Kayak Bill

Bill Davidson (1947–2003) was born on October 12, 1947 in Alberta, Canada and grew up in an orphanage. Bill was a pioneer in the Canadian rock climbing scene during the 1970s. After an early free ascent of the North America Wall of El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, in 1970, Bill returned to his native Alberta where he introduced extreme climbing to the Canadian Rockies. Around 1975, Bill suffered a near-fatal fall and left the climbing scene. On a visit to British Columbia he purchased a green and white double Frontiersman kayak, reduced his belongings to what he could carry with him, and traveled the north coast of British Columbia establishing camp sites on many remote islands. "Kayak" Bill often spent winters in Sointula on Malcolm Island where he became a self-taught "outsider" artist—painting fanciful watercolors during the winter months and selling his paintings to purchase supplies for his kayaking travels.
Kayak Bill Davidson died in December 2003, while camping in the Goose Islands group near Hakai, British Columbia. He made daily journal entries and on December 6 he mentioned experiencing "lower back & stomach pains". His last entry was made the next day on December 7. It is believed that he died on December 8, 2003. Bill is survived by one son, Westerly Davidson.