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2005 Buyer’s Guide: Solo


Solo, Then So High


Finding solitude can be hard when you’re looking for it alone


story by Laurel Archer …photo by Henry Georgi


ON PAPER, NORTHERN Saskatchewan looks like an easy place to be alone. Maps show few roads, few settlements—almost nothing to interrupt the serenity of a solo trip.


I had been looking forward to getting back here to paddle some rivers I hadn’t yet explored, but 18 days into the 40-day trip the wind that is battering my tent is having the same effect on my mind. I’m lying in my tent, try- ing to ignore the voices that keep reminding me of all the disasters that could befall me here, so far from any help. It’s logical to be vigilant, alert, but will this cacophony ever stop? I don’t have the experi- ence to know and no one to talk to, except the voices. They aren’t very helpful. Paradoxically, my body is fit, and I’ve never travelled so effi- ciently, so gracefully. Inside my sleeping bag, I wrap my tanned arms around my torso and feel solid muscle and bone. Being alone, my observa- tion skills and my intuitive knowledge have reached lev-


40 www.canoeroots.ca


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