Unique Muskoka August
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{<strong>Muskoka</strong> Moments<br />
Boyhood adventures inspire<br />
Survivorman TV show<br />
By Les Stroud<br />
{<br />
It is ridiculously difficult to pick only one<br />
defining moment in <strong>Muskoka</strong>, when in<br />
reality, <strong>Muskoka</strong> is made up entirely of<br />
moments. Wonderful, whimsical, inspiring,<br />
memory-laden moments. Those of us lucky<br />
enough to enjoy it here know this with all<br />
our hearts.<br />
I travel the world for a living and yet<br />
when I am asked to name the places I<br />
believe to be “world class,” <strong>Muskoka</strong> is<br />
always on that list. It is <strong>Muskoka</strong> that I tell<br />
others about when they ask me, “What<br />
beautiful places on this planet should we<br />
see?” In fact, I carve my travelling schedule<br />
around my favourite months to be in<br />
<strong>Muskoka</strong>; spring thaw, dead of winter and,<br />
of course, the autumn. I will not be in<br />
jungles or deserts or on mountains or across<br />
the oceans during those times, I will be in<br />
my home – <strong>Muskoka</strong>. And no doubt, I will<br />
be having a moment.<br />
My family was connected to the <strong>Muskoka</strong><br />
River. I grew up having summers at what<br />
was once my grandmother’s house, which<br />
subsequently became our cottage when she<br />
passed away. A small, yet classic <strong>Muskoka</strong><br />
cottage, with a “screen room” and windows<br />
overlooking the river. My bedroom had no<br />
insulation and was open to the 2x4 studs,<br />
which had the added advantage of offering<br />
up a place to put my glass of water for the<br />
night. A dysfunctional family life took its<br />
toll back in the city, but here in <strong>Muskoka</strong> I<br />
found my refuge, my escape. It was an<br />
escape to the natural world.<br />
Back in Mimico, Etobicoke, I would<br />
watch Jacques Cousteau films and Tarzan<br />
movies on TV. Ahhh, but here in <strong>Muskoka</strong>,<br />
I would chase and catch frogs and snakes. I<br />
would explore endlessly in the swamps. I<br />
would spend all day fishing for that “big<br />
lunker” bass that I just knew was out there,<br />
somewhere. I would smell the fresh forest<br />
72 UNIQUE MUSKOKA <strong>August</strong> 2016<br />
breezes and climb the rock outcroppings in<br />
behind the cottage. I would learn to swim at<br />
<strong>Muskoka</strong> Beach, just off Highway 118. In<br />
my mind I would actually live and experience<br />
what I witnessed during the winters down<br />
south, my face stuck in the “boob tube.”<br />
My fascination with the natural world<br />
ran deep within my soul, so getting dirty<br />
while clambering through the <strong>Muskoka</strong><br />
forest was a daily occurrence. Ants fascinated<br />
me and I remember when, every spring, the<br />
flying ants would take wing and fill our<br />
horseshoe and Frisbee field. I learned to<br />
respect yellow jackets! I felt like I was in the<br />
most exotic place on the planet when a luna<br />
moth would land on our window. It was just<br />
so big!<br />
I developed a solo game I would play up<br />
on the rocks, far from the call of my mother<br />
(so I could pretend I couldn't hear her). I<br />
would use moss as a pillow and make these<br />
little shelters out of branches and pine<br />
bows. In my young mind I was surviving in<br />
all the far-flung places that Tarzan and<br />
Jacques Cousteau went. I even remember<br />
thinking, wouldn’t it be cool if I could be a<br />
professional at this surviving and adventure<br />
thing? Well, that dream came true. Truer<br />
than I could have imagined. It was my<br />
<strong>Muskoka</strong> moment on that rock to which I<br />
owe my current professional life. If there<br />
ever was a defining moment in my life, it<br />
surely was when I first moved around a little<br />
club moss and propped up a few sticks on a<br />
rock in <strong>Muskoka</strong> and called it “survival.”<br />
Les Stroud is best known as the Canadian<br />
Screen Award winning producer, creator and star<br />
of the hit TV series Survivorman. He has been<br />
nominated for 21 Canadian Screen Awards<br />
(formerly the Geminis) and has won for Best<br />
Writer (twice) and Best Photography. A celebrated<br />
keynote speaker, musician and author, his books,<br />
Survive!: Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You<br />
Out of Anywhere – Alive! and Will to Live made<br />
the New York Times bestseller list. Visit lesstroud.ca<br />
Photograph: Laura Bombier