Reports of a runner along Highway 5 headed north on Feb. 23 began to filter through the North Thompson via social media and word of mouth. People began posting about a young male who was running next to the highway, pushing a baby jogger with skis strapped to the side; many described him as making good time.
I posted a request to be in the loop, and on the morning of Feb. 25 a woman contacted me privately from just outside Little Fort, saying she had provided shelter to him the night before and thought I might like to connect with him. I gave her my cell number, as he was just leaving her place heading towards Clearwater; with poor weather on the way, he’d be staying there for a day or two. He said he’d be happy to speak with me, and I knew he’d have a story to tell.
I called the paper’s freelance photographer and sent him in the direction of the young man’s last known sighting. It was beginning to rain steadily by then, however, and he was nowhere to be found.
With snow due, I headed out of town, not wanting to get caught in it on my way back to Kamloops and feeling a bit disappointed that we might have missed our chance. The next day, however, a text arrived from the young man — Oliver “Olly” Cohen — saying that he was taking a rest day. He added “I’d love to speak with you.”
I sent Zephram, my photographer, to meet him, and was thrilled to find out that Olly was staying with an icon in our community, Jean Nelson, who at 89 is so admired for her own active lifestyle which includes biking, hiking, and skiing. Zephram sent me photos of Olly and Jean outside her home in Clearwater, and I felt a swell of emotion thinking about her hospitality for this adventurous young stranger. I’ve known Jean since I was a child, and our families have always been close. Jean is known for her warm hospitality, and with her wealth of knowledge about our history, and the terrain from Clearwater to Blue River, I knew Olly was in good hands.
He was quick to laugh when I asked how this journey came to be. “I was in Seattle for about a year. I love the outdoors, I love nature, skiing, and running. Part of the idea originally was to highlight the access to nature around Seattle. I thought that I could probably run to most of the ski mountains there. I wanted to do a human-powered adventure that combined a bunch of sports. I thought ‘What is the one thing I can do that combines the most possible things that I like doing?’ So, I set off on this Forrest Gump-style adventure.”
Olly is 25 years old and a former IT specialist who worked for Amazon. He was raised in the Hudson Valley in New York State, attending high school there. He has two younger siblings, a dad who lives in New York, and a mom who resides in New Jersey. “Sometimes I feel kind of bad to be worrying my mom by doing this. We are in constant contact, though.” The way he says it lets you know they are close.
He describes himself as “mostly nomadic,” having worked in Alaska and also in upstate New York on a farm. He loves running and especially telemark skiing.
Olly says he hadn’t planned on coming to Canada, but since the weather was so mild he took a turn north through the Peach Arch crossing and just kept going towards the Sea to Sky highway. Arriving in Whistler, he realized it was a “very expensive place” and decided he’d better keep going, but was approached by a Whistler community services representative and given two free passes.
Thinking they were back country passes, he showed up at the admissions gate with his heavy backpack loaded with gear, where he was informed they were downhill lift passes worth approximately $300 hundred dollars. He skied in the morning, paid the cheaper fee ($49) for the back country, then headed in for an overnight stay at a warming hut. “It was so beautiful with no clouds the whole time I was there.”
The trip is self-funded from money he saved from working last year. “I’m raising money for Give Directly, which is a charity that makes direct cash transfers to the world’s poorest people, mostly in Africa. I found it through a charity evaluating website called www.givewell.org. I haven’t spent much money at all. People have been incredibly generous in opening their homes along the way and I‘m camping, so it’s been a combination of these. I’ve only paid for accommodation three times, and I’ve been on the road for two months.”
Olly didn’t have a particular destination in mind, but he really enjoys writing about his journey, sharing it with people through his blog. He started the charity fundraiser because people were asking how they could support his adventure; although he doesn’t need the money personally, he wanted people to be able to help, which is what the fundraiser for Give Directly accomplishes.
Since coming north along Highway 5 he says he’s been hearing that the North Thompson River has never been this low. “No snow has been an interesting part of this adventure. As a skier there is so much grief that comes from not being able to do the thing that I really love doing because there’s no snow. The running has almost become like this rebellion, like if I can’t ski then I’m going to run.”
Olly adds that although the trip has “felt like spring for much of the time,” he sounds hopeful for some snow ahead as he continues on towards Jasper.
Hearing that he was headed to Blue River the next day, another connection was made, with Thompson-Nicola Regional District director Lee Onslow’s family offering their support when he reached them during what would be the thick of the storm. Jean Nelson escorted him to Blue River, her family’s former hometown, into the care of the Onslows.
“What a lovely young guy he is,” Lee Onslow said to me the day after Olly arrived in Blue River. “We are enjoying having him here. He needs a bit of a rest and we are happy to have met him.”
As for Olly? He’s going to stay in touch, letting us know how his adventure is going. He’s hoping his plans work out for some good telemark snow as he heads to Jasper, then on to Banff.
