Spend Your Winter in Ladysmith with the Cushings and their Dogs

Two experiences and one distinct feeling stand out from my five amazing weeks at Earth Studies.

The first one may sound terrifying to those unexperienced: Kirk, the Cushing progeny whom I spent most days working with, and I spent the night in a snow quincy that we built but we just happened to pick a night where the temperature outside dipped to around -30 degrees Celsius. The lesson was an important one though: I slept soundly and warmly all night in the shelter and now know how to survive a night like that on my own.

A more anecdotal experience came from one of my rides with Geoffrey, the father. We accidentally led the dogs onto a new trail that Kirk and I had not finished clearing and ended up dumped in the snow with the dogs gleefully taking a lap of the trail before coming back.

The feeling I most remember is the crisp air on my face, whether on my walk from the lodge to the main house every morning, looking out at the frozen lake, or on the back of the sled, whipping around corners and up and down hills.

My time there was truly an incomparable experience. The Cushings are wonderful and welcoming, their dogs are amazing, their are animals everywhere, you won't eat better food anywhere, and you will never sleep better or feel overall healthier than at Earth Studies. Back in the grind of studying, I often think about the nights at the Hotel Ladysmith or at town hockey night (where I learned how to skate) or the mornings spent with the dogs. I can't wait to go back and visit soon and drink mass quantities of Bodum coffee with the Cushings again.