Ray Richards
Vancouver Island, British Columbia
A lifelong hiker, camper, and paddler who trained in deep-wilderness travel and cold-weather safety, and a technology journalist and editor of more than twenty years. He founded Wilderness Experts to give everyday adventurers clear, field-tested guidance and honest gear reviews.
From the trailhead to this site
Ray first attended St. John's School of Ontario in 1979, an institution focused equally on education and on meeting significant challenges in the outdoors. He thrived in the bush, taking part in deep-wilderness activities including snowshoe races that started before dawn and ended after dusk, and arduous month-long canoe trips that taught him the skills needed to succeed in the harsh Canadian climate.
The year before he arrived, the school suffered a tragedy on Lake Temiskaming, where a canoeing accident took the lives of twelve students and one teacher, primarily from hypothermia, after their canoes capsized on that notorious lake. In the aftermath, the school radically reformed its approach to safety, insisting that every student was thoroughly prepared for any eventuality in the bush or on the water. Much of that training lives on this site, and it is why Wilderness Experts places such emphasis on preparedness, on knowing what you are getting into, and on getting back home safely.
A career spent making complex things clear
Away from the water, Ray has spent more than twenty years as a technology columnist and editor, writing for regional, national, and international publications and hosting a two-hour technology program on one of Canada's largest talk-radio stations. From 2010 to 2015 he edited and published an iOS photography magazine distributed by Apple in 155 countries. That work all came down to the same discipline this site runs on: finding the clearest way to say something worth saying, and never dressing up a simple point to sound more impressive than it is.
Why it matters here
Wilderness Experts is written the way a seasoned guide briefs you at the trailhead: calm, direct, and respectful of your judgement. Ray recommends only gear he would carry himself, states risks plainly, and never uses fear to grab your attention. Now living on Vancouver Island, he is fortunate to experience this jewel of Canadian wilderness year round, and he built this site so that others can enjoy the outdoors as fully, and as safely, as he has.