Having worked for three seasons as an assistant leader with us, Allicia was once our rising star. She hails from Yellowknife NWT - her Dad Kyle sometimes helped us at the camps as well. With university degrees in religious studies & biology, Allicia also had advanced first aid training, has accomplished both the Heritage Interpreter & Freshwater Angling Guide courses in the NWT. She has worked on the field at several remote tourism camps, and as a coordinator for the Western Canada Summer Games. We recently learned that Allicia is now working as the regional biologist for the Government of the Northwest Territories in Fort Smith NWT - and we are genuinely proud of her, and excited to think that we may have participated - in even a small way - to inspiring her towards this important career...

"It is possibly impossible to live on the tundra and not fall passionately in love with it... As I guide, I consider myself richly blessed to be able to experience not just the trip of a lifetime, but whole seasons, having worked for three years on the headwater lakes of the Thelon River for Great Canadian [Wilderness Adventures]."

"It is incredible to watch a landscape rush through the few months of sunshine and warmth: from the ice candles making music along the lake shore in June,"

"through the explosions of wildflowers (and blackflies!) mid -summer"

"To the stunning colours of autumn and the first snowflakes before the last flight out."

"Where the country is vast enough to support hundreds of thousands of caribou grazing on tiny, tenuous lichens;"

"It is always immensely rewarding to view wild animals -tundra wolves, caribou, musk oxen and the many others- in their world, on their terms."

"The natural history of the barrenlands, and the stories of those who lived here, is fascinating. From finding ancient tools chipped out of stone and old trappers' tent frames, to the numerous wildlife encounters. every day is an adventure filled with the thrill of discovery. And it's rewarding to share these places and experiences with so many others and see them similarly touched by this place."

"Here, without the mental clutter found in more "civilized" places, the sense of freedom reaches past the physical. For my soul, there is fresh air; a place to think."

"One summer, returning from trips on the Clark, Thelon, and Elk rivers, I realized that a few buildings hugging the edge of an esker, hundreds of miles from everywhere, can be home."

"Now, as I work to build awareness of the Thelon and surrounding barrenlands with the ultimate goal of protecting one of the largest and most inspiring wild places left on our planet, I think of the future..."

"and I look forward to being surrounded by wilderness, incomprehensible beauty, great co-workers and exciting people who will visit my summer home, and undoubtedly find a little magic of the tundra seep into their soul as well.."

Allicia Kelly