Letters Home #26 💌

Writing from: Banff, Alberta

Dear Ones —

I started to write this to you before embarking on my week-long journey in the footsteps of early 20th-century explorer and artist, Mary Schäffer Warren, for the documentary film, Wildflowers. Alas, the packing job took over in addition to some preliminary filming at the Whyte Museum Archives and hosting our cast and crew here in Banff before we set off, so I never quite got this into your inboxes. What results is a kind of “before” and “after” for you, so I’ll keep the bit I wrote before leaving, and then conclude with a brief summary of how the trip went!

August 22, 2023

The time is here. Three years of dreaming, nearly two years of logistical (and financial) gymnastics. This coming week, a team of four women will retrace the steps of early 20th-century explorer, Mary Schäffer Warren, in the Maligne River Valley, from Poboktan Creek Trailhead to the shores of Maligne Lake, after which we will switch to paddling on the waters of this world-renowned lake. Though we’re only c…