Wilderness Wear - madly packing!

I'm tearing around trying to pack for my flight to north west Canada later in the week.  No fancy clothes this time - I'm packing for boats and treks through the forest, encounters with wild animals, sleeping in lodges and changeable weather.  So, it's fleeces, t-shirts, waterproof trousers and walking boots. And plenty of blister remedies, insect repellent for the mosquitoes and cream for the inevitable bites.  The small planes, and the ferries, ask for duffle bags or back-packs, - no suitcases.  I'm trying to travel light, so no room for books - only my trusty Kindle.

Balance Rock, at Skidegate - one of the places I'm hoping to visit. 

The itinerary has changed quite a lot.  On Wednesday morning I got an email to say that Martin Shaw would not be able to do the workshop next week (my main reason for going!).  Fortunately the organisation refunded my accommodation and workshop fees, but I couldn't get the money back on the flights I'd booked.  I was gutted at the time - I'd been really looking forward to doing workshops on North American mythology in the landscape the myths relate to.  But that isn't going to happen. I'm out on a discovery trip of my own.

So, I've booked three days in Vancouver (the pink bit on the mainland r. above)  to go to the Anthropological museum and some Haida art galleries. And then I'm taking the ferry to Victoria for three days to visit Emily Carr's house and the Museum of British Columbia, allowing myself a few days to wander up to the north end of Vancouver Island - possibly to Alert Bay, where Emily painted the Haida canoes.

Then I'm back on schedule with a flight to Masset at the northern end of Haida Gwaii, 'on the edge of the world'.  The islands are much, much further north than Vancouver Island, which is off the south coast of British Columbia, and I'm going to the northernmost part, more than a thousand miles from Vancouver - almost in Alaska.

Now, back to the packing and wondering what else I might need!