THE GREY OWL CHALLENGE

By Miles Patrick Yohnke

© 2019 All Rights Reserved.

"Far enough away to gain seclusion, yet within reach of those whose genuine interest prompts them to make the trip, Beaver Lodge extends a welcome to you if your heart is right."

- Grey Owl

With old school (circa 1980's) non-suspension mountain bikes (salvaged and rebuilt to new standards) we began our adventure on the Grey Owl Trail. Cycling over continuously rough terrain with unendingly twisted tree roots, rocks, steep descents and challenging ascents - it was a violent and brutal assault upon the senses and to each and every inch of our bodies. It was like being in a horrific car accident that lasted seven hours.

The adrenaline rush of zigzagging through the wilderness (God's original temple) dodging trees in black bear country was immeasurable--while at the very same time you're thinking that you wish every single human being could experience this ultimate feeling of being in the present; of being in the now. The feeling and surrender that you are totally alive.

My cycling companion and I arrived at the start of the 20 km (12 miles) distance from the Grey Owl Trail in Northern Saskatchewan at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 30, 2019. The weather conditions were ideal. In the low 20's Celsius (about 74 degrees fahrenheit.) We were deep in our own degree of exuberance. A breezy wind, though only felt during the three short times that the trail connects to the unspoiled beautiful beach of Ajawaan Lake.

In my lifetime I've cycled distances of 200 km's (120 miles) or better in a single day, day after day on the highway. But for me this Grey Owl Trail will probably always remain unmatched. This trail is not for the faint of heart. There is a strong reason why they say to allot two or three days to hike and camp this distance. Or, to use a watercraft, and hike the final few miles to Grey Owl's cabin.

We arrived at Grey Owl's cabin at suppertime. While we savoured the surroundings, we let the legendary cabin and region surrounding it seep completely into our very beings. We remineralized our bodies with water and the elements of a protein-based energy-providing meal - for we had to race back once again over the constantly challenging terrain just barely (not bearly) beating nightfall. Our final mile was in near darkness.

Grey Owl's life was captured thoughtfully and beautifully and brought to the big screen and cinemas around the world in 1999 by Academy-Award Winning Director Richard Attenborough (Gandhi) starring Pierce Brosnan.

Archibald Belaney (Grey Owl) was one of the first and most powerful spokespersons lobbying for the preservation of our pristine wilderness. He was an environmentalist, conservationist, and a prolific writer.

We cannot understand where we are going if we cannot understand where we've been.

Before the second world war, everyone, everywhere rode their bicycles--and then with the dawn of the 50's the automobile killed the cycling culture. In the 60's Copenhagen was very polluted and congested with cars. It took visionary urban planners and political clout to reclaim the streets of Copenhagen. Now bikes outnumber the cars.

Rush hour in Copenhagen is when 45% of the population commute by bicycle to their places of work or study each day. Cycling in Copenhagen is -- as with most cycling in Denmark -- an important means of travel. It looks very different there than in my home country of Canada - where there is a very low percentage of the population who ride bicycles.

The environmental component is a minor part of what motivates people to cycle in Copenhagen. For them it's simply a better quality of life. Is there a linkage to cycling and why Copenhagen is often ranked the happiest city on the planet?

The Danish don't have big monuments, they have Hans Christian Andersen's "Little Mermaid," which is life-size. This captures the spirit of the city; laid back, practical and responsible. Their monuments are big wind turbines.

We have energy available from the wind. There are many other renewable energies. We just need to look around mother nature's playground.

To learn to live in balance with the earth and in harmony with nature is the challenge. There are no more technological nor economic barriers. Just mental and political ones.

Trees bring rain. When they sway in the wind, they purify the air. They filter the carbon dioxide from our oxygen. When the leaves drop to the ground, they help the soil become fertile but hold their shape for a long time - no matter how hard it rains. When you cut down trees for building, for farming, the land and rivers dry up. The springs as God made them are

gone, as is every living thing found that requires water to survive.

"Remember you belong to nature, not it to you," wrote Grey Owl.

Often we devalue the knowledge from the past. From our elders. There is immense wisdom to be gained and should be heeded. We need to be careful and conserve for it's a matter of our very survival. We must stop killing our environment and our children's future before it's too late.

An environmentally-friendly pathway is before us just as it was for Grey Owl and our ancestors.

Care for the planet is within our reach if your heart is right. Get right with your own legacy. Your own heart. Follow Grey Owl's example and challenge yourself to leave less of an industrial footprint upon all the paths you may travel in life's forest!

To watch 'How Man Destroyed Our World' - a powerful 4-minute video, please click here.

To watch 'The Lorax by Dr. Seuss' - a most powerful 12-minute video, please click here.

To watch 'Deep Springs College' - a most powerful 13-minute video, please click here.

To watch 'Sayaka Ganz - Recycle Artist' - a powerful 4-minute video, please click here.

To watch 'Playing for Change, When The Levee Breaks feat. John Paul Jones' - a powerful 6-minute video, please click here.

This postcard is available only by personal visit to Beaver Lodge,

Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, Canada.

These photographs of Grey Owl's cabin and area were taken by John Urbano.