David Crerar climbed every mountain.
While there鈥檚 no evidence he forded every stream or followed every rainbow, Crerar scaled each peak from Britannia to Fannin; and 鈥� along with co-authors Harry Crerar and Bill Maurer 鈥� packed all 67 peaks into his new book: The Glorious Mountains of Vancouver鈥檚 North Shore: A Peakbagger鈥檚 Guide.
A peakbagger, for those uninitiated folks who tend to remain at sea level, is the alpine equivalent of those Beatles fiends who need to own every note John, Paul, George and Ringo recorded.
Crerar鈥檚 completist streak surfaced around the time he joined the running group Club Fat Ass.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an awkward name, of course,鈥� he acknowledges.
Crerar embarked on a quest to on the North Shore. But while his feet were on the road, his eyes lifted to the mountains.
He initially set up a contest to see who could bag the most peaks in a summer.
After a few years of research and what he calls, 鈥渇airly aggressive exploring of the mountains in our backyards,鈥� he had a thought.
鈥淲ell heck, why don鈥檛 we write a book about it?鈥� he remembers thinking.
The book rates each peak according to scenery, the level of difficulty for children as well as dogs, and offers descriptions of trail routes, bus routes, as well as predictions about cell coverage. The note about cell coverage is introduced with a one proviso: 鈥淒on鈥檛 depend on this description!鈥�
The authors also include an etiquette guide that ranges from the obvious (be friendly, don鈥檛 throw rocks) to tips that should be obvious, such as walking through 鈥� not around 鈥� puddles and avoiding 鈥渂loody annoying鈥� unsolicited advice and comments.
鈥淚f people want input from you, they鈥檒l ask,鈥� the authors state.
It would have been a fairly straightforward trail guide if not for one crucial decision, he says.
鈥淚 made the mistake of wandering into the North 麻豆传媒映画Museum and Archives,鈥� he explains.
It was in the archives, assisted by archivists Daien Ide and Janet Turner, that Crerar realized the book could be imbued with centuries of history.
The book references Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh names for mountains and rivers as well as the titles bestowed by settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries.
From Howe Sound to Bowen Island to Mount Harvey, a great deal of B.C.鈥檚 geography was named to honour a 1794 naval battle in which Admiral Lord Richard Howe did his damndest to keep a shipment of grain from arriving in France. While the British failed to keep France gluten free, they were responsible for sinking one French ship and capturing six others during The Battle of the Glorious First of June.
But while many features can be traced to that battle (Brunswick Mountain, the tallest on the North Shore, is named after a ship used in the battle), 鈥渟ubsequent naming patterns went all to hell,鈥� the authors write.
Because Brunswick was thought to honour a royal family surname, peaks were subsequently named after: 鈥渧arious iterations of the House of Hanover and our present Canadian/British/German royal family including Hanover, Windsor, and Gotha and Coburg looming over Deeks Lake,鈥� the authors write.
A similar misunderstanding characterizes the Fannin Range, according to the book. While Mount Bishop was named after Joseph Bishop, the first president of the B.C. Mountaineering Club, Rector, Vicar, Deacon and the rest of the Episcopal Bumps were erroneously dubbed to complement Bishop.
Zinc Peak commemorates the 鈥渕ini-mines鈥� dug to gauge the viability of mining in the area. Mount Perrault is named for Charles Perrault, the author of Sleeping Beauty, after Sleeping Beauty was given to the peak best known now as West Crown.
But the names of some spots, such as Rice Lake, proved cryptic.
鈥淚 spent hours trying to research that one and there was nothing,鈥� Crerar says, noting there鈥檚 no record of wild rice cultivation in the area, although he reasons the name might owe something to Japanese loggers who worked nearby and conceivably ate rice at the lake.
In the book, the authors describe, 鈥渢he religion of trail running and the worship of nature.鈥�
鈥淲e stumbled through these adventures, often with minimum information in our heads and maximum blood on our legs,鈥� the authors write. 鈥淭he goal of this book is to open these doors and to allow you to sense the same wonderment that we did when we discovered that such scenery and adventure lies in our backyards.鈥�
While running and climbing mountains is a fairly recent pursuit in his life, Crerar has long been a wanderer.
鈥淚 had the classic North 麻豆传媒映画upbringing in the 鈥�70s when kids were more free and I鈥檇 just wander off after school and you鈥檇 explore a forest,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat drives me still.鈥�
He recalls going on an impromptu hike from Seymour Heights Elementary to the Baden Powell Trail when he was a child.
鈥淢y parents would probably be arrested these days if that were to happen but it was a grand adventure,鈥� he says.
The book is an aid to other adventurers, as well as an environmental plea.
The book quotes a Daily World article that described 麻豆传媒映画as: 鈥渢he only city on the American continent where bear, deer and goats can be shot within sight of city hall.鈥� And it also excerpts a passage from Douglas Coupland鈥檚 short story collection Polaroids from the Dead that describes the North Shore mountains as a demarcation. 鈥淭here are only more mountains 鈥� mountains until the North Pole, mountains until the end of the world. ... Here is where civilization ends, here is where time ends and where eternity begins.鈥�
But Crerar notes that the backcountry doesn鈥檛 teem with as much wildlife as you might expect.
鈥淲e should not be so glib with thoughts that there exists infinite wildlife 鈥榖ack there鈥� such that if a bear or two is shot for rummaging in rubbish bins left out overnight by suburban idiots, it is no big deal,鈥� the author writes. 鈥淟et us rewild our North Shore. ...鈥�
