Every year, as the calendar flips from August to September, the flow of tourism that descends upon Canada’s natural wonders retreats back to urban comfort. As the wild returns to the wilderness, so do I for my annual shoulder season adventure. This has become an annual pilgrimage for me over the years. With all the wildfires that have been tearing through western Canada this year, my plans were more fluid than usual…and by fluid, I mean that backcountry plan after plan…
The aurora borealis are a beautiful wonder of nature. Over my entire life, I have seen the night sky erupt in dancing northern lights a few times – usually unexpectedly when I am camped in the woods and I happen to poke my head out from the tent in the middle of the night. Watching them silently move across the sky, it is easy to understand how people have believed them to be spirits of animals and ancestors. In all honesty, in the awe of the moment it is still easy …
“Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.”
–Yoko Ono
A couple months ago, my partner and I sought out respite from the urban jungle and holed up in a quiet cabin in the woods. When a storm blew in, quiet quickly became isolation. Footprints were covered, visibility all but disappeared, and even the birds were nowhere to be found. But with nature as our entertainer, and a large pile of firewood just a short walk away from the cabin, we settled in to be …
This year, winter in Winnipeg has been brutal. I have held off on this post for a while now, because the cold is one of those things that you really don’t want to draw attention to, at least while you’re still going through it. Instead, it’s better to just focus yourself on getting through it day by frigid day, breath by frosty breath.
But – we survived! I sat on the frozen riverbank just the other morning basking in the sun’s forgotten warmth, and it seriously felt …
Sometimes just north of Winnipeg we are lucky enough to see the northern lights (aurora borealis) dancing upon our night sky. Unfortunately more often than not, there are a few practical issues that ruin the viewing of this rare, celestial event: it might be clouds rolling in at the last minute, a bright moon overpowering the lights, mosquitoes, or even just frigid cold. I’ve been there. And I’ve experienced them all.
This past Thursday evening however, we…