North Country

A musher races through the winter wilderness led by a enthusiastic dog team.

It’s an early December morning in La Ronge and the trees are speckled with frost and a cold hard north wind sends leaves clattering across the road. The exodus of tourists and cabin owners to the south is complete, forewarning of the first blanket of snow that will lull this wilderness to sleep until next spring. As the crisp early morning air begins to warm in the Northern Saskatchewan sun, I trudge into the dog yard to the unanimous howl of the sled dogs. Shaking the dogsled loose from the freshly fallen snow, I string out the gangline and begin the task of harnessing the chosen ones, beginning with the leaders and working my way backward. Before long I have 12 dogs leashed together and straining to run: harnessed canine chaos, you might call it. I step nimbly on the sled brake, brandish my snow hook and yell “Hike!” The team catapults out of the yard and down the trail, gliding across a porcelain land of rivers and forests, ravines and hills that merge into a winter wonderland.

A bird’s eye view of the preferred mode of transit in La Ronge.

My first attempt at dogsledding, truth be told, wasn’t quite so picturesque. It ended as it began, with uncertain looks from the lead dog as I continued to muddle the commands, bookends to an experience about which I’ve since made many jokes: being dragged by one hand as my team of dogs raced to catch up to their kind resting on the next hill. First lesson: Whistling at a dog is not a call to action. Second lesson: Master the commands and you master your team. From there, my dogsledding career has been spent ghosting through the snow-laden black spruce and jackpine trails that make this region famous-for their quality, and for the telltale call to your winter-loving soul that allows you to connect to the literature of Jack London and Robert Service.

Nistowiak Falls thunders through a wilderness winter wonderland.

Many of these trails are also used for the Canadian Challenge, Canada’s longest dogsled race. The race is held each February, and starts on Central Avenue in Prince Albert. The first leg is an overnight northbound 517-kilometre route to La Ronge. There, a mass start on the ice sends the teams back to the finish in Prince Albert. The race showcases some of the top teams in North America and allows spectators (and wannabe racers like myself) a personal perspective on the racers and their four-legged friends.

The town, which sits on the banks of Lac La Ronge, is situated approximately 500 km north of Saskatoon within Lac La Ronge Provincial Park, Saskatchewan’s largest.

Snowmobiling is a great way to explore Saskatchewan’s north country in the winter. Just don’t travel alone!

La Ronge is the hub of winter activity in Northern Saskatchewan, and with outfitters and eager locals offering snowmobiling, winter canoeing, cross-country skiing and ice-fishing experiences to adventurers of all levels – and the aurora borealis activity makes a nighttime sky-viewing as mystical an experience as you’ll have on the Prairies. The Hudson Bay Company has deep roots in La Ronge’s local history; many inhabitants are descendents of its original settlers who dealt with the HBC during its formative years. Robertson’s Trading Post on Main Street is a curious icon of this bygone era.

A winter’s sunrise splashes light across a snow-laden landscape.

While the backcountry trails are used by an ever-increasing number of dog teams, the labyrinth of winter trails through the forests and across muskegs and lakes have been overtaken by snowmobilers. In the north, the snow machine is a tool – a standard mode of travel – so trails are everywhere. The local club has marked some of them and, for the most part, they are as easy to follow as the highway. On this particular morning my partner and I (never travel alone!) will be easing on to Lac La Ronge by snowmobile, heading north to Nistowiak Falls. After roughly an hour we pass Stanley Mission where we find a quick route leading through the village and onto the Churchill River, hugging the shore along the way. I used to carry a map, but found that its only use was to confirm I was lost.

An ice-carved claw stands guard over the Nistowiak Falls.

Nistowiak Falls is a terrific winter retreat, and one of the best ways to get there is to join one of the many snowmobile rallies held through this region. Derbies in Stanley Mission, Grandmother’s Bay and La Ronge will guide you through the backcountry safely while ensuring you’ll get your fill of culinary staples – neckbones, bannock and tea – at each checkpoint. As an added bonus, the snowmobile rallies are often run in conjunction with winter festivals (like ice fishing derbies) that showcase such trapper skills as tea boiling, axe throwing and jigging. If you’re exceptionally lucky, you may even catch a buckskin parade, where beaded buckskin outfits are traipsed in and judged for all to see.

When it’s -30 C in La Ronge, the faces tell the story.

The falls are shielded from view by trees enveloped in an icy white fog, prompting us to move closer for a better look at this natural wonder. Water thunders over the edge, throwing a frozen mist across its path before plummeting down the gorge on its way to the Churchill River. To follow the serpentine trail toward the falls and their outlet, we point our snowmobiles inland to Iskwatikan Lake as the daylight begins to fade. Although night falls quickly in the North Country, the open air claims its own charms.

Northern Saskatchewan’s night sky, undisturbed by the glare of ambient light, boasts a dazzling display of twinkling stars against an inky black sky.

Howling dogs, cheering people and a dash down Central Street in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan marks the beginning of the Canadian Challenge, Canada’s longest dogsled race..

Clear, moonless nights are decorated by the cosmos – the Milky Way, Great Bear, Orion the Hunter – and countless constellations, each with its own lore. But not until the aurora borealis makes an appearance does the show really begin. When the entire night sky dances and shimmers in reds, greens and lily whites, one can’t help but think that the world has stopped and this show is just for me.

Northern Exposure

A competitor in the 77-km overnight marathon.

La Ronge is home to some of the cross-country ski trails in Canada. Weaving through the boreal forest and Precambrian Shield, the La Ronge ski trails are groomed for both classic and skate skiing. Constructed over the years by an army of volunteers and ski enthusiasts, these trails boast overnight cabins every 10 kilometres (most are outfitted with woodstoves, pots, pans and other useful items). The trailheads are located at the Nut Point Campground parking lot just east of town and the Don Allen ski chalet approximately 20 km north of La Ronge. The area is home to the Saskaloppet.

The starting line at the Saskaloppet is a frenzied sight.

Despite its funny name, the loppet is actually an age-old tradition of Scandinavian tradition. Participants in this cross-country skiing event travel en masse along specifically groomed trails of various distances. Saskatchewan will host several loppets in 2007, including the 24th annual Don Allen Saskaloppet, held the first weekend of March in La Ronge.