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There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

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Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#331

Post by ghaff »

ashtonkem wrote: post #200
Scoundreller wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s too bad google offline maps only supports driving directions.

Most of these smart phone apps are pretty bad at providing even driving directions in the back country. Plenty of times I’ve had either Apple or Google fail to recognize a forest service road, which I presume is in a freely available file somewhere, and tell me to park and walk miles to the trailhead. I’ve learned the hard lesson to have a backup plan just for navigating to the trailhead, let alone once I’m on the tr…

This gets back to whether the road in question is something you should direct the average smartphone user down given that they'll probably blindly follow the instructions. In many cases, the answer is no. If they know (or tink they know what they're doing), they can make their own decisions.

I'd actually much rather a smartphone routing algorithm err on the side of caution in this regard.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#332

Post by walshemj »

kazinator wrote: post #322
cf100clunk wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The BC Milk Marketing Board has told many of its producers to begin destroying their output until further notice since there is no means of transporting it: https://bcmilk.com/notice-to-producers-flood-conditions-and-... Vancouver's surrounding agricultural areas, lush as they are, will now be almost out of commission for an indefinite length of time.

Dump, dump! Just whatever you don't sell 4 l of organic milk to a local for five bucks; they will get used to it.

You'd presumably need the herd to be certified to sell raw milk like that.

The other option is turn it into cheese

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#333

Post by int_19h »

luggage_problem wrote: post #78
javajosh wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That garmin is a cool toy, but pricey ($400 for the device plus $50/mo for unlimited text service). What does your family member do that they have one? It seems like the kind of thing a park ranger would have, or that someone might rent before going on a long hike in a remote area.

I know a decent number of folks in the Washington ski/climb/do-things-in-remote-areas scene who have em, though more common is the type that doesn't let you sms and doesn't have a monthly fee (basically a please help or I'm not getting home button). That said most of my friends with inreaches don't have the unlimited sms plan, and just budget the limited number for check-ins.

For pure emergency location beacons, there's an option that does not require any monthly fees at all:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Cospas-Sarsat_Pr...

And yes, it's generally a good idea for anybody hiking in areas without cell phone reception - even if it's not particularly far out from populated areas! I live in North Bend, WA, and it feels like almost every year there's at least one hiker lost on one of the popular local trails. Sometimes they get lucky:

https://www.kuow.org/stories/this-hiker-survived-9-days-with...

https://fox11online.com/news/nation-world/you-go-from-hope-t...

And sometimes they don't:

https://livingsnoqualmie.com/search-suspended-russian-hiker-...

https://livingsnoqualmie.com/hiker-still-missing-in-middle-f...

I mentally shudder every time I go hiking there, and see all the people dressed in cotton clothing and wearing street shoes (or even flip flops!) as they head towards the trail from the trailhead parking lot. Maybe there's something about well-maintained trails that promotes a false sense of security? Like, it looks neat and well-travelled, there's plenty of signage, so what could possibly go wrong? And it mostly doesn't - but when it does, it can get real bad real quick.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#334

Post by int_19h »

ashtonkem wrote: post #143
ghaff wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>People also died in the back woods a lot more than they do now. That certainly could be true although I suspect a lot of people are also less prepared/careful today because they assume they can just call for help. And then they end up with a dead battery, no cell reception, or conditions are just such that rescue is delayed. That said, a cell phone probably should be on your "10 things to carry" list these days. And…

Also, more people are in the back woods these days for recreational purposes rather than pure necessity, which also confounds the numbers. The relationship between safety gear and risk taking attitudes seems to be relatively complicated, and none of the sources I’ve read have managed to pin down whether or not safety equipment reliably produced more risk taking behavior. Still, if I was in the habit of going further…

Even for a typical day hikers these things can save lives. It's surprisingly common for people to get lost a couple hundred yards off the trail, and even remain close to the trail even as they wander around all lost. This can easily happen on a day hike.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#335

Post by 015a »

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #25

People really overestimate how resilient infrastructure is to natural disasters, and such disasters will become more common as the earth warms.

More people need to think about their emergency preparedness. We're not talking about permanent societal collapse; just a week-long collapse of electricity, food supply, water, transportation, or other critical goods.

If you live in a cold climate: go buy an indoor safe propane heater right now, with a supply of propane. Its not that expensive (maybe $100) for the value you will get out of it in the coming years. It can single-handedly be the difference between being able to hunker down in your home, and having to rely on external support that you'll pray is there for you when the time comes. A carbon monoxide detector is also good to pair with it, to be safe. Blankets as well.

Water is easy, though pretty large volume. Food also isn't as hard as it used to be; having a weeks supply of emergency rations is fine, but consider: Soylent, Huel, etc. Their powder form has a published shelf life of a year, its volumetrically dense, nutritionally complete, only requires water to make, and tastes pretty good.

CASH. Some way to start fire. Candles. A couple flashlights. Batteries (the huge ones made for camping are fantastic, though expensive). Two way radios with very long-range are also a fantastic investment; imagine its the winter, power & cell service is down, and a loved one has to try a local store for some supply you forgot.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#336

Post by ciabattabread »

willyt wrote: post #319
bialpio wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we get heaps of produce from California Are the prices in line with what those products would cost in the US (e.g. WA state)? I was under the impression that the prices in BC were lower, so now I'm wondering if the price adjustment to account for local markets is significant or not, or if I misremembered completely.

Last time I was in New York was a good few years ago, but I was very surprised how much more expensive supermarket food was than in the UK, like 3x more. In a huge country with lots of farmland like the US with less stringent food regulations in theory food should be cheaper so I’m curious as to what causes this price difference.

New York as in New York City? Everything needs to be trucked in and out and there are toll bridges everywhere. Go to the suburbs and food is cheaper. Go further and it’s way cheaper.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#337

Post by int_19h »

Scoundreller wrote: post #167
ashtonkem wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t have to be particularly intense to find value in a full fledged GPS. We just do a lot of day hikes and a few overnighters, and the 64st ($300-400) has been immensely valuable. Considering that the inreach eliminates the need for a separate rescue beacon, that’s a cost and weight savings. If you’re even more marginally intense than I, one of these is less a toy and more a life saving necessity. Dedicated GPS…

It’s too bad google offline maps only supports driving directions.

For hiking specifically, OsmAnd is what you'd want anyway:

https://osmand.net/

You can download as many offline maps as you want (the entire US can fit quite easily on modern phones), you get offline pathfinding, and offline maps have elevation contour lines and hill shading. The maps themselves are also much more detailed compared to Google or Apple when it comes to hiking trails.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#338

Post by soperj »

jacquesm wrote: post #307
earleybird wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With BC there's a substantial geography component. When a highway washes out it's often 100s of km detour. In contrast, for substantial portions of Alberta, a highway washout often means just a jump over to the next township road . . . which are about every mile (cuz those were the units of measure at the time they were laid out).

Yes, there are quite a number of choke points that are unavoidable in BC. Alberta is pretty much flat with some mild elevation changes and lots of parallel roads. In BC it is the opposite, the z-axis dominates everything.

... there is the Rockies in Alberta, plus the badlands.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#339

Post by int_19h »

Tiktaalik wrote: post #77
rubylark wrote: post #29

A different article[1] I read with a similar headline has this claim: > To leave the Lower Mainland of BC, you would have to use Highway 99, Highway 1, or the Coquihalla. I'm not at all familiar with the area. Are there really only 3 roads between Vancouver and the rest of Canada without going through Washington? That seems like such a low number. [1] https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/highway-closures-flooding-mu...

Open up the google maps of BC and turn on satellite view and you'll see why. The whole province is all mountain with the only roads snaking through the few river valleys and mountain passes. Big province, but remarkably little actual habitable land.

Better yet, switch to the "Terrain" layer, which specifically shows elevation:

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.9495363,-122.5413925,8.33z/d...

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