Finally, I got my first weekend off work in over 5 months and I took full advantage of it. Spring time in Fort Albany is full of excitement as the majority of the community hops on their Ski-Doos to spend their holidays at spring camps to hunt geese. Many families own tiny camps in the middle of the bush which can only be reached in the winter and early spring because the rest of the year, when there is no ice, the land becomes Muskeg which is a nasty kind of swamp and is impassable by any kind of vehicle. I was lucky enough to tag along with a family and spend the weekend at their camp about an hour west of the town. Even the Ski-Doo ride out was more excitement than I usually get as break up is just starting so now and then the ice beneath the sled would let go and I’d feel my heart rate quicken.

Once we arrived at the camp Bernie and I went out to make our hunting blind which is basically a snow fort with evergreen trees on the top to camouflage you while you call the geese in towards the decoys. We tried for several hours and when we got bored we hopped out of the blind to snap some photos and of course thats when the geese came flying in. Unfortunately neither of us had a shotgun so the geese were only shot with cameras. Who knew these would be the only geese we saw in the whole trip!

The night was spent relaxing with a warm cup of tea made from Labrador Leaves which grow outside the camp through the snow, and tasted delicious. The camp was about the size of a small shed and I slept very well even though there were 6 other people sleeping in the same close quarters. I was in bed not long after dark, amazing what fresh air can do.

The next morning Bernie and myself woke up before the sun and hopped on the sled to see if we could witness the Ptarmigan doing their mating dances in a spot Bernie knew about 10 minutes from his camp. Bernie being an avid photographer really wanted to get some shots of the birds before we tried hunting, which I was all for. The landscape was absolutely stunning as there are very few trees this far north and anything that is growing was covered in a thin sheet of ice from the the morning frost. It looked like a winter wonderland! Once we finally got close I could see the Ptarmigan doing their dances. The birds call out to each other, then tip their wings down and shuffle back and forth. Over the next hour we tried to get as close as possible to photograph the birds while the sun was beginning to come up. It really felt like a scene from Planet Earth, very surreal.

Once the sun was up it was time to shoot lunch and Bernie was able to quickly shoot us four Ptarmigan for lunch. I on the other hand, would have gone hungry as I missed my bird. The Ptarmigan is a very dark lean mean but very good when panfried. I took one home and after I gutted the bird, I fried the breasts with red wine and Juniper Berries and ate it with mashed potatos. See below. Very, very delicious.

Ptarmigan with red wine, Juniper Berries and Labrador Leaves.

The rest of the day was spent in our goose blind but we were not successful as not one goose flew overhead. Bernie was a wealth of knowledge as he had pretty much grew up in the bush and used to make a living trapping, so I was able to learn all about the land and got to learn a great amount about traditional Cree culture that can, at times, be very difficult to find in the community. It’s only by spending time with people who still practice these traditional ways that you can begin to fully appreciate the beauty of living a traditional lifestyle. I am grateful to him and his family for letting me come along this weekend and find it refreshing to know that even after living in the north for almost 2 years I’m still only beginning to scratch the surface of experiences The North has to offer.