Eliguk Outpost

Trout, Thunder, and the Weight of Smoke Keeping up with the Jones's The week began with an appetite that only wealth and testosterone could summon. Seven men—three of them pre-college teens with the metabolism of hummingbirds on Red Bull—arrived at our wilderness resort like a pack of Armani-clad lumberjacks. They hailed from a family-run business U.S. law firm, the kind where billable hours are measured in heartbeats and the coffee is probably infused with truth serum. The group had pre-arranged for double portions and a menu plan that could have fed a football team. They came for trout, family bonding, and food aplenty, so I had added an extra grocery…

Jeni comes to Eliguk. Where on earth did two weeks vanish? Time has a relentless way of slipping through our fingers like water over rocks, especially when you’re caught in the whirlwind of life. Here at our little off-grid wilderness lodge, we've been busy as bees in a wildflower meadow, tackling a myriad of projects that make our oasis flourish. But amidst our flurry of activity, we had a delightful twist of fate: a long-time social media follower finally made the pilgrimage to Eliguk, checking it off her bucket list. Meeting Jeni, after sharing a decade’s worth of virtual interactions, felt like reuniting with a long-lost friend beneath the towering…

"There’s something deeply inspiring about a married couple who chooses hardship over convenience, wilderness over comfort, and thrives together. Their skillset isn’t just rare. It’s practically mythic." - Anonymous. A simple comment from a stranger that resonated with me deeply. To have someone recognize the entirety of what we do, rather than reducing it to mere surface-level critiques or offering oversimplified solutions, felt profoundly validating. It’s as if they acknowledged not just the hard work, but the emotion and intention behind it all. In a world that often rushes to judge or suggest, this recognition brought a wave of relief and affirmation. It was a reminder that the journey we…

As the warm summer sun casts its golden glow over our resort, the property awakens from its winter slumber, ready to don its finest attire. July’s guests are like the first flurry of fireflies, sparking excitement that dances on the evening breeze. Each corner of our sprawling paradise becomes a lively stage, where the lawns, freshly mowed and crisp, extend an open invitation for chickens to prance about, indulging in a buffet of bugs and grubs disturbed from their cozy hideaways. The seating areas, charming and inviting, are akin to welcoming the best of friends with a frosty drink in hand, whispering tales of relaxation and laughter. It's a magical…

Maybe I have to get sassy and sarcastic with an I double-dog dare you type of attitude? I've been going at it all wrong, I mean - I need to tap into the current societal wavelength of thinking and stop using my old-fashioned traditional angles.  I need catchy taglines like - “Whispering Pines: where your soul gets a hug and your phone gets zero bars.” How about a new write-up about the folks who host the wilderness resort? Normal Wilderness Hosts Meet the Off-Grid Gourmet & Frontiersman Hosts Extraordinaire Out where GPS signals go to die and the only traffic jams involve moose & bears lives true modern pioneers —…

We’re still riding the high from Dave's delightful fly-in bounty a couple of weeks ago. Each night brings a new adventure for our taste buds, like a page from Bon appétit magazine! Whipping up dishes by simply elevating the humble garden scalloped potatoes with a smoky Gouda twist. With such a diverse selection at our fingertips, each meal is a delicious experiment, and we’re happily savoring the surprises waiting to be discovered. It’s almost as if our taste buds are tiny time machines, unlocking memories with each flavor we experience. The anatomy of a taste bud resembles a miniature concert hall, hosting an orchestra of 50 to 150 taste cells,…

The Greenhouse is finally having a growth spurt. A few weeks' work. The new roof was completed just in time for Dave’s much-anticipated arrival. Mountain Man wanted to complete the roof portion so he could take a few days off and spend them with Dave while he was here. He’s a long-time friend from the Kelowna chapter of our lives, back when his wife, Orlanda, would stop by to scoop up hatching eggs from our little chicken utopia. Over the years at Eliguk, they would ship up boxes of what started out as off-grid survival packages Orlanda created in her new freeze dryer that transformed over time into boxes of…

As dawn broke, painting the horizon in soft shades of lavender and gold, the morning songbirds filled the air with their cheerful chorus, while a rooster proudly announced the arrival of another ordinary day with its crow, much like a herald of old. I was the first to rise, slipping out from the cocoon of blankets like a toddler trying to walk for the first time. Each step felt like a clumsy gamble, my feet creaking and cracking like a vintage loaf of bread, not yet awake enough to distinguish between the noises of the creaking floor and my own bones. I adjusted my gait, only to bump my knee…

Full May Moon Rising As children, we tremble at the thought of the dark, our imaginations conjuring phantoms and shadows that lurk in the crevices of our tender imaginations. Yet, fast forward a half-century, and what was once a specter of dread has transformed into an elusive muse that beckons me deeper into the heart of the wilderness, where the human footprint is a rarity, and the whispers of nature reign supreme. The long-awaited migration, having endured an extended period of frozen lakefront silence, is finally here. The loons I speak of so often are the final piece to the massive puzzle that eases tension in my soul. Stoking the…

A trip into town for supplies is always a bit of an adventure, but this time it also meant visiting the specialist at the Obstetrics and Gynecology office, who promised to unveil their medical miracles. I don't often reveal a “personal medical issue” during conversation. I tend to take a back seat and find it mostly irrelevant in a blog depicting life with Mountain Man – almost like discussing the weather in a deep-sea diving class. But it turns out that living this remote lifestyle makes these health hurdles loom larger than a Sasquatch sighting in the forest. It’s crucial to share that there are indeed difficulties when you’re as…