"I think every person who adventures goes through an evolution where perhaps there is a point where it is important to them to go to an unknown or untravelled place. But there is no 'edge of the map' anymore.
- Bruce Kirkby, Calgary adventurer and author
(This story originally appeared in the July, 2001 Alberta edition of Coast Magazine)
Calgary adventurer never tires of seeking new quests
By
John Geary
Bruce Kirkby's most recent expedition took him to one of the driest places on the face of the earth.
This summer, the Calgary adventurer and author turned his thirst for adventure to one of the wetter places on the planet.
In June, Kirkby and Chris Ferguson set out from Jericho Beach, Vancouver, paddling north as part of a three-month, 1,500-km journey. They will paddle the Inside Passage in sea kayaks, trek over the remote and rugged Waddington Icecap, and paddle a cataraft down the whitewater rivers of the Interior Plateau to return to Vancouver.
This summer's trip is one more chapter in what has become a life of adventure for Kirkby, who has guided northern river trips on the Tatshenshini, Firth and Nahanni Rivers; summited Mount McKinley, Alaska twice; worked with the 1997 Canadian Mount Everest expedition; and been part of a raft descent of Ethiopia's Blue Nile Gorge.
Kirkby detailed his most recent journey by camel across Arabia's Empty Quarter with fellow Calgarians Jamie and Leigh Clarke in his 2000 book, Sand Dance. The trio re-traced the route traveled by Sir Wilfred Thesiger in 1946-47.
Kirkby is aware of the contrasts between this summer's trip and his desert journey. However, he did not specifically choose this trip for that reason.
"The trip that was supposed to follow the Arabian trip was the Chang Tang expedition in Tibet," he says. "That has many of the same threads: it's through a fairly-well-traveled area, and has some tremendously interesting local cultures that are facing pressures from a rapidly changing world around them. I chose that because in some ways it mirrors Arabia, while in other ways it was different."
That trip's postponement left Kirkby looking for another expedition.
"This west coast trip was one I had wanted to do for a long time," he says. "Rather than the contrast, though, for me, it is an opportunity to lace together all of the skills I've developed in Canada in the last 10 years as a guide.
"It's not a wholly new environment, but it's a chance to return to the coast and go on a grand adventure in a remote area."
Kirkby chose to live a life full of grand adventures several years ago. After graduating from university with an engineering degree, he quickly found himself bored by the 9-to-5 world and decided there was a better way to live.
"I used to wake up, my head would feel heavy and I dreaded going to work in the morning, thinking I had to go put in my eight hours for something I wasn't passionate about.
"For the last 10 years, I haven't had that heavy feeling. When it's time to get up, and do whatever it is I'm involved in doing."
When he first chose this lifestyle, Kirkby thought it would be just a temporary chapter in his life. But rather than a destination, it has become a life-long journey.
"For a long time I thought I would go back, that this was just a holiday. Now I don't know where it's heading or where I'll be five or 10 years from now, but I've learned enough in the journey of doing it, that those skills (kayaking, rafting, mountain climbing, trekking) are the things that I really have."
While that lifestyle can seem very romantic, it is not always a bed of roses. Just getting up without knowing what your day will bring can be an adventure in itself. In order to travel on these trips, Kirkby needs to spend time fundraising, a skill he is the first to admit is not his strongest suit.
"Raising funds for a big trip can be a battle," he says. "I'm like a kid in a big, open field, just mucking my way around. I have no business background, so I've just watched other people fund raise, try to follow what they do and learn as I go.
"People ask me what I do each day; basically, I answer my email and talk on the phone. I've created my own job, in a funny little way. Every month and every year is different. I'm always going through a transition, because I never really know what's coming next."
Kirkby finds the fundraising is difficult, because the only way he can feel good about asking for sponsorships is by "being confident I can provide some real value for the people who are partnering with me."
One of the values he offers to potential sponsors is his willingness and ability to share his experiences with others.
"If I just did a wilderness trip and didn't bring it back, that would be fine, it would be my own experience. But I really enjoy sharing my experiences."
One aspect of sharing his Arabian trip involved a partnership with the Calgary Board of Education. They created a website, www.alwaysadventure.net , that offered free curriculum in core subjects to students from kindergarten to Grade 12. More than 800 schools from 19 countries enrolled, with 23,000 children participating around the world. He has set up a similar partnership for the fall 2002 Chang Tang expedition. Participating students will actually help plan and organize critical aspects of the journey, research key areas such as nutritional needs on the long high altitude trek, and create their own areas on the website.
There is another trip before that one, though, leaving Kirkby with precious little time to rest after returning from the coast. This October he will lead a commercial trek through Bhutan, a remote kingdom in the eastern Himalayas.
As someone who is constantly seeking new challenges, Kirkby realizes the world is a much smaller place than it was even 20 years ago. That has brought about an evolution in the reasons for, and methods of adventuring.
"I think every person who adventures goes through an evolution where perhaps there is a point where it is important to them to go to an unknown or untravelled place. But there is no 'edge of the map' anymore. You can't go to any place and not know what's there, if you do the proper research.
" So our reasons for traveling may change. Even my own trips have gone through an evolution. It used to be about the adrenalin; I'd go to shoot the biggest rapid. Then getting to an unknown place became the focus. Now my interest has swung even further around. I'm not even quite sure what it is that draws me to certain places, but I feel it's important to be there with friends and share my experiences with them.
"It's no longer fueled by a need to get radical or get big."
It is because of that shift that Kirkby does not think he will ever run out of destinations to feed his hunger for adventure.
"Unknown places and never-met-before tribes, that kind of romanticism is past. There is certainly an element of sadness in that, as I'm a romantic at heart, and I have an interest in the history of all that.
"In reality, though, every generation has probably felt that the adventure of exploration was ending, but journeys are still there."
For more information about Bruce Kirkby and his trips, you can visit his website www.brucekirkby.com
