respecting safe distances established by the parks should be a must when one can help it.
Many people think that walking in the mountains is easy as seen on the Tell-a-Vision. I hope your work can help save some lives and keep the rescue workers warm by the fire. I suppose your shyness makes you do a really good job of gathering the necessary information together. That is good to hear they shops are already accepting of work that should produce. It will help all involved. there are very good self publishing option these days and registering an ISBN is quite cheep.
There are too many videos of people disturbing the wildlife, when there is an attack it seems justified by the animal and not the human who provoked it. Perhaps that could be an entire chapter or two in your book about respecting animal space. 2 meters maybe, hahaha.
I hope to see your book some day. :-)
Thanks for your efforts to educate and inform people of the risks, that can be mitigated.
Yeah, they make it look easy on tv but people forget these are pros with the best teams gathering intel beforehand, it's not all just happy go lucky. It breaks my heart every time I hear on the news that a traveler will not make their way home because of an accident, getting lost out there is no joke, in the winter you have lots of slippery ice sometimes hidden under snow, avalanches too, lots to look out for. I should do some research and find out the stats of death and injuries and do a report and suggestions to mitigate. Thanks for the idea 😁
Combining my observations with what I have seen from other cultures here on hive I noticed what the issue is and it has a lot to do with cultural differences where the demographic that does really unsafe things here are offered similar experiences where they can approach and feed the wildlife or can do dumb things because they are in a controlled environment in their home country and they associate and assume it's as safe to do here, it's more like you're responsible for your own safety.
For example, surrounding a deer. Mainly Asians do that but they have a national park where the deer come to them for food so it is seen as a safe experience for them, except it's unacceptable and dangerous here, just like I would probably be freaked out getting chassed by a bunch of deer if I went to a park China. With language barriers added to that not speaking english adds even more difficulties. That is my hopes by communicating safety a little at a time in an interesting way in each post.
I have done some of those posts about animal space, I mention it regularly especially when I post about the Bison in a different park. I didn't mention it this time but I don't even exit the vehicle, I get out the sunroof like a Great White North Safari and I have a 300 mm lens and a good camera. I don't think the animals get in trouble for charging because the park is aware of the provocative human behavior.
The bigger problem is people leave food rubbish that attracts bears and wolves to campgrounds and then they have to euthanize the animal because they CANNOT associate humans with food and they return once they know they can get food and turn aggressive when they don't get any.
Thanks for your words of support, I will certainly announce it on Hive first when I do decide to print the books!
You are so right it take a lot to plan and not much to get hurt or buried or worse out in the beauty of the Western Canadian Mountains.
I have notice the same in other cultures from all around the world. People think that all of Canada is nice and easy and approach it the same way, with the mindsets of there home land. I have had people from the Alps want to go and run out into the woods without checking or knowing where they go because back home there are paths and people and cell coverage everywhere. They don't get the vast unpopulated wilderness and scope to which they walk into. I like there enthusiasm but caution them about just going and running into what could be a fatal mistake. Some people like to learn the painful way. Too bad it is at the cost of our country people that pay the price for others ignorance.
Yes many COs know it is the humans fault 99.999% of the time. The real animals are the humans who decide that throwing trash every where and feeding majestic animals junk food is appropriate. Sad to see how dirty those human animals can be. As an example we shall set the tone.
I read commitment to making that book a reality in your last sentence, hooray. Let me know if I can be of service to such matters.
Awe, that's very sweet of you, it wont be for a while still, I need more hikes so I can cover each area really good. I agree on who the real animals are, it's heart breaking. It's a big problem with Banff's wolf population. Def no cell coverage everywhere here, not even close. I do my fair share of winging it but I try to be smart about it and have spent good deal of time in them hills. What part of Canada are you from if you don't mind me asking?
Much legwork is necessary for good coverage and good reporting. Shame you have to do all that hiking through all that beauty. :-) There are certain liberties that come with experience in a given mountain range, country region specific, as you know that takes time. Okanagan for the time being. Are you on the East or west of Them Hills?
It's a lot of legwork indeed omg! I know, it's a terrible punishment to dip my feet un such clear pristine freezing waters (summer)at the destination too...or to drink that Canyon or glacier water strait from the source (winter)😁 #watertasters. Okanagan, nice! Never been but heard a lot of nice things. Been trying to make my way there but that's a bit of a drive! I'm in Edmonton so Jasper is pretty close 3 h away. I do Banff and Kananaskis Country a fair bit too but Jasper is my playground, I can't seem to make it passed Mount Robson, I get sucked in early in the mountains. I want to do more in the Radium area last summer but then covid happened. I spend about a month per year in the mountains, more if I can afford it.
How terrible to drink from Mountain streams and walk in cold fresh clean water. I carried a bottle of mountain water from the park with me for ten years just to take a sip again.
Yes it is very nice further out west and not as cold all the time. You should come for the cherry blossom in the valley. It will be a week or two of them blooming from south to north in the valley and the air is sweet. Your blog and contributors will thank you for it.
So it sounds like you have to make that book published, so you can afford to keep making more great posts.