Exploring the Canadian Barren Lands by canoe

posted on: 1/23/2017

Seven years ago Bill Ulinski followed Alex Hall, a wolf biologist, through the Canadian Barren Lands. They travelled more than 100 miles by canoe and hiked in the habitat of grizzly bears, tundra wolves, musk ox, and wolverines.

On Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m., Ulinski will present a slide show of his adventures above tree line at the Dover Public Library. The 2009 trip, led by Hall, sent the group of 10 on a guided canoe trip south of the Thelon Sanctuary in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

During the trip, the group of 10 paddled flat water and class II and III rapids, while later having to do about a half-dozen half-mile portages, camping at night on the shoreline. Ulinski admitted the wildlife “were more inquisitive than fearful”, but it did lead to some close encounters for long-time guide Hall, who had been paddling the area since the 1970s.

Ulinski has a deep love for the great outdoors. He grew up near the southern Adirondacks of New York and has degrees in forestry and resource management. He has worked in outdoor and forest recreation for over 40 years including being a parks and recreation director in New Hampshire, teaching forest recreation at Paul Smith’s College in New York, and managing a ski area in New Hampshire, where he recently relocated after 15 years in the northern Adirondacks. He is also a licensed N.Y.S. Guide. His interests, besides paddling and skiing, include hunting, trapping, hiking and photography.

The program is free and open to the public.

For more information call the Library at 603-516-6050.