Life in the Canadian Shield was never easy. It is massive, wild, foreboding, and extremely dangerous. It is also the most beautiful place on earth! It spans over 2 million square miles, or about 5 million square kilometers.  It is a great horseshoe- shaped land mass stretching over half of Canada, and parts of the United States. There are several regions including mountains, tundra, and permafrost. Formed about 500 million years ago it consists of about 30 million lakes and some of the worlds oldest rock. In fact the oldest mountain known is located in northern Quebec. The Shield is sparsely inhabited because it is comprised of mainly low hills and mountains, offering little more than exposed rock with a thin soil cover, as well as dense mixed and coniferous forests in many regions. If you are seeking solitude the Canadian Shield is the place to go.

Traveling, hunting, living, or camping in the Shield requires a stout heart, a strong body and a will to survive, not to mention a respect for nature and wildlife. Temperatures can reach plus 35c in summer and minus 60c in winter. The biting insects could be one of the wonders of the world, but they are not wonderful.  One always has mixed feelings in the Shield. Among them are the awe of nature's beauty, the mere size and magnitude of the space you are in, the ultimate solitude of the wilderness, and the insignificance of mankind, who after all, has only roamed the Canadian Shield for 15 thousand years.