CANADA
Surviving the wild Out here, where the wilderness dwarfs any dwellings, it’s vital ranchers have a few survival tricks up their sleeves. So, three hours later, after returning the horses to the stables, we re-enter the woods with Newfoundland-born Daryl Nippard. He’s the perfect person to lead Echo Valley Ranch & Spa’s Survival Spirit wilderness experience. “‘My dad would drop us off on an island with no shops at the weekend and pick us up on Monday, to teach us how to survive,” he says, pacing light-footedly through the woods, barely snapping a twig. Before coming to the ranch, Daryl lived in Echo Valley for
15 years and was the only non-native to live on the nearby First Nation reserve. “They taught me to dry salmon the way they do, using smoking sheds,” he says, proudly. “Look, no one goes into the bush and plans on getting
lost, but it happens — and if it does, whaddya do first?” he asks. Silence from the group. “First thing: find a spot and sit down,” he teases, seating himself on a tree trunk. “You gotta calm your mind first. If it takes five hours, fine. This thing is your worst nightmare,” he continues, pointing to his head. “But it can also be your greatest asset.” We continue through the woods. Sunlight spears
through the treetops, highlighting neon-green moss and red pops of berries on the forest floor. A squirrel bounds through the leaf litter and the song of invisible birds filters down from the canopy. Daryl points out a set of cougar prints and doles out bush wisdom: “If a squirrel can eat it, you can eat it”; “look for deciduous trees — there’s always
a spring nearby”; “if there’s a bear, light a fire all night and they won’t come near.” He tells us that porcupine tastes like fatty beef and squirrel like bacon. We return to the ranch, hop in a 4x4 and head toward
Fraser River. According to Daryl, it “runs red because it’s so full of salmon”. We roll the car to the edge of Marble Canyon, which yawns so wide it seems to swallow the sky. A few hardy ranchers can be seen in the valley below. I ask Daryl what it is he loves about ranching life.
“The quietness,” he replies, eyes on the horizon. “The vastness of the land lets your mind stretch and calm.”
Ranch hand A 15-minute drive from Echo Valley Ranch & Spa is Big Bar Guest Ranch. Once private acreage, it was bought by the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation community three years ago with the aim of helping the town become economically self-sufficient. Only three members of staff are Indigenous, but they’re working to showcase more of their culture. A 1930s log house stands at the centre of a kitchen
garden, with beehives and a cluster of buildings that offer rooms, plus a handful of smarter log-cabins further away. With no TVs, limited wi-fi and meals taken in a communal dining room where jars of spruce syrup stand on the windowsill, the focus here is on immersion into ranch life. Farm hand Catherine ‘Cat’ Jameson greets us in
dungarees, a cotton neckerchief and a wide-brim straw hat. “I have eight pairs of dungarees in varying stages of decay,” she says with a laugh, wiping her hands on the overalls
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