Week 12: EDM and Chill

Week 12, JULY 21 - 27

Shambhala Music Festival

Salmo, British Columbia, Canada

Back when I was planning this trip, a friend asked me "where will you be at the end of July?" I said "Northwest, Wyoming or Montana." She told me she's going to a music festival in BC, just over the border, and would I like to go?

Another bit of kismet in a long list of fateful coincidences.

It seemed like the kind of adventure and experience I'm here for, so I immediately said yes! (Then took 4 months to actually get a ticket!) This was one of the "big ticket items" I've been looking forward to on the trip, along with the (aborted) regional burn Apogea in Colorado in June. In fact, I was looking forward to this as a kind of bohemian party second chance for Apogea, which was cancelled midway through the event.

The whole festival was a bit of a roller coaster, with some high highs and low lows. It was also a good test for my van, being totally off grid and without services for a week. I got to see how long my water and power lasted. And how well I could get by with what I stocked up on beforehand. Spoiler, it worked out well!

I also hadn't been to Canada since college, and I'd never been to the western side. This was an opportunity and a stepping stone to go to Banff National Park, which has been frequently recommended, but wasn't on my original itinerary.

More on Banff next week!

Monday, July 21. Day 78

Godspeed, mother nature

Glacier NP -> British Columbia, Canada

It was a gray and rainy morning, a good time to be heading out. Grabbed a camp shower before leaving and there was no line - had all the time I wanted. 

On the way out I had a lot of trouble with my cell reception. The phone would have 2 or 3 bars, but actions timed out with a notice of no service.

Then service was in and out all day. But I’m in the back country of Montana so that’s no surprise. 

At 3 o’clock the GPS showed an arrival time of 3:15, 60 miles and 1:15 hrs to go. I was confused until I realized I’d be changing time zones.

I drove through the customs checkpoint and it was pretty straightforward. The Canadien border agent asked me basic questions and then let me through.

Now everything is in Kilometers and Liters! 

Pro tip: three months ago when I packed my van, I knew I was coming into Canada today. I set a reminder in my phone about where I had stored my passport!

Towards the end of the day I thought the day as a whole was going to be unremarkable- which is ok! Not every day has to be an adventure. )Although every day has potential for adventure.)

I was too hasty in writing the day off.

I’m staying at a ‘Hipcamp’ site (kind of an airbnb for camping sites) a few kilometers from the music festival.

The guy who owns this place is super friendly, as is his dog Fang - who sauntered up to my van and looked at me expectantly for head scratched when I arrived. The guy showed us around, pointed out berry bushes including Saskatoon serviceberry - looks like blueberries, tastes a little more tart. Thimbleberries, which are similar to raspberries, but sweeter. However they’re very difficult to pick and fall apart when you do. He also showed us his cherry tree and let us taste a few ripe cherries!

In the evening we contemplated having a campfire, but it started drizzling and we just went back to our campers.

btw, “we” are myself, my friend Jessie that I’ve been traveling with for a couple weeks, and her wife who just joined us in Glacier. 

Daily listen: “Guns, Guns, Guns” by The Guess Who

Good: this was a good day to spend on the road. it was cold and dreary and I’m glad it wasn’t a day with destination hikes and photography planned. 

Bad: The drive today had its pretty moments, but either there was nowhere to pull over for a photo, or I just didn’t feel like stopping. I got almost no pictures for most of the day.

Unexpected: The guy who’s property we’re camping at offered for me to use his ATV to drive 4 km to the lake to see painted box turtles. I took him up on the offer - it’s similar enough to my motorcycle that I felt comfortable driving it. And I got to see turtles! 

Tuesday, July 22. Day 79

Queue

Salmo, Can. 

Woke up at 5:30 to get in line for the music festival, which was just 15 minutes down the road.

Arrived, and there were already several thousand cars waiting! The line opened at midnight, but people were arriving even before then. IDK that it would have made a huge difference, but I just as easily could have arrived then, gotten in line, and slept in my van. Ah well, maybe next year?

While waiting in line I put the time to good use and caught up on photo editing. I haven’t had a day of ‘down time’ in 3 weeks. Since my van is home, it’s not a big deal to hang out here for most of a day, I have everything I need. Even took a nap. 

It was a gray and overcast all day. Which was nice because it didn’t get too warm. But also not nice because it was gray and overcast all day. The intermittent rain throughout the day had mostly let up by the evening, but the ground was a muddy mess. It reminded me of the first muddy night at Apogea back in June. Hopefully the similarity isn’t a portent for this festival ending early! 

Which, btw, the music festival doesn’t fully start until Thursday, but most of it was set up and ready to go by today. Vendors, food stands, social areas to hang out - were all set up and ready. After I got settled in, I walked around to get a feel for the space and see what there is. 

Good: Got a lot of photo processing and journaling done!

Bad: The line took 11 hours, and by the time I got to the camping area it was 99% full. I found a spot to squeeze into, and by that time I was just kinda done.

Unexpected: There are a bunch of areas in the festival with free camping, and a bunch with upgraded camping for a fee. Everything I saw suggested I’d be able to park my van in one of the free areas for, well, free. But when I arrived I found there was a $200 fee for a camper van. This won’t break my bank, and $200 to park/camp for a week is not expensive, but it was very literally unexpected.

Wednesday, July 23. Day 80

Waiting for the beat to drop

Salmo, Can. 

Slept alright even with the hum of a festival and thousands of people excited to be here. 

Have some time to relax before the festival really starts. Took the opportunity to clean up my haircut and get a shower. 

Cooked lunch in the van on the induction stove, on battery power. IDK how long that’ll hold out, but I’m glad I can make some of the stuff I bought. 

As far as the festival goes, there’s a lot of flashy and interesting stuff to explore. In the evening I walked around for a while seeing what there was. Found an art gallery and bought an 8x10 print of a painting I liked.

There was a lot of the festival set up, but no stages open or activities going on. Without the music there’s a kind of listlessness in the air - like the whole festival is waiting for the beat to drop.

Daily Listen: Ozzy Osborne Essentials playlist. RIP Ozzy 

Good: Having a few days to just chill, with no agenda or anywhere to be. The van is parked, I have the awning out and a nice space with my table and camp chair. 

Bad: My extrovert powers are flailing, I’m not really meeting people or having much in the way of interactions. Usually that comes naturally to me. 

Unexpected: I finally got cell signal back after 2 weeks in the boonies. Then at 10am I got a text telling me all my Canada roaming data is used up! That didn’t take long. 

Thursday, July 24. Day 81

Well, it was nice to meet you

Salmo, Canada

Woke up to heavy bass vibrating my van’s windows. 

Put on headphones and some chill music, and made coffee and eggs. 

Walked down to the river and spent some time relaxing in the cool water and people watching. 

Later, as I was wandering aimlessly through the festival area I saw a young woman making a sign. The sign said "Ask me about [something]", so I asked her about it. She invited me to sit and chat (sorry, I don’t remember much of the details.) We chatted for a bit, but I wasn’t really getting her thing. After a short while, she says ‘well it was nice to meet you.’ And that was my cue. 

In the evening I was getting fed up with my proximity to the stages and the incessant, permeating bass music. So I took a walkabout in search of someplace to farther away from the stages to move my van.

That night some performers were doing their sets on a few of the stages that opened early for the pre-show. I walked around and got a feel for the festival, the music and the people. It was fun, but still turned in early as I was dead tired from lack of sleep. 

Good: The scrambled eggs I made in the morning came out really well. 

Bad: When I arrived at the festival I was directed to park in a particular spot, as everywhere else was full. It ended up being right next to ‘downtown’ where all the performance stages and vendors are! The bass from the speakers was so loud it was rattling my van and piercing my skull. I had to wear earplugs inside my van. And the music goes 24hrs. It was so bad that I was contemplating leaving the festival if I couldn't find a spot to relocate.

Unexpected: Miraculously found a spot to move my van to that was far enough away from the stages that I could still slightly hear the bass, but not feel it! By this time at the festival nearly every inch of space had been occupied by tents, cars, canopies, etc. I lucked upon a spot that was being “saved” by some folks for late arriving friends, but they ended up camping elsewhere. The space fit my van with room to spare, was flat, and was easy to drive to. This was a serious stroke of luck.

Friday, July 25. Day 82

Ready as I’ll ever be

Salmo, Can. 

Had a legit good nights sleep and feel a lot better today! 

In the morning I saw one of my new neighbors dressing up as a pirate. At Apogea last month I was given a Jolly Roger flag 🏴‍☠️ , and in the burner spirit I offered it to him. He was happy to have it, and gifting it made me feel good as well. All around a solid start to the day.

It occurred to me last night that I wanted Shambhala to be a ’redo’ of Apogea, since that ended prematurely just as I was getting into it.

Shambhala is a similar vibe and similar crowd, but it is absolutely not the same thing. That mindset had me coming to Shambhala with a preconception of what I want it to be, and not an openness for what it is. 

Since I realized that, I’m trying to be more open and shed expectations, but that’s not an easy thing to do.  

Heading out for the day feeling rested and with a more open mindset, I grabbed my camera and set out to photograph the amazing flower gardens that were in the middle of ‘downtown.’ I got a ton of amazing flower photos.

I often feel more at ease with my camera, it’s a big part of how I interact with the world. People saw me taking pictures and asked to see them, or were inspired to take their own. In turn, I was inspired to do a little more with my photography. More on that in the ‘Good’ section.

Later in the evening I cobbling together some dinner, got dressed up and headed to the official start of the festival. 

There are 8 performance stages/areas of various size and layout. Some very elaborate, some fairly basic. 

The party was fun. That’s an understatement. It was a lot. I think it needs its own story. ‘Day 82.5’ gets its own entry below. 

Good: Set up a “Photo Booth” kinda thing to take random people’s pictures with my film camera. It was a good way for me to interact with people doing something I love, and it was very well received.

Update: Photos are up on my site here!

Bad: Before the festival I bought special ear plugs and now I can’t find them. They’re lost somewhere in the van. They’ll inevitably turn up next week. Instead I’m making do with regular sleep earplugs. 

Unexpected: That I feel better and enjoyed the day. I’ve been unhappy the last 3 days and was worried that wouldn’t turn around. 

Friday Night, Day 82.5, Bonus Entry

36 chances

Shambhala Music Festival “Night one”

Felt that the night needed its own entry. 

After dinner I headed over to ‘Downtown’ where the food, vendors, and stages are. I fell in with a mass of people all headed over, like a raver pilgrimage. 

A muscled and flamboyantly dressed guy commented on my pants and struck up conversation. He also asked about the film camera I had. As we got to downtown we went our separate ways, he gestured at the camera and said “I hope you capture some magic tonight.” And I replied “I have 36 chances.”

Then he complimented my ass and walked away. 

I loaded the camera with CineStill 800T, a low light film good for rich neon-y colors, figuring there’d be some fun light shows. 

I walked around and explored the various different performance stages, enjoying the lights, the productions and the people watching. After a few hours I was cold and also a bit overwhelmed, so I came back to my van and had a siesta. Around midnight I rallied and headed back out; I had to finish that roll of film, after all.

Stepping out of the van I was immediately struck by the amazing sky - it was perfectly clear out and I could see a million stars, but there were also a whole lot of lasers from the show stabbing up into the night. The contrast of lasers and stars was striking, like a planetarium laser show but in real life (and without the Pink Floyd soundtrack.)

Having the camera helped give me direction. I was looking for interesting scenes and light. I was still mostly wandering between stages, but it was purposeful wandering! 

The costumes and outfits were amazing, and the lights and productions were stellar. The music was mixed. Some sets I enjoyed, others were less music and more an auditory assault. At one stage the bass was shaking my entire being, I felt my clothes vibrating and think my skeleton was too. Another stage had chill tunes and aerialists on a lyra.

As the night got later I noticed the crowds thinning out, and the various hammocks, sofas and other soft spaces filling up with tuckered out ravers. I was getting pretty cold, but only had a couple frames left to shoot and wanted to finish the roll. I did, photographing some people spinning light. No idea if those shots will come out, but they’ll be interesting if they do!

Towards the end of the night - well, the end of my night - as I was leaving, one of the main stages unleashed a bombardment of lasers that filled the festival. Everyone stopped in their tracks and watched. Many, myself included, pulled out our phones. 

I (lightly) chided myself for using up the last frame of film on some trivial scene mere minutes beforehand. 

On the walk back to my van I could see a tiny bit of light on the horizon, the beginnings of the dawn. It was cool to see light emerging behind the mountains while the stars were also still bright in the sky.

Good: I got a few compliments on my outfit.

Bad: Although I had a genuinely good time, I’m disappointed I haven’t meet anyone or made any new friends. It’s strange feeling alone in a crowd. 

Unexpected: The day before, the heavy, incessant bass was overwhelming. But tonight it was tolerable and even occasionally enjoyable. 

Saturday, July 26. Day 83

Where does Friday become Saturday?

Shambhala Music Festival, Salmo, Can. 

There is no ‘Day 83.5’ today, as I did almost nothing of note all day. I got up and walked around, but didn’t click with anything. Went to the river for a bit. Spent some time editing photos and took a nap. 

The day really started with the night. 

Headed down around 8p again, took my digital camera this time with a lens that’s good in low-light. The performer I wanted to see went on at midnight and played a 2 hour set. I enjoyed it a lot, though I felt like an old person, thinking “why does the bass need to be so loud?” 

After that I wandered a bit taking pictures. Chatted with a few people. Met one person and hung out for a few hours chatting and shared a joint. 

Wandered a bit more and came back to crash just as first light was breaking. It was a different experience than the night before. A little less transient, more focused. Staying to watch a whole performance set was a good experience, very different from dropping in for snippets here and there. Chatting and connecting with a few people was very welcome.

Daily Listen: Bob Moses. The only performer at the festival I’ve heard of, and I actually like them!

Good: I still can’t find the “high fidelity” earplug I bought, even with a thorough search that evening. But later in the night someone gifted me a pair! They do make a difference. 

Bad: The friends I came here with have been off doing their own thing with their group of raver friends, I haven’t seen them all week or been included in anything they’ve been doing. 

Unexpected: I was able to hang all night! I have an illness that occasionally causes extreme fatigue, usually I bonk around 11, and sometimes can rally until maybe 1a. I was surprised that I hung in there.

Sunday, July 27. Day 84

Party ‘til the sun comes up

Shambhala Music Festival, Salmo, Can. 

After almost a week in the van without power generation other than the solar panels, the van’s “house” battery is almost depleted. I’m hoping it lasts long enough to power the fridge overnight. 

This morning (maybe afternoon?) I cleaned the solar panels - which were covered in dust - which helped a bit.

When grocery shopping before the festival I miscalculated and bought too much food that needs to be cooked, now I don’t have enough battery power for the induction stove. 

On the other hand, I seem to have plenty of water for the week, and it’s definitely nice to have my own bathroom (as opposed to using the event’s port-o-johns) and shower.

Having a refrigerator is also a luxury! I can make overnight oats, have cold Gatorades, and I bought sandwich fixins. Almost everything I need. 

Slept in late this morning. Well, I went to sleep at 7am and don’t really know how to qualify that. 

Sunday night was still a party night, the final official night of the festival. A performer called Rezz was recommended, for her amazing light shows and intense music. She went on somewhat early (12:30) and I still had enough gas in the tank to go. 

The set was an experience. I said last night that one performance was an “auditory assault”, this was a totally sensory assault. Sound, light, physical thump and thrum of the bass, the whole crowd reacting and moving in time. It was less music and more an immersive performance. It was visceral. 

After the set was done I wandered over to the ‘Fractal Forest’ stage. The music was a total 180. It was light and fun - Everyone was dancing and smiling, a completely different experience. 

I was having a good time, genuinely enjoying the music and the people. But I was too tired from back-to-back all-nighters to stay out 'til the sun came up. I did hang pretty late, maybe 3 am, then crashed hard.

Daily listen: ‘New Moon’, album by Almunia.

Late at night, this was chill and soothing, exactly what I needed to wind down.

Good: In the afternoon I set up another Photo Booth, this time shooting color on the Hasselblad. Had fewer takers this time, but more enthusiasm! It’s the first and last time I’ll use the Hasselblad for portraits, though. The rangefinder split focus is a pain with people.

Update: Photos are up on my site here!

Bad: Came down with a head cold very suddenly and severely, it was less than an hour from ‘hmm, is my throat a bit scratchy?’ to full congestion, cough and body aches. 

Unexpected: I found my earplugs today, of course less than a day after someone gave me a new set.

The week was fun. It was a rollercoaster of experiences and emotions. Finding the limits of what my van could do, and finding my own limits with massive stimulus, crowds, and ironically, feelings of isolation. It's weird that I don't feel isolated driving by myself in the countryside for days on end, hiking in the remote wilderness, or sleeping in unknown locations. But being 'alone' among 50k people will do it.

Although it's not a decision I need to make now, I kept thinking about if I'd go back. I'll give it some time and see which memories bubble to surface in hindsight.

For now my focus is on the next adventure - Banff National Park!