Ogilvie Mountains Expedition

The love of the wilderness and being outside has always made up a big part of my life – the craving of my existence. Ever since I was a young child, a day has never gone by that I don’t think about the outdoors, or I am involved with it in some way or another. I live, work, play and even sleep outside. At the age of 17, I couldn’t take the confinement of the civilized theme any more and I headed north to Northwest Territories; the following spring to the Yukon and Northern B.C. I was going to live in the bush and become a trapper. So that’s what I did for the next 9 years. In addition to the work, I met my soulmate, a seasoned trapper after whom I named my son. However, I wanted to experience and live in the wilderness by myself with my dog Oona, so I would trap on a fly-in mountain line from October to January, snowshoeing to and from the cabins that my partner and I had built together. I brought in no radio, and said to the pilot, “See you in 3 months.” I loved it. There were many challenges, but it was raw and free. After that, my partner and I would come back together and live and trap until April on his line. Other than the mountain line, we did everything together until he passed of cancer in 1989. I ran into an outfitter at the age of 30 and started guiding for sheep, caribou, moose and bear. Over the years, I have guided for outfitters in Northern B.C, Yukon, and NWT and covered countless mountains by air, horseback, and foot. I’ve seen a large portion of the Yukon from the air, but mostly on horseback. When I wasn’t guiding, my son and I would go with our own horses for a month at a time covering hundreds of miles through the mountains. At 29 years old, I went to school and became a farrier – something I still am today. I also practised Equine Therapy and Dentistry. During that same time, I picked up the chainsaw and became a Faller, and since became a certified Faller and tutor. I used to fall and clean up dangerous trees on Siesmic Programs and later supervise it. I also pursued the extermination of the Mountain Pine Beetle the last 13 years as a surveyor and faller. I couldn’t get enough of the bush, but more so, the Wild Places, so back in 2009 I started buying and training horses. My son and I went to the mountains a lot then, including friends here and there. Everyone would say “Deb, why don’t you run your own horsepacking tours?” Well, I finally have... and here we are! Our trips are raw and beautiful, wild and breathtaking, hard yet simple, full of adventure and peace.