A Vision Quest

I’m on a vision quest or something unworldly is going on.

When B and I moved to Guelph, I visited a used bookstore downtown. There were thousands of books in this little shop all stacked up to the ceiling, piled high along the floor and room after room of categories. I went in there to find a book for B’s birthday about jazz.  What I found instead was a purchase for myself. The book that caught my eye was called The North Runner.

Missing the north and my time in the Yukon, I reflected on a very dear experience that I had up there. It was gaining perspective in the Yukon and learning how Jack London had done the same in Dawson City (you can read about it here in my blog post A Little Perspective). I went to the Jack London museum there and learned more about his year in the north that inspired so many of his best-selling books. I pulled out the first edition of White Fang (my most favourite story of all time) that my dear friends from the U.K. had sent me and read the old pages.

When I read the back cover of The North Runner, I was surprised to learn how this story is very much similar to Jack London’s White Fang, and how this wolf-dog of his was named Yukon. Was it a coincidence that I picked up this book?

The back read “The North Runner is a true and moving story of the building of trust between a man and an exceptional dog that was half wolf, half Alaskan Malamute, and the resulting mutual affection and respect between them.  R. D. Lawrence, a biologist and internationally recognized naturalist, takes us on a remarkable journey as he and Yukon embark on a life in the wilderness of British Columbia. Working as a team, the man and wolf-dog explore thousands of miles, survive the rigours of the wilderness and encounter the natural world in all its grandeur and brutality. This story ranks as a nature classic.”

For anyone who knows me well can tell that this book is right up my alley. The story was wonderful and I had an extremely hard time putting it down. It took place in northern Ontario which is a place that my heart just loves. R. D. had quite a time living on his homestead and there were many parts of the book that were just heartbreaking to read, but nothing prepared me for the ending. I am glad I finished the book at home, because if I was sitting in the cafeteria at work balling my eyes out, people would wonder.  Instead, I broke down hyperventilating and cried and cried and cried. It took me three days to eventually tell B about the ending and even still it was very hard to choke the words out.

I needed to find out more about the ending, and if it truly was the real ending. I began to search R. D. Lawrence online and learned that he passed away on November 27, 2003 of Alzheimer’s in Haliburton County. He had some part in the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre.

For Christmas, I had the absolute pleasure of unwrapping The Green Trees Beyond an autobiography. I also had Secret Go the Wolves waiting for me in the mail when I returned home after Christmas break. A gift that didn’t make it in time from my husband.

I decided to read Secret Go the Wolves first, wanting to save the best for last (biography). It was another incredible story. The inside cover read “they were pathetic bundles of fur when R. D. Lawrence pulled them from the gory sack stowed in the Cree Indian’s canoe. Wrapped in their dead mother’s hide, the two wolf pups were soaked in water and blood, barely ten inches long, and quite blind. Striking a bargain on the spot, Lawrence paid the Indian twenty-five dollars and a canoe paddle for the male and female cubs, whom he dubbed Matta and Wa (after Ontario’s Mattawa River, from which they had been rescued). Thus began an amazing adventure for Lawrence, his wife, Joan, and their malamute dog Tundra in raising and caring for animals that Lawrence vowed would someday return to their wilderness habitat. Keeping the wolves a secret from neighbours in an area where wolves are trapped and hunted, and establishing his position as “alpha male” (or leader) of the “pack,” were just some of the problems Lawrence faced. An experienced naturalist, Lawrence observed much about wolf behaviour never before documented and in this heartwarming account shares with us his love and fascination for these remarkable creatures. Secret Go the Wolves is sure to take its place beside R. D. Lawrence’s previous books Paddy and The North Runner as among the finest and best-loved animal stories of all time.”

When I opened up the book to the first page of the Prologue, I was shocked by the first sentence. “The letter was dated January 30, 1978. It reached me two weeks after being written, arriving in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, the day after I had spent some time tracking a large wolf pack through the 45-below-zero forests of lodgepole pine that stretch into infinity in that part of Canada’s northland.” You must know my reaction. I was excited and at the same time unable to believe how this quest is beginning to play itself out for me. This R. D. Lawrence guy is really starting to peak my curiosity and the connection I have to this man is incredible. This whole experience of learning who is was and how his life and words written relate to my own is extraordinary.

The story took place in and around Uphill, Ontario, on their property called ‘North Star Farm.’ It was an incredible story, and another one of Lawrence’s books that I couldn’t put down. The way he describes that particular Ontario earth, known as the Cambrian Shield of Canada, that I love so, so much; the way he describes nature in a way that I completely understand. Reading his words feels like an emotional roller coaster because he touches on so much of the intricacies of nature and wildlife that makes my heart ache. We have so much in common, R. D. and I, but it hurts to know that I can’t speak with him.

Another hard ending to read and describe to B through tears. But a good one. This man is incredible.

Anxious to learn more about Lawrence, I began The Green Trees Beyond and was astounded by his life story. Born in Spain in 1921, R. D. Lawrence fought in the Spanish Civil War when he was only 14 years old. He later fought in World War 2, and between both wars, had be injured several times. Both R. D. and I walked the streets of Bayeux, France. He also lived in London, U.K. for some time which is obviously a huge connection to me. What was so interesting to learn, was about his childhood growing up close to the ocean and the interest he took in marine life at such an early age. I often think about marine life and how disappointed I am that I wasn’t able to have more knowledge about life under and in the ocean.

R. D. came to Canada in his early thirties and landed a job writing for the Toronto Star during his first year in Ontario. Eventually he saved up enough money to move to the Rainy River area of northern Ontario. A place that B and I decided to drive through on our way back home from the Yukon. I have bended so many pages in this book, but the whole section where he talks about traveling during the dead of winter through Huntsville and up through Cochrane really hit home. That was the very same route that B and I had taken when we drove to the Yukon. His account of driving those roads for the first time were very much the same as mine. He mentioned the same towns and had the same observations as I had.

Northern Ontario’s Highway 11 from Cochrane to Nipigon

We stopped at all the same towns, gas stations, and seen all of the same land through different eyes.

His time spent in Rainy River was so wonderful to read, and I learned more about his time spent there in addition to what I read in The North Runner. My questions were answered in regards to thn ending of that book.

I can’t believe what R. D. has accomplished at thirty years old until his passing. He’s become such an inspiration to me to want to learn and write more about our natural world. I was supposed to discover Lawrence and his life to inspire my own.

I learned more about his time in Watson Lake, Yukon. His wife Sharon (who still lives in Haliburton County) accepted a teaching position there in 1975 (I believe), at the very same school that I was offered an Educational Assistant position at. Both R.D. and his wife had the same horrible experience in Whiteshell, Manitoba that I had written about in my blog post Tales from the Yukon. His wife, Sharon’s journal entry read, “breakfast at Sioux Falls (at 11:30!). Rotten late lunch at Whiteshell, Manitoba, near border of Ontario. One-hour time change. Ron insists on driving nonstop across the Prairies on Trans-Canada Highway. It is a dull route.”

I read a whole chapter on their time spent in Watson Lake. I am devastated that I didn’t know about R. D. Lawrence prior to my time spent in Watson Lake, because I could have really dug up some information on him from the locals. What’s more, is that R.D. WROTE The North Runner WHILE LIVING IN WATSON LAKE!!!!!!!!!!

This quest has just been all too much for me, and the way in which it’s been unraveling before me. I ordered two more of his books The Place in the Forest and Where the Water Lilies Grow. The Place in the Forest‘s back cover reads “a number of years ago, R. D. Lawrence acquired a parcel of Ontario wilderness, soon known as ‘The Place.’  Here Lawrence and his wife built a cabin and became immersed in studying the ways of the wild. ‘The Place’ was home to a variety of wildlife, from black bears, wolves, beavers and raccoons through to hawks, snapping turtles and singing mice. Lawrence’s desire to learn, fueled by his keen observation, led to his writing about and photography life within his small corner of the forest – the result being a warm, witty account of change and survival in the natural world.”

Where the Water Lilies Grow back cover reads “the celebrated nature writer, R. D. Lawrence, tells the story of animals who inhabit the lakeside near his home in the backwoods of Canada. From the smallest water creature to wolves, deer and many, many birds, all are known to him. His sensitivity, enthusiasm and empathy for wildlife, coupled with his detailed understanding of their habits have created an engrossing publication. A sequel to The Place in the Forest, this authoritatively written book conjours up the sounds, smells and the very feel of lakeside life over every season.”

Finding a peaceful moment in bed before calling it a night and taking my first glance through these two new books, B discovered yet another piece to this incredible happening. There, in The Place in the Forest was a photo of a raccoon that R. D. had rescued named Coby. My reaction was intense. This whole thing is intense.

A college course that I had considered taking many times over the years at Fleming College called ‘Sustainable Building Design and Construction’ built the R. D. Lawrence Place in 2007 at the Minden Hills Cultural Centre in Minden, Ontario. The name of the building has since been changed (unfortunately), but I am learning more about where R. D. spent his time in and around the Haliburton/Minden area. Some of you may be aware of Wolf Hollow, R.D’s home and land that housed 2 wolves that he rescued from a second trip to the Yukon in Whitehorse and Carcross. Also, I was very adamant that we had to take the Haliburton route when leaving Ontario to live up north, and drive back home through Haliburton on our way back.

What is so amazing to me right now, is the fact that R. D. has written 27 books, and I’ve only read 3 of the 5 I have. Each book elaborates on a particular time in his life. I get to learn more and more about R. D. through his writing, and I can visit the Minden Hills Cultural Centre.   I have also decided to write a letter to his wife, Sharon, and tell her about the profound impact her late husband is having on my life right now. It’s going to be an old-fashioned paper letter that I am going to send by mail, and wait in anticipation in hopes to receive something back from her. I can eventually share my Happy Trails YUKON blog with Sharon, as she may be interested to learn of my experience spent in Watson Lake, Yukon.

I am just beginning the first pages of The Place in the Forest and am excited to have so much to read of R. D’s words and descriptions of the place I love so much.

Stay tuned.