Lately I have been drawn to the wilderness of Jasper.

It is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, and living in Jasper, we have a unique opportunity to be able to bike, walk or drive five minutes and be out of the town and into the wild.

After living in the mountains for some time, it’s something that you can start to take for granted. I constantly remind myself that most of my friends back home and many people in the world hardly ever get the chance to experience the wilderness like we do here.

This week, I watched for half an hour as a mother black bear and her two cubs kept their surroundings in check in a field, as a larger bear in the woods was giving them grief, resulting in the mother repetitively sending her cubs up a tree for safety.

The next morning, after taking some night sky photos, well before I would normally be awake, I came across a wolf lying in the grass. It just stared at me, as I returned the look. Not wanting to ruin the moment, I left my camera in my bag – some things are just meant to be memories.

For a minute this wolf and I simply looked at each other, neither of us moving, before the wolf stood up and went into the trees. I have seen wolves before, but never this close and for such a long moment.

Those are simply two examples of what I’m talking about. I’m sure you have your own similar stories, but my point is these moments can be found so easily, and sometimes it’s easy to lose appreciation of our surroundings, whether it be a grizzly bear, something so common as a deer, the mountain view from Connaught Drive as the sun sets, or simply going for a hike down a trail and getting away from the noise of the highway and trains. It doesn’t take long to get away from the fast-paced lives we live and into the wild, where things appear calm and you never know what you will run into.

I won’t say we are lucky to live here, because someone once told me you make your own luck, and we have all made choices to be where we are – a way of thinking I have come to agree with. However, we are fortunate to live in a place like this and should appreciate it while we can.

I, for one, am doing my best to appreciate it. This will be my last week at the Fitzhugh, as I will be moving to Ontario, on Lake Huron, where it will no doubt be a little less wild. 

I certainly have not been taking my time in Jasper for granted, and I know I will miss the chances to get out of town and into the wilderness so easily. But trading in my snowboard for my surfboard will hopefully fill that gap, as instead of riding down a mountain in snow or by bike, I can paddle out to that horizon (which unfortunately leads to Detroit).

But, for those who I am leaving behind, I ask you to enjoy what life has to offer you in Jasper while you are here, because it is, after all, something special.

DISCLAIMER: The Last Word is an opinion column, it is meant to provoke thought and debate. As such, any opinions written here are the writers own and do not reflect the viewpoint of any other Fitzhugh staff member or the directors of the Jasper Media Group Inc.