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AR TSM E Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 5559) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: rjerred@haltonsearch.com \\l I>\i s i > \ N .H M- I I . 21XX3 · <H Nine-day hike on West Coast Trail spawns book Husband and wife team confront challenges offered by grueling trek By Craig MacBride SPECIAL T O T H E OAKVILLE BEAVER couple's 30th anniversary can mean a lot of things, but facing death while hiking treacherous trails is not a typical way to celebrate. Carl and Sue Dinka. however, thought it was exactly what their mar riage needed. In September 2(XX). they hiked the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, a feat they planned to complete in seven days, but one that ended up taking them nine. The 65-kilometre trail is etched along the coast of the island from Bamfield to Port Renfrew and is part of Pacific Rim National Park -- estab lished through lobbying by the environ mental group the Sierra Club to save the ecosystem from logging. Described in the park's Hiker Preparation Guide as "one of the most grueling treks in North Am erica," the hike did give Carl moments of uncer tainty. " W e had continuing doubts." he said in an interview at his house in old Oakville. " You're pretty much on your own once you're on it, and they warn you it w ill take 24 hours to reach you by helicopter if something goes wrong." And there are plenty of things that can go wrong. Also from the Hiker Preparation Guide: " you are required to wade rivers, use cable cars, negotiate steep slopes, climb ladders and follow an irregular slippery trail." That all sounds difficult enough on its own. but it should be pointed out that Carl's backpack weighed 55 pounds, and Sue's weighed 37. " Everything's wet and slippery, moss-covered," Carl said o f the trail. "Sue (a nurse) had a fall on a poorlymaintained boardwalk. She could move, and she got on her feet." B y C arl's account though. Sue. who had terrible blisters along with her other troubles, didn't complain once, dealing with the pain and continuing the trek. Along with the blisters and bruised back. Sue was on the verge of hypother mia at one point. "It was much more difficult than I anticipated." she said. "There were many times I thought, `what am I doing here?'" In afterthought. Carl related the hike to a divide in their lives together. There was life before the hike, and life after wards. After 30 years o f marriage, raising their children and helping them through university, life stalled, and the main challenges seemed to be behind them. It was also became a divide individ ually for Carl, who always wanted to write a book but never felt he had the experience necessary. In his youth, as a student at O akville Trafalgar High School, he always imag ined him self heading to Europe and becoming a writer, but pragmatism kept him in the area and led him into accounting, where he eventually opened his own successful practice. It seemed that the writing life had eluded him. until the hike. The hike inspired him to write out his experience on the West Coast Trail. "W hen I finished the trip, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and how 1viewed my life as it was and what the future held. So, 1 wrote it down chronological Nicholas, a professional magazine edi tor and writer. "H e gave me the mechanics o f it." Carl said, " which let me tell the story. That was another divide. learning from my son. and it was a great experience." The writing of the book. Carl said, was more difficult than he had expect ed. but the end result was sim ilar to the feeling he had following the hike. " It's one of the most satisfying things I 've ever done." he said of hiking the trail. "It's a creative act. because you put yourself out there. There's a parallel to being put out there on a trail and w rit ing a book. It's like stepping off a cliff." The satisfaction of completing the book, and the learning that accompa nied the process, was the point of the exercise. Carl didn't do it to make money but to divide his life again, though he does aim to sell 5(X) copies of the book this year. Dividing the West Coast Trail is a quick read, and a solid account o f a fas cinating trip. It's a book about two fair ly average 50-somethings in an extraor dinary situation, making mistakes, hurt ing and learning about themselves, their marriage and the history' of the West Coast Trail. Some of the most interesting parts of the book are about history, like the fact that Bam field is a skewed version of one of the town's first developers' sur name, W illiam Banfield. The research complements the sheer adventure of the hike. Also included in the book is original artwork by local artist, and the Dinkas' neighbour. Don Morrison, who hiked the trail before the Dinkas and, with the artwork, has managed to capture the wonder of the West Coast Trail, as w ell as the exhausted wonderment of the men and women who hike it. Dividing the West Coast Trail is available at Pick of the Crop on the cor ner of Lakeshore Road and Dunn Street and Booker's bookstore at 172 Lakeshore Road East. Copies can also be purchased by calling Carl Dinka at 905-845-8616. ' A Harrison Smith · Special to the Oakville Beaver C arl and Sue Dinka celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary by hiking the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. The 65-kilometre trek prompted C arl to write a hook about their experiences. Dividing the West Coast Trail is avail able through C arl or at Pick of the Crop, located in downtown Oakville. process of writing it out, he realized he wanted to publish it. Being an entrepreneur at heart. Carl decided to shirk publishing houses and do it himself. "1 like doing things m yself." he said. "It might have never happened if I tried to get it published, and I wasn't enam oured by the time it'd take and losing the control." The notion of the hike dividing his life made its way into the book, and divides were found in many other aspects of the trip. "There are divides other than geo graphical: those that separate stages in life; those that separate men and women, parents and their children: and. cultural and racial divides - those that separate native and non-native peo ples." Carl wrote in his book. The last division, between natives and non-natives, was an important one for Carl. "The concept of the divide came afterwards, but there were these tiny Indian villages (along the hike). They were fantastic people." he said. "The connection of those people with the wilderness, and then us in our technolog ical world, it's such a huge divide." His initial chronological account of the trip became a more well-rounded book over the two years he worked on it. and a lot of help came from his son ly " Originally, he wrote Dividing the West Coast Trail for his fam ily and his friends, but as he got deeper into the RBC V 'V 'S T U \ l . <M *` C I.A S S 1 C S jsrr.K'ii/.* W illia m S liak c s|tc arr'H i i 1 1 : T h e P e rfe c t G ift F o r D a d ? l t d O b v io iu i. Dad always loved dancing. Isn't it time he really learned how ? G et Dad onto the dance floor with the help of the dance professionals at Fred Astaire. It's the gift that w ill make you both happy. ' ** to * w . . J B a fto m tn U y M I L E S P O I T E R / * Inspirational hip-hop at `root' of new Christian CD By Craig MacBride SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Hip-hop music generally inspires fury in the parents of the children who listen to it. but a new compilation C D and an upcoming concert may change that per ception. Producer DeShaun Jones of Extol Music released the Christian hip-hop compilation GODRoots Volume 1: Inspirations from the Underground on Tuesday, which is heard on JO Y 1250 A M Radio's Pray'z Jo y'n t show. Jones has also organized a concert to show off the performers on the disc. Among those who w ill take the stage on Friday in Brampton at the Kennedy Road Tabernacle is Testament, a per former who was bom and raised in Oakville and recently won the best hiphop/rap album at the 2003 Vibe Gospel People Choice Awards for his latest EP. " W e're using hip-hop because we like it," Jones said, "but we're also spreading the good news and pushing a positive lifestyle, not just a religion." Mainstream hip-hop music, often associated with violence, sexism and dnig abuse, is not generally considered as positive. That's what Jones wants to change. "The messages in the mainstream are getting redundant." he said. " Inspirational hip-hop inspires you to deal with paiblems in a positive way." Just as being labeled hip-hop can be an obstacle, being labeled Christian can do the same. A lot of people, Jones said, don't want to be preached at and feel alienated by religion. As a result. Jones calls their music inspirational hip-hop, and Testament refers to it as positive hiphop. " Personally, I'm a Christian because I believe in Christ," Testament said, " not just religion." As inspirational or positive hip-hop, the lyrics in the songs are quite different than what you'll find in a typical hip-hop song. The same can be said about the music. Describing Testament's style. Jones called it " very street-driven, under ground. It's really raw." Testament agrees, adding, "as soon as you hear it, you know it's not mainstream. It's very underground and urban." The GODRoots concert is on Friday at 7 p.m. at Kennedy Road Tabernacle. 141 Kennedy Rd. N. in Brampton. J U L Y M o n d ay 9 to A U G A 9, 2003 !· > S a tu r d a y at 8 :0 0 pm , C o ro n atio n H ark, O a k v ille T IC K E T S no^ 9 0 5 -8 1 5 -2 0 2 1 RKAVKK B o o k f c iM . r? DANCE STUDtOS 1 block west o f Trafalgar Rd. ss% ^ · c M V 9 0 5 -8 4 2 -3 7 9 7 M H O H O m .A U CH f' ^ 3 R8t fin an cial HH( (.ro u p 22 5 L ak esh o re R o ad E ast, 2nd Floor · D ow ntow n Oakville (Emnncc from both Likeshorc Road and parking lor off Church Street) FOR SEAFOOD LOVERS Every w e e k e n d til Father's Day-June 15 /c 3 A nnual M aritim e Lobster & Seafood Festival To his best C M V buddies, he's , ` 'Y S M a the star goalie ' / V in the league: to his kids he is the best-ever m onsfer-voice Impersonator a t story-time: to his employers, he's a promising young salesman leading hts territory: to his wife, he's the sexiest, sweetest guy on earth: glMimjJiion of a Servedfnday and Saturday eveninss Avast selection of hot and cold seafood deltshts, and a 1 5 lb lobster served hot and fresh to ^our table with each adult buffet. * 3 5 . 9 5 ' ' -adult ` 17 .9 5 ;cni Id 7-19 years old HAIDA CARDEN CAFf · 5 . 9 5 ` fchild 6yrs & under Adult include a 15 lb tooster *Ta»and sraturv not ncufed H a i d a R e s e r v a t i o n s ( *os) 282-823 T ' f a CZ v a J t Co rv \& & tk , ' W ca Z & enter to an d if you give us our way. we'll help keep him around for a long, long time. W IN a trip to NEW BRUNSWICK & Experience the N atural Wonders... Grand Prize Vacation Draw * h i tarty the Canadian way to travel and It i all out k u u ry l Travel lo and from New Bruiwwidt by V IA R oll Canada Travel fin t d a » from an Ontario Main Hotton nearest the winner i horn* w v « # d by VIA la d Canode to Montreal and change to b ilw f y d m deeping auommodattom between Manfred and Moncton. N r . Brunvekfc Return from Moncton to Montreal on board [m le d y d a u lleeong occomroodatwm and then fin t ckm VIA I on to the Ontario troin ihttlon nearest the winner i home hek up your five-day automobile rental while in New Brumvntk compfonenti of N e w B run sw ick Tosrism and P o rk * * In Memranxook. retreat to a world Id of waterfall moisogei, lu iu rto u i body wrapi and magical relasotion all tel ogaimt the backdrop of gently rolling countryiide and rich Acadian hntory. 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