#expeditioners

Twin climbers Nungshi and Tashi Malik turn versatile expeditioners in ‘World’s Toughest Race’

The trailer for Amazon Prime’s World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fijiis what we would expect of anything associated with Bear Grylls; this show follows international teams on an 11-day expedition across Fiji’s rainforests, mountains, ravines, rivers, swamps and more. With the series franchise in its 24th year, it continues to offer a gruelling amalgam of taxing mental and physical pressures,…

      The Expeditioners last adventure led us to drive along some of the most remote regions and highways of Canada. Our original goal was to drive to the most North- Eastern point in Labrador accessible by road-- Cartwright. Now, the "highways" that we took to get to Cartwright are by no means what you would consider to be normal roadways. They are gravel, hole-strewn roads that are more reminiscent of logging roads than any concept of "highway" you might have. These back-country roads are the lifeblood of Canada in many ways, as these were built for Hydro Dams, Mining, and logging. The most common vehicles seen are indeed almost always for industry. The only other travelers on these will tend to be hunters; rarely will you see any campers or adventurers---as simply getting there can take a week; and most people won't sacrifice a week out of their two week vacation to be on a desolate road to nowhere. That being said, I love these roads---for they allow me to access the most remote regions of our country without having to fly.

On our adventures to Newfoundland and Labrador, we traversed Labrador from West to East, as well as driving the magnificent coastal section on the Atlantic. A few of the things we encountered on these desolate roads:

1. Every time a 18 wheeler logging truck passed us (from either direction) we had to come to a full stop, as the plume of dust that the truck lifted would leave us totally blind time and time again.

2. Make sure not to drive too close to the shoulder, as they're quite soft--and you might find the gravel underneath suddenly start to give way. (This becomes a nuisance--as there is nowhere to pull-over.) So, if you want a pee-stop, you have to leave the car in the middle of the road, while you do your business--and hope that a truck will not ramble-by at that instant... which also tends to happen.

3. Make sure you have enough gas! We drove through several sections where there isn't a gas station for 297, 303, and 393km's respectively. Being that most phone companies don't cover this area, you can have quite a conundrum if you don't pay attention to your gas gage.

4. Snowmobile trails parallel these roads, so keep an eye out for the refuges-- they can be quite wonderful on an evening of -15C...

5. Most of the industry people we chatted-up mentioned that they all travel with a Satellite phone and an Emergency Beacon.... well, at least we had our emergency beacon!

6. Be totally ready to sleep just off the side of the road--as often there is no place to pull off!