NEDITORIAL

STEP INTO SUMMER

As another summer unfolds, we can look back on a couple of years that have brought change and upheaval to countless lives. But last spring on the trail as I watched the trout lilies shoot up, adding the first daubs of green to the washed-out greys and browns of the forest floor, I reflected that seasonal cycles continue in spite of humanity’s missteps. And that is somehow reassuring.

One of the changes here at ML Blue Mountains is our decision to stop publishing a spring print issue. We did this in part to align the Ontario edition with our sister publications in B.C., Alberta and Quebec, who don’t publish a spring (aka “mud season”) issue. At the same time, though we remain committed to sustainable print magazines—every tree harvested is replanted through the PrintReleaf program—we recognize that more digital content is the path forward. Thus we’re even more focused on creating fresh content on www.mountainlifemedia.ca and across our social networks.

That said, we’ll never tire of putting a well-printed magazine in your hands so we can share our love for the outdoors and hopefully inspire everyone to protect and enlarge wild places. In this Water + Wheels issue, we visit a remote Great Lakes island chain but don’t name it (p.25), explore the lifedirecting properties of an old canoe (p.47), revisit the edge of the world (p.50) and shoot the legendary rapids of the Spanish River (p.66). We also introduce you to our region’s first youth mountain bike team (p.15), myth-bust the wild cat phenomenon (p.17), celebrate a mountain bike community we can all learn from (p.63) and dive into family nature therapy (p.70).

See you on the beach. –Ned Morgan, Editor