For most people, camping in BC. It means logging on to the BC Parks website and looking to book a prime location in a provincial park.
Steve Wallis is not most people.
A quick glance at his YouTube channel reveals that Wallis has an unusual vision for the ideal campsite.
Earlier this month, Wallis took viewers to camp at a scenic roundabout on Langford Parkway in Langford, and the video has been viewed more than 2.6 million times.
“How could you not want to spend the night there?” Wallis asked CTV News in an interview this week, before showing how the bushes at the roundabout opened up to a dry, secluded spot large enough to One of them camped.
He calls this adventure “urban stealth camping.”
“It’s hard for me to explain it because it sounds like I’ve lost my mind,” Wallis said. “It’s just a fun sense of adventure, and I think it’s harmless.”
He said most of his viewers feel the same way, although sometimes it takes a while for people to “get it.”
“When every wave of new subscribers joins after a bigger video like this, some people never understand what it’s about and don’t like it, and then there are other people who get it and say, ‘Yeah, you know eh? That’s neat,” Wallis said.
On his website, he describes himself as a man on a mission to “recamp for the people.”
That’s not to say his methods are combative. He doesn’t do any dangerous stunts and always puts away all his junk and any other junk he finds.
“It’s more like Mr. Rogers breaking the rules at the roundabout,” Wallis said.
He knew his hobby was illegal, but it was usually a fairly minor infraction, punishable by fines similar to the ones for jaywalking or walking the dog without a lead. This is also to avoid getting caught. That’s why he never secretly camped in the same place twice.
“I won’t do it again,” he said of his stay at the roundabout.
“And I don’t encourage anyone to do that.”
