Day 1 - Okamino and Beyond

A banner day for Okamino.  Christopher Walker CBC host of Daybreak Kelowna interviewed me about the project. The CBC Daybreak team just received the honour of being the most listened to morning show in Kelowna. If my experience is any gauge, many people who didn't know I was going to be on said they heard me. Thanks Chris and Alya.

Impressed them by wearing my CBC Tshirt.

So what do you do after you finished an Okamino? You carry on, with short hikes on a daily basis and longer ones when possible.  You call it Okamino and Beyond. 

What I learned from hiking for 30 days straight while still at home in the Okanagan:

• Your stamina increases noticeably as the weeks go by.
• There's still so much more to explore in the Okanagan, even though I thought I knew it well enough.
• There are a lot of people like me out there, doing their own versions of an Okamino.
• Being away from home to do a long hike/traverse would give you freedom to walk the 5 or 6 hours that would be needed.
• The best bandages for your toe blisters,hands down, are Band Aid brand Advanced Healing Blister Cushions for Fingers and Toes. Impressive.

This hike is in the Glenmore Highlands going towards Skylands. This used to be a wetland, but is no more.

This is to remind me that I have made zero preparations for Christmas. Yikes.

This house is being built on the lot where the White Rock Tree used to be. We used to think of it as our lookout.

Looking  westward down towards the lake from the lot next door you can see that preparations are underway for more lots. All of the trees have been cut down.

The path down - lovely interplay of light and shadow.

Hoodoos at the bottom of the hill.

To end on a happy note, the City of Kelowna has reached a deal with CN for the Okanagan rail corridor that stretches from Vernon to Kelowna. When all the stars align, this will mean a hiking/walking/biking trail for everyone to enjoy.To read more about the initiative go to the website www.okanaganrailtrail.ca to find out more.