Woodlore’s Head of Operations, Dan Hume, has returned to the office after his time on the awe inspiring Canadian Wilderness Canoeing Expedition that took place in Ontario last month.

Dan has passed on these amazing photographs and some of his thoughts:

As I sat warming my hands by the campfire on one of the first cold mornings it struck me how suddenly the seasons can change. We had been paddling on our recent Canadian canoe expedition and were enjoying the warm weather. That morning however was different, for the first time, as I crawled out of my tent I saw mist rising from the lake beside our camp, I donned an extra layer, and my morning cup of hot chocolate was even more welcome than before.

A misty morning view from a campsite on the trail

That evening, a north wind blew and the honking of a skein of geese a hundred strong in arrow formation drifted amazingly high overhead, heading south. I went out fishing and caught nothing. Up until then the fish were almost throwing themselves into the canoe! The forest felt different and I was aware of many subtle changes in the environment. I thought about the native people that once camped in the same spots and left their marks in Ochre on the nearby granite and wondered what these changes meant to them. The sound of geese, the rising mist, and the birch leaves fading into their striking yellow colour was probably a time for reflection on all of the years happenings and a reminder of the looming winter.

Ray paddling back to a welcoming campfire

As mother-nature descends its icy cloak, and tightens its grip on the weak, the landscape is transformed and only the adaptable survive. Winter is undoubtedly a harsh and unforgiving season but it’s also one of the most beautiful and exciting times to explore the natural world.  As the season changes and the mercury plummets, canoes are replaced by snowmobiles, snowshoes and skis. This is a time when the subtleties of bushcraft become even more crucial than at any other time of the year.

The picturesque Northern Lights in the provincial park

With this in mind, we invite you to browse our unique selection of Winter expeditions and join us in some of the most pristine areas on Earth for a special winter experience like no other.