The Winter Road:Across The Frozen Frontier

A few winters ago, I had my first experience driving to the northern recesses of Ontario, Canada in the wintertime. This may not sound like any great excursion to most of you that live in the snow during the winter. Although I had lived in places with snow, I was not old enough at the time to experience first hand the various thrills of driving a heavy piece of machinery on what is a giant skating rink called the winter wonderland. Trying to navigate the winter road, may not be the most normal way for someone to be initiated into this rank of weather warriors.

The goal of this particular trip was to deliver three recently fixed up cars from Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada to a few of the residents of the remote northern native reservation of Deer Lake, Ontario. This remote reservation is home to about 1,000 brave hearted people. It primarily consists of the proud Ojibwe Cree band, of which my husband is a member. Bear in mind this is now a much more modern society living in an area far from the normal reaches of modern civilization. The people who now call this home, in many ways, live a very different existence than their forefathers did. This is true for those members who come from as recently as the generation my mother- in - law comes from did.

They still enjoy the traditions of fishing and living with nature. In recent years, modern life has crept into the area. Most residents have heated homes, many have cars that often take a massive beating on dirt, rock, snow and ice roads, hence the need for our delivery. Of course all the regular signs of current civilization abound like skidoos, motorized boats, television and computer access. The one thing they still have, thanks to their distance and inaccessibility from regular city life, is the remoteness to preserve the natural beauty and solitude of the place. The only time it becomes little less remote is when the winter road opens up each year.

My mother- in-law has begun to share, with me, many stories of what life was like for her growing up before the advent of computer technology and easy transportation. Every member of the family was expected to contribute something to their daily existence and even as a small girl, she was expected to cut wood and haul it across the frozen lake or chop through the ice and carry buckets of water back to her home. The floor of her home was dirt. Her bed mattress was filled with pine branches to provide cushioning.

The one store in town carried the most minimal of necessities like lard, canned vegetables and flour. They now have more than one store, but everything is very pricey.

There was not much soil rich enough to grow produce on but she grew what she could in one of the few gardens in town, when she was younger. The lakes were and still are plentiful with a number of kinds of fish. The fish is a staple there. They have pickerel, red suckers, jack fish and catfish.

She no longer lives there and has moved to a somewhat warmer snowy winter down in Manitoba. The community still thrives there, up at the end of the winter road in Deer Lake.

During most of the year, the reservation is only accessible by plane. Supplies and even gasoline have to be flown in. Filling an automobile there often costs as much as eight dollars or more per gallon. Doctors visits are a plane ride away, although there is a nursing station there for less serious medical needs.

For two to three months each year the back woods on the way up to the reservation becomes a frozen highway of sorts. It get covered with ice and snow. The lakes are also frozen over enough to hold the weight of semi trucks and travelers coming and going by car. This back woods path is known as The Winter Road. At this time of the year more can be shipped up to the reservation, and cars can be brought in for the residents.

A group of family members and friends, drove in three fully loaded cars, two to remain there and one with which to return to Winnipeg, on a little expedition to the northern recesses of Ontario.

We started a drive early in the morning one cold winter day. To all the rest of the members of the convoy the trip was fun, but just old hat, however, to my young daughter and I this was a new adventure. We were excited to be going with my then fiancé and a number of his relatives. I had offered to be one of the drivers, as not every member going on the trip was a licensed driver. We piled mounds of things and many relatives into three cars. We were stuffed to the hilt. I have to admit I was both excited and a bit nervous to be involved in the trip. I like an adventure.

We headed out of the city with our little convoy. Everybody was full of energy, including the three little ones. We went through the city with its mounds of plowed snow piled high along the roads, some of it dark and ugly from the city grime. Quickly enough we were out of the city and out on open highway, headed west towards Kenora in Ontario.

The road was not busy at all, at least in comparison to others I had driven. Escaping from the city to open road and country was a treat. The road was smooth and I thought to myself that so far, this was easy enough.

We continued east and all met up and stopped at a little diner in Red Lake for a hearty breakfast, then continued on our way. When we finally reached the edge of the winter road. I saw that the road was not a paved road at all, but a dirt and stone road cleared through the forest. It is only open when the lakes freeze over.

The distance to travel was not that long, as regular road trips go, but the winter road is strewn with bumps, rocks, boulders, trees, ruts, ditches and holes. It is no regular road and it is not a smooth ride, to say the least. My kidneys , neck and spine got a thorough shaking the whole way. In fact the drive made me feel like a rag doll being tossed around and thrown all over. I think the only thing that kept us all in our places was the fact we were jammed together like sardines in the car. It is much more efficient to get as many people and as much stuff as possible into the cars for the drive north.

All along the way we saw wildlife of every kind, from birds and rabbits, to very large moose and deer. Not only were animals present throughout the trip, but there were tracks in the snow showing where others had been traveling across the snowy terrain. The most spectacular animal to my daughter and I was one beautiful, tall, long legged wolf that suddenly appeared running along side our car, right next to us out along the winter road. We stopped the two cars to get out to watch the wolf and to stretch our legs. The third car was way ahead of us.

The wolf is a very reclusive animal. This one jumped up to the bank on the side of the road, at the edge of the woods when we stopped the cars. It stood there quietly watching us, just a few feet away, half shadowed by the edge of the trees. Then it took off into the forest. It was an amazing experience for the two newcomers to this wilderness.

The bumping road lasted a long time and I ached, but I was really enjoying the company and the experience as was my daughter. At a few points trucks came rumbling and bouncing through. We even ran across other family and friends on their way out of the reservation, coming in the opposite direction. Of course people had to stop to say hello.

We arrived at the edge of the first frozen lake. After hearing stories along the way about how the ice would sometimes move from the weight of the trucks and talk about ice that got mushy, I was really leery about being out on a frozen lake in a car stuffed with people. One of the aunts took over to drive across the ice. I sat next to her in the front, and she teased me pointing out the cracks in the ice as we drove over. I waas fixated on them for awhile, almost convinced they would crack openand send us into the icy lake waters.The view with the setting sun over the frozen lakes was spectacular. It was like a living National Geographic panorama. It really was a piece of heavenly tranquility and natural beauty. So despite the fact I was somewhat nervously watching for cracks in the ice, the drive across the lakes was phenomenal.

We arrived at Deer Lake after dark. The bumping and tossing along the winter road had proven to be too much for one of the cars and the shocks had been forced through the floor of the car. So it would need further repairs. The other two cars came through the trip just fine, although the people inside the cars were pretty sore and worn out. We all went into one of the relatives homes, were fed and relaxed for a few hours while everyone visited.

Then nine of us piled back into the minivan meant to hold only 7 people and turned around to head back the way we came. Three of us took turns driving. The drivers seat was actually the best seat in the car. The back seat had three adults and my daughter sprawled out across us sleeping. The second bench seat held three adults, so the one on the outside was hanging half off the seat. We were punch silly and exhausted. Some of the passengers slept in fits and starts. The bumping road wasn't exactly a gentle rocking cradle. We drove back in the dark much of the way. Riding along in the depths of the forest, not much could be seen. By the time we nine weary travelers reached Winnipeg again, we were all ready to sleep like the dead.

I think I still felt the vibrations and bumping from the drive for a day or two. It was a bit like getting off of a ship after a long ocean trip. It takes awhile to get your land legs again. Overall, it was a great experience that we would probably repeat. Next time I will ask to be the one driving across the frozen lakes part of the trip, just to say I had.