Seeking Solitude Canoe Trip

Hey Everyone
Just wanted to let you know that our Algonquin canoe trips are in full swing and we have many exciting trips planned for the rest of the summer. Call Wendy in our Northern Edge office or check out the website for more details.

I have just returned home from a week in the park on the Seeking Solitude trip and it was a truly magical experience. The beauty of the park at this time of year is unparalled, so many shades of green in the forest. Our trip coincided with the full moon and we watched her rise above the Algonquin hills each night before going to sleep under the stars. We got the chance to see lots of the local wildlife including; moose, muskrat, beaver, great-blue herons, american bitterns, loons snapping turtles and many other species. For the two nights we spent on Biggar lake we were the only people there and had the chance to experience the solitude and serenity that comes with spending multiple days in a wilderness setting.

We shared a lot of great food, amazing stories and laughter around the camp fire at night and grew into a 'tight-knit' family by the end of the week. I'm thankful to the land and the waters that we paddled together as well as to all those who joined us on this Algonquin wilderness adventure. Until next time.....

Happy paddling

Alexis

Urban Edibles

Over last weekend Earth Tracks ran an 'Urban Edible and Medicinal' Plants class in Toronto. The program was sponsored by the Pine Project and was a great success. We were close to High Park and had a reat opportunity to view some of the many plants that were begining to emerge from the soils after a long winter. Some of the many plants that we got to see and experience were dandelion, garlic mustard, common plantain, Burdock, curly dck, trilliums, blue cohosh, mayapple and many others. It was nic to be able to offer this class in the city and I was very happy to begin offering classes in combination with the Pine Project and look forward to offering many more programs through them in the coming years. The next scheduled program in Toronto will be from June 19-21st -- Wildlife Tracking and Nature Awareness

Enjoy the Spring!

**All Photos by Andrew McMartin (www.pineproject.org)

Drum Making Workshop

On the Weekend of April 18-19th Earth Tracks ran a 'Drum Making Workshop' at the Blue Canoe in South River. Everyone that participated learned a lot about making drums and working with hides and we made 8 new drums for the world. It felt good to facilitate this experience knowing that these people would use these drums in a good way. It is a sacred journey making a drum and I was truly impressed with the passion and enthusiasm that was brought by everyone involved. I'm looking forward to to offering another drum workshop in the fall. Keep an eye on the schedule on our website and feel free to contact me directly if you are interested. www.earthtracks.ca earthtracks@gmail.com
You can also visit our facebook page to see all of the photos from this event
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Meaford-ON/Earth-Tracks/9304677737?ref=nf

Happy Drumming

Ice Skating at the Edge

Spring is in the air up here in Algonquin country and there are signs of the changing of the seasons around every corner. The Crows and Gulls have returned and I’ve been watching the Ravens gathering nesting material for quite some time now. Makes me wonder how the Owls are doing and if there young have hatched yet? Owls are early nesters and the young are in the nest even when there is still snow on the ground. Amazing and powerful birds! This morning I crossed the lake with my ice skates and had a great time skating close to shore where the ice was smooth and solid. This is perhaps the last time that I will get to enjoy this experience and it was an incredible amount of fun! It is a really cool feeling to skate on a frozen lake with such an expansive view. I’ve included a video here of my morning skate for you to enjoy. Anyways we are busy planning for the upcoming season here at Northern Edge and our first canoe trip of the season is fast approaching in a little over a month. The Nipissing River Trip promises to be an exhilarating and exciting paddle across Algonquin Park. One of my favorite rivers to canoe. There’s still space on this trip, please visit the website for more information.

Wolf Sighting!

The other day I was heading back to the island and I had an amazing encounter with one of my favorite animals -- the Eastern Wolf! All of a sudden this wolf came out of the forest onto the snowbank beside the road and stopped, we gazed at each other for what seemed like an eternity (a few seconds!) before it retreated just into the trees. It then moved parralel to the road for about 75 feet before crossing in front of me. At this point I didn't have my camera ready, which was too bad, seeing as the wolf was only about 20' away. It was amazing and very powerful to see this beautiful animal so close. As it moved into the woods and across a frozen bog I quietly followed to the edge of he tree line and watched as it climbed a small hill and sat down looking back in my direction. We each stood silently for close to 5 minutes. The wolf then began to come back down the hill towards me and I managed to get this short video. What a gift to experience this moment. I spend so much time each winter trailing these animals and there has only been a few occasions when I have been fortunate enough to see one. After the wolf left I explored the woods where it had originally come from and found two beds located in a sunny opening in the forest. I followed the trail for a while and then decided to 'let it go', revelling in the events that had just unfolded. I'm thankful to this animal for letting me see it and for the many teachings that continue to come to me as a result of it. May the power of the Wolf continue to shine in the forests and hearts of all those it touches.

Success at the Ottawa Green Show

Wendy and I (Alexis) , set up at the ‘Go Green’ show in Ottawa this past weekend and it was a great success. The show ran on Saturday and Sunday and there were literally thousands of people who were in attendance. We were super-thrilled to talk about our own programs (Earth Tracks,Yoga Retreats and Adventures, Wilderness Arts/Canoe Tripping) as well as all of the programs that happen at the Edge including Shamanism, Creative Arts and Experiential Education. People showed a genuine interest in all facets of our programs and we met a wide array of folks eager to live and learn about ‘greener’ lifestyles.



It was nice to see some familiar faces at the show including people who have already visited the Edge as well as meet new people who will hopefully visit us this coming season. Throughout the weekend people stopped by our booth to ‘bang the drum’ and play with the hand and bow-drill techniques of making fire. Most people seemed to have this uncontrollable ‘urge’ or ‘calling’ to hit the drum. This makes sense, At the Edge we strive to fulfill these urges and callings through our programs/trainings and provide the space for people to learn, grow, rediscover and embrace thier true selves. To all those who stopped by our booth we thank you for sharing your stories and look forward to seeing you soon at Northern Edge Algonquin.

Winter Camping

The last couple of weekends I have been out with the Outdoor Recreation students from Brock University practicing our winter camping skills. We spent our time in the beautiful beech-maple forests of central Ontario near Dorset. Each weekend was quite different not only because of the diversity of each group, but particularily the weather. During the night on the first trip the temperatures plummeted to a chilly -30 degrees celcius and for the second trip it hovered around the freezing mark. On the first trip, the students were quite happy to have the shelter and insulation of the monstrous quinzee that they built for the second night. It had room for 8 people comfortably! While it was negative thirty outside it was a 'balmy' 0 degrees inside. What a difference! On both trips most of our time was spent learning how to set up and maintain a proper winter camp along with the many lessons of how to stay warm. We also had time to explore the bogs and hills of this area looking for signs of the local wildlife that live in these forests. Some of the tracks that we saw included Fisher, marten, flying squirrel, raccoon, Blue Jay, Red Squirrel and some old wolf trails. We also got to investigate the many bear claw marks climbing the beech trees looking for the tastey and nutritious beech nuts. One group had the magnificant experience of hearing the wolves howl as they combed the hillsides and bog lands looking for thier main source of food -- The white-tail deer. They even responded to the howls of the students as they tried to communicate to these majestic animals of the Canadian Wilderness. I'm thankful to have had the time to spend with this group of people and look forward to many more successful winter camps in the future.