Bill Davidson (1947–2003) was born on 12 October 1947 in Alberta, Canada, and grew up in an orphanage.
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.
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 campsites on many remote islands.
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 6 December he mentioned experiencing "lower back & stomach pains".