Fleming College

By: Rick Whitteker, Faculty Member & Coordinator,Outdoor Adventure Skills Certificate Program. Students in Outdoor Adventure Skills, a new one year certificate program at the Frost Campus, went on their first winter field camp in Algonquin Park last month. The three night, four day camp included a diverse range of experiences including luging in Bancroft, dog sledding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sleeping out in snow shelters, polar bear dipping and wolf howling. Most of these activities took place in the southern tip of Algonquin Park surrounded by a rushing river, snowy hillsides and mature pines and maples; a great setting for learning about winter pursuits and more. This active field camp started off with a trip to the luge club in Bancroft. Luging is Olympic-style tobogganing. The sled has two narrow steel runners and takes some talent to keep it running down the centre of the track. The mild weather slowed our speed but all could appreciate the skill it takes to subtly steer your sled around turns and down hills while lying flat on your back peering up as little as possible to see what is coming your way. Staying at the Algonquin Ecolodge Our host for our overnight stay was Algonquin Ecolodge, a 32-bed lodge located on Moffat Pond (a small lake) about a three kilometre hike from a secondary road northwest of Bancroft. Off-the-grid, simple but cozy, with a wood stove on the main floor that drew the class together for meals, tea or coffee and plenty of idle banter on the comfy couches, framing the lodge’s only heat source. The program centred around three activity rotations: cross country skiing, snowshoeing and dog sledding. The ski trails were in great shape, groomed and track set, the back country beckoned travel by snowshoe but the big hit was the dog sledding and its 2.5 hour trip along the local trails. The first two dog sled excursions came back with tales of epic crashes and heroic efforts. One such tale included the rearrangement of the guardrail on a small bridge and the unceremonious dumping of their human cargo into the river bank. The third trip was significantly less eventful on a glorious day of sun and cold, with well-behaved dogs and fun, rollicking rides down steep trails. Although there was a moment of anxiety when the lead guide’s sled took off without him, with one of the students in the basket! Demonstrating an impressive show of strength, she was able to apply the breaks with her hands slowing the sled enough for the lumbering guide to catch up. Evenings were spent learning about winter shelters, wolves, relaxing and building the courage for a polar bear dip. As a fundraiser for the World Wildlife Fund and its Polar Bear research, students raised money by dipping into the icy waters of Moffat Pond. Following the enjoyment of the embracing warmth of a wood-fired sauna, the students (and me) experienced the absolutely skin-tingling, body core plunging sensation of a full body dip into a cut out section of ice. Not recommended for the timid or the sane! Perhaps one of the highlights for some was the solo sit and wolf howl on our last night. We were lucky to be granted a still, starry night with no artificial light for miles. The students found a private spot on the lake and drank in the absolute tranquility of this wild, soundless space. Our chorus wolf howl pierced the night and a faint response from the northeast, likely two wolves, greeted out efforts sending all of us back to the wood stove content and excited. Some students chose to stay inside that night, others slept in a quinzhee and another shelter from an ingenious device which makes an igloo from powdered snow. And the learning you may ask? The students were able to experience a range of outdoor adventure pursuits, cooking and living cooperatively under one roof and applying learning from their trip planning, leadership, customer service and risk management courses. Furthermore, they gained an appreciation of the effort it takes to run a wilderness lodge and the incredible intrinsic value of enjoying the outdoors in a peaceful, wintry, wilderness environment. A great life lesson and, hopefully, one to be passed on during personal trips or in their future work in the outdoor industry.