May 2008
After 14 days on the remote Wind River, our group is excited
as
we approach the Peel Canyon. The mammoth canyon entrance
towered about
the landscape. The walls must be over 300 feet tall.
A grey mist
drops from the sky filling the canyon with an Asian aura.
The
mist drops to river level reflecting on the water and blurring the
line between river and sky. Short, slanted trees guard the canyon rim.
Everyone is deathly quiet. The only sounds are the river and the
dripping
of our paddles. Cryptic, deformed rock faces stare at us from
the
canyon walls.
We round a corner with a Picasso like
deformed face on the canyon wall,
and we see unworldly splashes of
color drawing us out of our grey world.
We paddle towards
the color and are greeted by an adventurous German
couple.
We
camp nearby and in the evening they regale us with stories of their
experiences in the North and across the world. Around the campfire
they
cast a spell with their stories. A group of rabid paddlers
chatting about
rivers past, present and future. They have paddled all
the rivers we have
imagined visiting. The Mountain, Hart, Firth,
Blackstone....even the
Bonnet Plume. When we head out the next morning
my thoughts are of
the rivers I begin planning next years
trip.
Peter is professional
photographer based in Whitehorse, Yukon. Introduced to wilderness travel
and adventure at a young age by his parents, he took up photography in
1999 focusing his work on wilderness and wildlife conservation. From
1999-2001 Peter worked on protecting Alaska’s ANWR and the calving grounds
of the Porcupine Caribou Herd from industrial oil development. This
involved many fun wilderness photography trips in Alaska and Yukon to
create an inspiring and educational slideshow that toured across the
United States.
Peter’s images have appeared in
numerous magazines and calendars from across the North. He is the
co-author of a guidebook, “Paddling in the Yukon,” and was a
prominent contributor to the highly acclaimed fine art photography book,
“Three Rivers – The Great Boreal Wilderness.”
Bill Mason’s Campfire
Tent
Half a decade ago, on a lazy summer afternoon, I lay sprawled
out on my parent’s living room floor. I was bored stiff
in the way only a teenager can be, and in an effort to relieve the boredom
I picked up a tattered copy of Path of the Paddle that was
abandoned on our dusty floor. I became mesmerized by
the words and images of Bill Mason (affectionately known across Canada
simply as Bill). Bill’s philosophy on
?living and canoeing struck a deep
chord in me – a chord that still vibrates today. One of
the greatest gifts that Bill gave me was the inspiration to explore the
rivers and lakes of Canada by canoe and to bring with me
his famed Campfire Tent. Bill treasured
the campfire tent because it gave him the means not simply to travel
outdoors, but to live outdoors.
