Dawn has yet to break, but over the flat horizon a faint orange glow begins to dispel the darkness that covers the still water of Lake Egenolf.
In the waning darkness, a jetty slowly emerges, at the end of which stands a 1950s De Havilland Beaver, the legendary seaplane of the north of the country. It’s my first morning in subarctic Manitoba, one of Canada’s three vast prairie provinces.
As the sun rises over the pristine spruce forest of an island near the coast, the staff and guests at Gangler’s North Seal River Lodge, my base for the next four days, begin their morning routine.
I’m just short of the border between Manitoba and Nunavut, the fabled north of the 60th region (the area of Canada that lies north of the 60th parallel) and home of the Inuit.
The recent BBC series Race Across The World has sparked interest in Canada, but this fascinatingly remote part of the country seems to have missed the cut. Maybe just because it’s so far. From the UK it is a flight to Toronto, Ontario and on to Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. A night at The Peg will help ease the fatigue of the journey before boarding a De Havilland Dash 8, Gangler’s Lodge’s private jet, at 5.30am for the last three hours to drive to the country’s far north to fly
Light Fantastic: Doug McKinlay travels to Canada’s subarctic province of Manitoba and stays at Gangler’s North Seal River Lodge overlooking Egenolf Lake (photo)
As difficult as it is to get here, it is a true foreign adventure. Gangler’s is a five-star fly-in/fly-out facility; The nearest road is 180 miles south. The lodge’s farms cover an immense expanse of nearly 19,000 square miles of pristine wilderness, a spider web of 12 river systems and more than 100 lakes that feed into one of Canada’s largest rivers, the North Seal.
Founded in 1985 by native Chicago fisherman and outfitter Ken Gangler and his father Wayne, Gangler’s Lodge is dedicated to offering trophy fishing and hunting trips to the affluent traveler.
The large numbers of pike, grayling and lake trout that attracted visitors felt (almost) like shooting fish in a barrel, but a few years ago things started to change. Ken looked at the future of the lodge from a different perspective.
No longer hunting, he sees Gangler turning into an ecotourism destination focused on educating visitors about wildlife and environmental sustainability, and on the local culture of the indigenous people, the Danes and the Cree, just two of the more than Celebrating 650 recognized indigenous groups in Canada. .
“This place is certainly an angler’s dream, but it is more than that,” he says. “My goal in the coming years is to open up the lodge and its surroundings to more people who are not hunting or fishing, people who are really curious about Northern Canada. It’s a wonderful place and I want to show it to as many people as possible.”
While the caribou herds can rest, game viewing, mountain biking, kayaking and canoeing are the mainstays.
The lodge is a large wooden construction with a high pitched roof. Inside is a cozy bar next to a large chimney-style fireplace, with a pool table in one corner and shelves of board games and books. The center of the room consists of sofas and soft armchairs, while large floor-to-ceiling windows let in the northern lights.
About 20 yards from the lodge is a busy fire pit surrounded by sturdy Adirondack chairs, providing the perfect backdrop for campfire chats and Northern Lights viewing.
Gangler’s Lodge is an ecotourism destination focused on educating visitors about nature and environmental sustainability
Authentic: The central area of Gangler’s Lodge has large windows to ‘let in the northern lights’.
Doug says Manitoba is “awkward” to get there from the UK
The Americans Mike Schibel and Christine Peterson will be there. Like me, they have a genuine desire to immerse themselves deeply in this environment. “Gangler’s sits in the middle of this amazing natural resource: wildlife, Northern Lights, First Nations cultures and too many lakes to count,” says Christine.
“And the way Ken is shifting his focus to customers who don’t enjoy hunting and fishing is so progressive that it has to be the way forward.”
After a quick coffee and pastry we head to the jetty to meet Brian Kotak, Gangler’s resident biologist. He is exactly what I expect from a wilderness biologist: thick-rimmed glasses, graying hair, dumb sense of humor. Although he cannot jump tall buildings in one go, his superpower is knowledge of all the region’s flora and fauna, as well as the geological and cultural history of the province.
Our aluminum hulled boat glides across mirror-smooth Lake Egenolf to the Robertson Esker, a long ridge of sand and gravel that towers 140 meters above the surrounding land. It was formed by meltwater channels on and in glaciers during the last ice age when the ice retreated 8,000 years ago.
Relatively treeless and with a high windswept vantage point, Eskers have been important routes for wildlife and the region’s First Nations for millennia. Fresh animal tracks embedded in the sand show how busy it can be on this tundra highway.
The outdoors: Doug describes Manitoba as “one of Canada’s last great wildernesses”
“Welcome to the Great Canadian Poo Tour,” jokes Brian, kicking over a week-old pile of wolf poo.
He sits atop Robertson Esker and holds court, bringing to life the geological history of these sandhills and the role they play in the region’s people, past and present. He can also produce a very convincing moose call.
The larger topography beyond the Esker tapers to low rolling hills covered with stands of stunted black spruce, fig and birch trees of the boreal forest. The ground is covered with a thick, spongy blanket of yellow lichen, winter forage for migrating herds of caribou.
Today’s hikers can snack on blueberries, cranberries, cloudberries and raspberries, Doug reveals
Blueberries, blueberries, cloudberries and raspberries abound – all snacks for passing polar or black bears, bison or even modern day hikers. This is the land of the little chopsticks, an indigenous Cree and Dene description of the forests that are their ancestral home.
I didn’t come to fish, but it’s almost impossible to ignore. “There is an incredible population of pike in these lakes,” said Stephen Snipper, 79, an American guest at the lodge. “You can catch them forever with no significant skill or impact on the numbers.”
Two members of our group are tasked with catching four pike which our Cree and Dene guides then use to do what is called a ‘walllunch’.
Doug says polar bears are part of the country’s diverse wildlife
Big animals: Black bears and bison roam the region, Doug reveals
Brothers Travis and Tyler Merasty of the Cree Nation begin preparing fish and potatoes while Simon Antsanen of the Danes tends the fire and opens cans of baked beans that are cooked in the can over an open fire.
Sitting miles away on a pristine sandy beach is one of those rare moments when everything comes together: good food, interesting company, beautiful light.
But my day is not over yet, we race back to the lodge as afternoon falls. Nearby, on the side of the lodge’s 1,700m airstrip, is a small two-person cabin. A wolf and her cubs have been seen near the airstrip in the last few days and I would like to try my luck to see them. I know it’s a good place; In addition to the thin nylon structure, numerous wolf tracks are printed in the sand, some old and some new.
I barely had time to straighten my wobbly chair when she sauntered onto the catwalk. There are no cubs this time, but she is impressive, tall and healthy with a natural curiosity that compels her to stop for me. But in no time it was all over. She stops, she looks and then she’s gone.
As the sky turns to night and dinner is over, the fire pit is lit and we all wait to see if Mother Nature’s light show appears. We wait and we wait. Slowly the group thins out, Christine goes first, followed by Mike and then Ken; The adventure of the day takes its toll.
At 1am I’m alone and the fire is pretty much dead. Then, very slowly, the sky reveals the aurora. It dances across the horizon in curtains of green and red and is reflected in the shallow waters of the lake. I am alone with the Northern Lights for over an hour, a fantastic end to a fascinating experience in one of Canada’s last great wildernesses.
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
