Judy Smith 🇨🇦 - Rambler Profile

Judy Smith is an intrepid rambler who loves to hike, bike and participate in competitive rowing in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Canada. She is a lifelong educator, school principal and mother of two grown kids.

She lives in the beautiful North Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This area is called The Warmland by the Coast Salish people because the temperatures are mild (for Canada), and there is enough sunshine to support many thriving wineries.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in North Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, and I remember it as a wild and free place. I roamed the streets and played in the woods until Mom called us home for dinner. I feel like I was always in bare feet, too. It was a wonderful childhood!

I've been lucky to live in a few wonderful places! After university, I got my first job in Penticton, in the interior of British Columbia, and lived some very happy years with my own beach on Lake Okanagan.

Later, work took me to the north to Prince George. There, I lived near the river and backed onto green space that would take you all the way to the Yukon if you walked straight north. Bears, foxes, owls, and moose regularly visited my backyard. We skied 100 days a year and spent our summers camping.

Then, work moved me to the Gulf Islands in southern British Columbia. I've lived on three of them - Gabriola, Galiano, and Salt Spring.

I currently live in North Cowichan and couldn't be happier. The mountains and woods in the Cowichan Valley are endless, and access to the rest of spectacular Vancouver Island is so easy.

What is your favorite music?

Musically, I'm partial to the punk girls. Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hind, Marianne Faithful … all of them!

What is your favorite color?

My favorite color is red! I've tried to like other colors. I told people it was purple for years. But red always emerges. My car is red. So are my watch and my phone. I have a red wicker chair in my garden. I love red Converse Allstars. I have to make a conscious effort to choose other colors. Given a choice of color on anything, I will undoubtedly pick red!

Where is your favorite place to ramble?

My favorite place to ramble is amongst the giants. Big trees speak to my soul. I remember my first hike to the Carmanah Valley on Vancouver Island. It was Christmas Day, and there was absolutely no one else there or on the long logging road to get there. I stepped out of the car and into the forest and immediately felt small in the silence and watchfulness of the thousand-year-old giants.

Since then, hiking the Harriet Nahanni trail in the Walbran Valley has cemented my relationship with these elders. I am awestruck each time I spend a day with them.

What are the top five things on your bucket list?

Travel. Travel. Travel. Travel. Travel.

I have a massive fear of heights. I discovered this when I went ziplining. The ziplining was fun, but walking over wobbly bridges to an unstable platform was incredibly hard. Raised heart rate, fast, shallow breathing. Sweating. Swearing at people who tried to help.

You know - all the signs of trauma. Now, I can't even stand watching others go near edges they may fall off.

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