Rust in peace!

Got some photos up here for those who are interested.

DONE! We made it back to Victoria after four days of touring. It was a kickass trip all around and we had a blast. Best of all, we got over $4000 in pledges for the Ancient Forest Alliance from folks as far away as St. John’s, Newfoundland. A resounding success. Thanks to everyone who supported us along the way — Adam, Darcy & Tom

Adam, Tom & Darcy at Canada’s Gnarliest Tree, Avatar Grove.

We leave Thursday morning. So far, our pledges total $2450.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

We would love to round it up to a nice, even 3000 — so if you haven’t pledged yet, BE GENEROUS!

The Red Creek Fir is the world’s largest Douglas fir. Growing on Crown lands, it is likely 1000+ years old. The Red Creek Fir is threatened by proposed logging on adjacent private lands owned by TimberWest, which would expose the tree to strong winter winds and potentially being blown down. Currently the tree itself and part of the surrounding patch of old-growth redcedars are within a small Recreation Site, which lacks legislated protection and can disappear on the whim of the Forest Service. BC Timber Sales also allocates logging rights on the Crown lands in the area. Height: 73.80m (242’) Circumference: 13.28m (43’ 7”)

The Big Tree Tour is a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance, a new organization working to protect British Columbia’s magnificent old-growth forests, and to ensure sustainable forestry jobs in the province.

Eight riders intend to cycle from Victoria up the Cowichan River Valley, cross the Vancouver Island Range, descend into the wild west coast forest at Port Renfrew, then return on the coast road back to Victoria: a self-supported, four-day, 260-kilometre circle tour.

You can sponsor a rider in this challenging journey by clicking here.

While in the Port Renfrew area, we will be visiting some of the biggest trees on the planet. This part of BC is home to the San Juan Spruce (the largest spruce tree in Canada), the Red Creek Fir (the largest Douglas fir on planet Earth), and a newly discovered area named “Avatar Grove.” All these places are under threat from logging despite the local community’s efforts to have them protected.

With the Big Tree Tour, we hope to encourage sustainable local tourism opportunities for communities in transition out of extraction economies.

Thursday June 3: Victoria to Lake Cowichan or further

Friday June 4: arrive in Port Renfrew to AFA welcome

Saturday June 5: touring around Renfrew area checking out huge trees 

Sunday June 6: returning to Vic on the coast road

It was awesome.

Trip Report: Mount Baker Fundraiser 2008