New Year, New Adventures: Explore’s Online Contributors Share Their Plans for 2022
Explore Magazine has fantastic contributors who write, film and photograph the amazing adventure stories and roundups in this online magazine. With the advent of a new year, I asked several of our regular contributors to share their upcoming adventure plans for 2022 to serve as inspiration for future explorations.
Kevin Callan
I’ve already planned a few outdoor adventures for 2022. During the cold winter months, I’ll be pulling my freight toboggan across a few frozen lakes and setting my hot tent up to make sure I stay nice and dry and warm. I’ve got some “secret” crown land spots just north of my home in Bridgenorth, Ontario.
As soon as the ice is off the lakes in Algonquin, I’ll be heading out for my annual spring canoe trip to catch some trophy brook trout. Then, I’ll take my yearly pilgrimage to Southwestern Ontario to camp and canoe; back to the familiar, where I grew up and was first introduced to the outdoors. I’ll be paddling Killarney Park for a solid 10 days, then Temagami, then the north shore of Lake Huron. I’m booked to return to Scotland in the fall and paddle a river with some canoe colleagues and drink a few drams of whisky.
Keep reading The Happy Camper’s posts every Monday.
Claudia Laroye
My re-entry into the brave new world of international travel in 2021 taught me to expect the unexpected as I gaze ahead towards planning adventures for 2022.
Travel beyond our borders is more stressful and paperwork-intensive than in the past; yet the pull to explore distant places both familiar and new remains strong. Subject to travel conditions, I’ve penciled in a few spots on the map that we plan to visit next year.
I’m hoping to finally discover the majesty of Chile next spring, hiking in Torre del Paine and exploring the Atacama Desert. We’re also planning to try—for the third time, will it be the charm?—to travel to northern Italy to hike the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites.
Our bursts of hiking abroad will be mixed with camping and road trips exploring our own backyard of beautiful British Columbia. While we’ve come to know our home province better during the past 18 months, BC is a paradise that deserves much more of our time and attention. We’ll be tuning up our 1991 VW Westfalia campervan in anticipation of embarking on some of those great local adventures. Follow along on my website and Instagram.
Frank Wolf
With travel (hopefully) opening up, I’m planning a couple of expeditions in the territories this spring and summer. In May I’m teaming up with Dave Garrow and John McClelland for a 400-kilometre ski tour on Ellesmere Island we’re calling the Pikialasorsuaq (the Inuit name for polynya) Expedition. The mission is to ski along the edge of the North Water Polynya, an area of year-round open water between Ellesmere and Greenland. It provides a refuge for walrus, narwhal, beluga and bowhead whales and is one of the most biologically productive marine areas in the Arctic Ocean. We’ll be doing some citizen science along the way by doing spot water tests of the polynya for research looking into how factors like climate change may be affecting this unique ecosystem.
In July and August, myself and a mystery partner will begin a 1,300-kilometre canoe journey at the source of the Tsichu River at the Yukon/NWT border and then link through the Keele River, Great Bear Lake and Coppermine River to our finish in Kugluktuk, NU at the Arctic Ocean. It continues my annual mission of experiencing landscapes that are new to me as I inexorably travel Canada’s remote waterways one line at a time.
I’ll be posting updates on my Instagram and Facebook pages as the dates approach, and anyone who wants can follow a live map tracker of each of these journeys, including a daily haiku that captures the essence or a moment of each day.
Bianca Bujan
This past year, local travel has been my main focus, with amazing getaways to Whistler, the Sunshine Coast, Clayoquot Sound and Tofino. Through these trips I’ve shared about the hidden hideaways, culinary highlights and cultural experiences found in BC, and I’ve enjoyed learning more about my home province through a local lens. My first trip outside of BC was to Banff, Alberta, in November, and I’m hoping to continue to explore more of Canada in the coming year.
In 2022, I have plans to visit Nova Scotia for the first time, and when I’m ready to ease back into international travel, I hope to trace my Irish roots through Ireland—a country that I had planned to visit in 2020. I’ve recently learned about an organization called Camp Yoshi—a Black-owned adventure company that works to create an inclusive space for BIPOC travellers in the outdoor community, and I’m hoping to experience one of their off-grid Oregon camping excursions in the new year. I’m also hoping to head to Kanab, Utah—another trip that was cancelled in 2020—and hike the canyons, zoom through the sand dunes, and stay at Best Friends Roadhouse, a pet-friendly hotel that provides volunteer opportunities with an animal rescue and allows guests to choose a furry friend to join them for their stay. A family vacation to Mexico is also on my wish list, as I’m long overdue for a relaxing, warm-weather getaway with my husband and three children!
You can follow my travel adventures on Instagram, Twitter and my website.
Nancy Besharah
I’m wrapping up 2021 with a trip to Hawaii with my family. It’s a destination I travel to as much as possible because of the warm Aloha spirit, swimmable Pacific Ocean and balmy climate. Planned adventure activities include outrigger canoeing, swimming and snorkelling.
Early in 2022, I’m travelling to Alberta to spend time in Banff. I love Banff every season. This past summer, I was fortunate to visit Banff twice and enjoyed hiking, exploring the historic town and reconnecting with my family. In winter 2022, I’m excited about spending time in Banff National Park and the opportunity to return to Nightrise, an immersive experience using light and sound at the iconic Banff Gondola. Next, I plan to fly to the Big Island of Hawaii for a triathlon. Wish me luck!
I’m flying to Puerto Rico in early May for the North American Travel Journalists Annual General Meeting and Conference. Along with meetings, the agenda includes ample outdoor adventure opportunities on Puerto Rico and the islands of Culebra and Vieques.
In July, I’ve booked flights to Zurich, Switzerland. After a few days of shopping, dining and splashing around in Lake Zurich, my family and I will travel by train to the Alps. I haven’t decided where, but Zermatt and Saas-Fee are a few of our favourite destinations. Then, we will travel to Italy for more hiking and biking in the Dolomites!
Follow Nancy’s adventures on the Luxe Travel Family blog, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Vivian Chung
I typically try to escape from the grey and gloomy winter days of Vancouver and venture somewhere (anywhere) slightly warmer for as much of the season as possible. But with international travel still largely off the table for me right now, I plan to fully embrace domestic travel this winter, and experience the rugged trails of BC’s scenic mountain towns and backcountry on snowshoes and skis.
I’m excited to play in the fresh powder, embark on cold weather hikes to frozen lakes, and work on my (abominable) snowboarding skills and (hopefully and finally) graduate from the bunny hill this winter. But of course, all this is just an excuse to indulge in the après ski culture and sip on steaming hot mugs of sweet apple cider and rich hot cocoa—my favourite part of any winter pursuit.
Follow my adventures on Instagram and see my work on my website.
Sylvia Dekker
My husband and I are last-minute adventurers, addicted to fresh air and that high-on-life feeling that accompanies spending time in nature. Most of our hikes are planned poring over a map the night before. So, while we aim to get to know the Rockies much better this year and keep a list of hikes we want to do, all I know for certain is 2022 will be saturated with outdoor experiences seen through the eyes of a little guy who spent most of 2021 hitchhiking in my belly.
We’ll summit some mountains (on the list: Mt. Niles), spend nights under the Milky Way, take dips in alpine lakes (Picklejar Lakes, Bourgeau Lake) and walk wildlife trails. If you’re interested in following along and seeing the inside of a beehive now and then, find me on Instagram.
Zack Metcalfe
Deliver me the mountains—and yes, before you joke, I admit us Maritimers climbers don’t have much to work with. Our highest peak—New Brunswick’s Mount Carleton—is a mere 817 metres tall. Stray a little ways into Quebec and our prospects don’t much improve, climbing, at best, to the 1,268 metres of Mont Jacques-Cartier. I’ve heard the short and rounded hills which we call mountains ridiculed relentlessly by people abroad and even by our fellow Canadians but hiding in this pitiful roster of potential peaks is one glorious exception to all Maritime mediocrity.
Because of its awkward wedge between New Brunswick and Quebec, many of the mountains of northern Maine are more accessible to Maritimers than those listed above, and of its rogue Appalachian peaks there is one clear master—Mount Katahdin. Storied as the starting stripe of the Appalachian Trail, and a frequent friend of the indomitable Henry David Thoreau, this mountain stands a respectable 1,606 metres tall. It would not impress an Albertan, British Columbian, even a Newfie, and I don’t expect it will be at all challenging to climb, but it will slake my thirst for alpine air, and I expect its history and character will compensate for every kilometre it does not climb.
My ambitions, as they stand, are to cross the border into Maine in the summer of 2022, pandemic permitting, and to climb Katahdin and its neighbours until my legs no longer work. Nothing less will cure the restlessness of life at sea level.
Follow along on Twitter and Instagram.
Kellie Paxian
After living on the go as a digital nomad for the past few years, 2022 will be the year I become (relatively) more settled, as I plan to spend the majority of the year in my favourite place on Earth: Cape Town, South Africa.
Cape Town is where my soul is at home, it is where I feel the most inspired, fulfilled and happy, and I’ve found that whenever I’m travelling somewhere else, I am always missing Cape Town. A little over a year ago I launched my brand/biz/empire Adventurelust, which includes Tour Group and Trip Planning services, and I am primarily growing my business within the safari industry; so it is not only a personal but also a business decision to base myself on the African continent, where I can pursue and attract opportunities within this space.
I will also come back home to British Columbia to visit my friends and family and explore the Rocky Mountains. Finally, I am hosting an Adventurelust tour in the Galapagos Islands set for September 2022, which comes on the heels of the magical cruise I hosted this year, affectionately branded as #Galapalust.
2022 promises to be a game-changing and amazing year and I am feeling so grateful and excited for what’s in store. Follow along on Instagram, my website and get in touch if you want to join the adventure!
Alison Karlene Hodgins
I’m the online editor for Explore Magazine and a freelance writer on the side. I’ve been grounded for close to two years, and I’m seriously hoping 2022 will offer me the opportunity to go abroad once again. (Otherwise, I’m going to have to change my Instagram handle.)
In May 2022, I hope to return to Copenhagen, Denmark, to celebrate my cousin’s 40th birthday (depending, of course, on you-know-what). I want to travel around Europe—I’m thinking Portugal, Croatia and Albania—before celebrating my 30th birthday with my Danish relatives. Hiking, canoeing, sailing, café-hopping and scenery-gazing place high on my bucket list.
I’m also heading home to northern Alberta for a close friend’s wedding. I hope to visit the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in Wembley, climb hoodoos in Kleskun Hill Park and camp at Two Lakes Provincial Park.
When I’m back in Vancouver, I want to hike, bike, kayak and enjoy the peacefulness of nature as much as possible. I believe that we need to consider environmental sustainability in all of our choices; I’ve seen it in the drastic climate crisis British Columbia has experienced over the past year (wildfires, heat waves, floods). This year, I’m planning on becoming better informed about my impact on the environment and what I can do to ensure generations of adventurers can enjoy this beautiful place we call home.
Read more on my travel blog and follow me on Facebook.
P.S. Our print magazine has more exclusive adventure stories!
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