RAILWAY PORTAGE AT ALLENWATER BRIDGE.
W
e meet a pickup truck along a skinny gravel swath that carves through the Boreal just outside of Wabakimi’s reach. Saplings stretch into the road seeking sunlight, making it feel like the forest is quickly reclaiming this brief human diversion.
A few in our group jump into the bed of the pickup and the rest of us
squish into the cabin. We’re sardined four abreast in the back seat when Mears confides in a posh British accent, “Well, I’m rather more used to trav- eling in first class.” His chuckle means he’s joking, I think. Our return to the world of 24-hour news networks stirs political conver-
sation, a newspaper is brought out, and iPhones chirp and sing. We reluctantly catch up on bad news we were privileged enough to forget
for a week. Technology already chips away at the peace the forest has culti- vated. Bouncing around on that gravel road, something Mears said earlier in the trip comes back to me. “We’re all on this planet on a journey through the universe together.
Whatever our differences, we need to work together to take care of it,” he warned. “Of course, I don’t push that view. Once people start to learn the skills, nature does the rest.”~
If You Go
In the vast Wabakimi interior trip possibilities are endless. Contact Wabakimi Wilderness Outfit- ters (
www.wabakimi.com) for trip planning ad- vice. Wildlife enthusiasts may be delighted with sightings of moose, woodland caribou, bears and wolves, while bird watchers will find raven, grey jay, osprey, bald eagle and loons. Historians will be fascinated by the enduring legacy of the local First Nations. Trip launching point, Armstrong Station, is
three hours by car north of Thunder Bay. Those coming from the United States can expect several hours of beautiful scenery traveling from Minnesota. For a more direct route, Thunder Bay is a short 90-minute flight from travel hub Toronto.
Get the chance to experience Wabakimi on a trip guided by Ray Mears and Becky Mason. Get details at
www.rapidmedia.com/0345.
www.canoerootsmag.com | 41
WIN A TRIP
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