● Trail season is open · Northern Alberta
This is Derek & Michelle — a pickup, a travel trailer, and a side-by-side that never sees pavement. Somewhere behind us: Steele the German Shepherd on perimeter duty, and Lola the Dachshund, who owns the whole operation.
Steele runs security. Lola runs everything else. Derek and Michelle run the winch, the coffee pot, and the plan (usually in that order).
Trail Sentinel
German Shepherd · Co-Pilot & Security
Ninety pounds of Very Serious Business. Does one lap of every campsite before allowing anyone to relax. Stick collection is a full-time job, and the water at the end of the trail is always his victory lap.
Trail Boss
Dachshund · Low Rider, High Authority
Four inches of ground clearance and absolutely no fear. Rides up front, sleeps under the blanket, and can hear a chip bag open from the far side of the lake. That toy did not survive.
Camp Director
Tow vehicle · Fire builder · Trail boss wrangler
Keeps the rigs running, the trailer level and the fire honest. Also collects strange animals in sheds, apparently, and will absolutely take the gravel road on purpose.
Navigation
Passenger princess 👑 · Snack logistics · Photo evidence
Maps the trip, packs the food, and documents everything — including the time she caught the mushrooms. Knows which lakes are worth the drive, and how to keep two dogs calm on a rough road.
Truck pulls it, trailer sleeps in it, side-by-side scratches it into the bush. Three machines, one mission: get further from the highway.
Tow duty · Daily driver · Mud magnet
The workhorse. Hooks up to the trailer, hauls the side-by-side when the trailer stays home, and gets parked in spots that make people question its paint job.
Basecamp · Kitchen · Rain shelter
Home base with an awning, a coffee pot that never cools down, and enough floor space for one very long dog who is convinced he's small. Level it, drop the stabilizers, done.
Trail toy · Mud collector · Smile machine
The reason for the whole setup. Two seats, a roll cage, and a route that isn't on any map. Gets loaded up behind the truck when the campsite is too far from the good trails.
Ridge tops, muddy shorelines, camp naps, and one crime scene on the living room carpet. Tap any photo to open it bigger.
The standing agenda. Same as last summer, only muddier.
Mission 01
Load the trailer, point the truck at a road we haven't tried, and find out whether the fishing is as good as the rumours. Two bars of signal is plenty.
Waiting on a free weekendMission 02
Unhook the side-by-side and go looking for water holes with bad intentions. Steele will supervise. Lola will ride shotgun and complain about the bumps.
Weather dependentMission 03
Dutch oven supper, chairs in a circle, dogs stealing the warmest spot. Fire on until the stars are out, then back in the trailer for the best sleep of the month.
Every single trip