“Before the railroads, thin lines of steel bit their way through the wilderness. Athabasca Landing was a picturesque threshold over which one must step who would enter into the mystery and adventure of the Great White North. It is still Iskwahtem, the “door” that enters into the three rivers country.”
The Ghost Horse Hills are two kilometres east of the historic Athabasca Landing Trail. It was Canada’s first dominion highway and Alberta’s first toll road. Still, to look at it, it seemed to be nothing more than a path cut through the wilderness. When it came time to name our little piece of paradise, we chose Iskwahtem. It means door or threshold. Since the time of naming it, over 2000 students have crossed over that threshold. They came to learn about creation and the natural world. The quotation above is from a book by James Oliver Curwood. “The Valley of the Silent Men” was published in 1920. Should we compare the landscape of northern Alberta in 1920 to what exists today, Curwood might be considered to be a prophet. Curwood put the following words into his book, voiced by one of the characters in the book – Pierre:
“If it will happen mes amis, that steam thing will come to the Landing when the cow beast eats with the moose and when our bread is gathered from the great swamp.”
But the steam thing did come and with it came civilization and the plow. It was the plow and not the steam thing that would change the wilderness. Alberta’s landscape of now would not be recognized by the people of Curwood’s day. At present, there are thousands of acres of agricultural lands that surround the Ghost Horse Hills and still the 1800 acres of land that exists in these hills stands apart. It has never known the plow and as far as we can discover, no Indigenous settlement has occupied any part of the Ghost Horse Hills. The only thing that has ever affected these hills are the forces of nature (fire and storms). For the last 45 years, a group of volunteers has kept it that way.
Creation teaches like few things can. In the year prior to COVID-19 and in the time since COVID-19, over 3000 students, teachers and parent helpers have stepped over the threshold and through the door of the Outdoor Classroom. Most people long to find and connect with Creation. Experiences in the Ghost Horse Hills offer young people an opportunity to connect with nature. Almost all student visitors love to connect with the natural world. The results are amazing however, there are a few who are afraid of the challenges that the natural world presents. They do not trust that world to keep them safe. It’s true, Mother Nature can be an unforgiving teacher – bitter cold will sting the fingers; ants will bite and wasps will sting but it is not a distrust of the natural world that is at the core of their problem. In most cases, these students simply do not trust that anyone or anything has their best interests at heart. Most have never even had a bird feeder in their back yard. They have never been exposed to a pet of any kind. They suffer from what Richard Louv, author and educator, calls ‘nature deficit disorder’. A connection with any pet or part of the natural world would calm their anxiety and build their trust and confidence. A connection with something even as large and potentially dangerous as a horse. What follows is a story of such a connection:
Some days are diamonds, some days are coal.
There are days that treat you so harshly that you wish they would have never happened. That way, you wouldn’t have to try so hard to forget them. Then there are other days that are pure gems with experiences so filled with joy that you wish they would last to the end of your days. Those were the type of days to be experienced at Pax Natura Ranch for the Rehabilitation of the Deaf.
The Right Reverend Dr. Robert Bauer was the chief lead at the ranch. Every summer, deaf children and their parents would travel up to the ranch to take part in a variety of nature-based activities that included horseback riding. The horses’ hooves needed to be trimmed and cared for. This was where my services were needed.
One summer, a seven-year-old boy and his mom and dad traveled up from Pennsylvania. Tommy was profoundly deaf and mostly blind. With the help of thick glasses, he could see shapes and shadows. He could tell the difference between a cat and dog or a human and a horse but that was about it. He loved being at the ranch and every time he touched a horse he would squeal with delight but he required a huge amount of supervision.
Pastor Bob used a one, two approach to supervisors. One supervisor for every hearing child and two supervisors for the deaf children. Tommy was in unknown territory. He left no doubt of his need for independence, especially when he was around horses.
Pastor Bob asked if there was a horse so kind and decent that it would allow Tommy’s parents to be a little more comfortable when he was around horses. The next morning, standing in the corral, Andy was there waiting for Tommy.
Sometimes it’s possible to know a thing without having any idea why you know it.
We know that birds migrate but we couldn’t tell you why. We know that the Methuselah generation of monarch butterflies return to the same grove of pine trees thousands of miles away – a place where none of their kind has been for over six generations and we can’t tell you how. Horsemen know that some of their horses will blow what they call ‘rollers’. This is when a horse exhales a short burst of air out through its nose, sometimes making little sound – other times it sounds like a snort. Some horses do it all the time. Andy didn’t do it at all.
When Tommy was brought out to meet Andy in the corral, the boy broke away from his mom and as quick as a wink, he was hugging Andy’s back leg. His mom gasped in alarm but there was no real need for her to be concerned. Her child was in the safest place he could be – he was with Andy. The good horse reached around and blew a roller into Tommy’s face. A few years later, Tommy had learned a little Braille and with the help of his tutor he wrote, “Hello Pastor Bob, how is Andy? When he said hello, his breath smelled so good.”
Jesus said: “Let the little children come to me. Do not hinder them for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
