In Boundary Country in British Columbia, Canada, mountain ranges give way to impossibly wide valleys. Inhabitants range from descendants of Doukhobor settlers, a radical and pacifist Russian sect, to those from the varying First Nations groups.
Fortunes were made down forgotten mines that never managed to truly alter the feeling of this wilderness. Many of these towns have an eerie quality to them, although the one I visit, Grand Forks, maintains its unique charm.
In the summer, a steady stream of motorhomes glide through on their way to the Kootenays, the Rockies or back towards the coast. Modified pick up trucks roar through quiet valleys. The famous Okanagan peaches draw foodies from Vancouver but they only pass through. Christina Lake itself is vast and its northern tip leads off into the rising slope of Mt Gladstone. The town itself is almost entirely dependent on the summer crowds, with the population growing by about five thousand. There is little in the way of amenities, with locals choosing to drink after work at the nearby golf club bar since the last place in town closed down.
This town has a new source of wealth, though, and they hope it will last longer than the remarkable boom eras of the previous centuries. These valleys, once enriched by what lay in the ancient mountainsides are now, once again, benefiting from their unique natural positioning. To the west there is an extremely arid expanse surrounding the town of Osoyoos.
In Canada, hundreds of thousands of cannabis plants are harvested by hand
There are hundreds of acres of cannabis farms in the region of British Columbia, Canada
To the east, temperate rainforest reappears as you reach the town of Nelson. Between Midway and Christina Lake there is an almost perfect blend of sunshine and moisture that allows for cannabis plants to be grown outdoors with minimal input. This region has long been home to illegal growing operations, including the truly surreal story of a local lady using ten tamed black bears to guard her plants, but since the legalisation of cannabis in Canada in 2018 the plant has become a highly lucrative business in the area.
This is no longer the remit of hippy hobbyists tending to a small patch in their garden. In British Columbia, hundreds of thousands of plants are grown and harvested by hand and then processed using innovative machinery. The careful, scientific extraction of desired elements of the plant allows for this shrub to be converted into a range of products. These then end up in shops selling everything from cannabis infused bath bombs to soft drinks blended with the active ingredient THC. As an English person the normality of it all was the most surprising aspect.
When the picking season begins in Canada in September, temperatures still regularly touch 30C and in the wide, flat bottomed valleys there is little shade. In the final weeks of the harvest, each morning begins handling frozen plants as the snow line starts to creep down the surrounding mountainsides. This creates its own challenges. For instance, the timings of the harvest are not known until a few weeks beforehand, and even then plans are constantly in flux as all manner of variables combine.
Like many areas of British Columbia, this sophisticated business is entirely beholden to the unpredictable whims of fire. One afternoon, the entire operation was closed down after a major forest blaze began spreading rapidly northwards towards where many of the employees live. People rushed home to move livestock and find safe places to spend a night. The sky was lit up in the eerie golden glow that would be truly beautiful if it didn’t herald something so terrifying.
I drive past a bull moose casually crossing the road. Bear scat was commonplace and in the mountains cougars, bobcats and wolverine patrol their territories
The previous summer almost three million hectares, an unimaginably large area, burnt in BCs most destructive year on record. That summer, the place I was living and working was destroyed in the Kookipi Creek wildfire. In the morning everything was normal but by evening the flames had raced through at a startling speed. Everything can change incredibly fast, with whole towns entirely erased by fire, such as Lytton, and even renowned tourist towns like Jasper in Alberta have suffered enormously.
During the harvest, we worked sixty hour weeks and the work could be physical, but the pay was excellent and the season was short. The management were genuinely good people and are strikingly down to earth. Many of the other large employers of yesteryear are long gone with the copper mines closed and the sawmills mostly shuttered too.
But a vast array of wildlife persists. Leaving work one day I drove past a massive bull moose casually crossing the road before disappearing into the pines. Bear scat was commonplace although thankfully from black bears with grizzlies not being present in the area. In the mountains cougars, bobcats and the occasional wolverine patrol their territories. The overwhelming feeling is of space and the necessity to keep your wits about you.
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Sitting beside the dramatic Kettle river it was hard to see this enterprise as anything more than the latest whim to bring temporary wealth to an untameable landscape. The roar of the water is just loud enough to drown out the gentle hum of a nearby cryptocurrency mine. The riverbanks support decaying cedar-clad homes long since abandoned by those from the last mining boom. Amongst the undergrowth the dull forms of extinct vehicles catch the eye, the metal slowly returning to the soil.
The new investment is breathing life back into the place and there is money to be made. Some of the braver workers leap from ledges into the frigid canyon to cool off. I dropped off a low boulder for a few seconds at the mercy of this river. It has one more meander on Canadian soil before twisting down into the USA. The motto of Grand Forks is Divitiae ex solo which translates to Riches from the soil, and that just about sums it up.
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If you want to visit Boundary Country in BC the best place to start is by hiring a vehicle, ideally one you can sleep in! Fly into Vancouver and travel through remarkable landscapes with infinite detours along the way. Vancouver itself has some unique sights such as Stanley Park which still contains old growth western red cedars and Douglas firs that are truly vast.
Once in Canada’s Boundary Country, Grand Forks provides the best hub from which to explore. Accommodation options are generally rustic in this region. For some old country charm I would recommend Luna Bed and Breakfast, or Noble House for a more upmarket stay.
Within the town Clyde’s pub is where you will find the locals having an after work drink and across the road in the Borscht Bowl there are classic Eastern European dishes reflecting the Doukhobor heritage. Surprising at every turn, British Columbia is an amazing place to go to feel completely and utterly lost.