Name: "Vaka Motu In The Wake of the Ancestors" a Presentation by Lorne Perry
Start: 2025-09-29T23:30:00.000Z
Location: Irish Cultural Society in Bowness

**Land of the Larches Backcountry Adventure**

**Great news!** The Calgary Explorers Club has partnered with **The Path Less Taken for upcoming adventure and interpretive hikes.**

This September The Path Less Taken is offering a fabulous fall weekend of laughs, larches and lakes for adventurous groups of friends or families! Get away from the larch day-hike madness and enjoy the splendor of fall colors in the peace and quiet of the backcountry. This professionally guided adventure will involve a short hike to set up camp at Elbow Lake Campground. From there, the group will venture off on two different hikes unencumbered by heavy backpacks in search of larches. Your adventures will also be fully fueled by tasty on-trail food and hearty campsite cooking. An autumn adventure you don't want to miss!
**Overnight: Land of the Larches**
**Explorer Club Rate: $299 per person**

**You will need a moderate level of fitness for this trip**

**Itinerary:**
**Monday, September 22 (7:00 - 8:00): Pre-Trip Zoom Meeting**

* Meet & Greet
* Review of Waiver & Itinerary
* Packing Tips
* Food/Allergies
* Safety Protocols
* Q&A

**Saturday, September 27: Day 1 of Backpacking Trip**

* Meet at the Elbow trailhead at 9:00 AM to sign waivers, pack group gear
* Hike 1.2 km (+122 m) to Elbow Lake Campground
* Camp-set up & Lunch
* Day Hike to Larches & Rae Lake Area, 12.5 km (+425 m)
* Relaxation & Dinner
* Campfire

**Sunday, September 28: Day 2 of Backpacking Trip**

* Optional morning lake-side stretch & breakfast
* Hike up the Rae Glacier Valley, 5.9 km (+299 m)
* Lunch
* Hike out 1.2 km (+15 m)

Once you have registered, a detailed welcome email will be sent sharing payment/cancellation information and pre-trip details.

Your Guide:
The Calgary Explorers Club has partnered with **The Path Less Taken:**
The Path Less Taken aims through outdoor adventure, storytelling and experiential education to connect you to your local landscape.

Your Guide: As a proponent of outdoor education, Leith Monaghan has worked with youth in the outdoors with organizations such as YMCA Camp Chief Hector, University of Calgary Outdoor Centre, RiverWatch, Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society, Outward Bound and Alberta Parks. She enjoys sharing her love of nature and the mountains working with both children and adults.
As your guide, Leith Monaghan will bring a wealth of local knowledge but also a high level of safety and professionalism. Your guide will have:
● **80 Hour Wilderness First Aid Training**
● **Certified Professional Interpretive Guide, Interpretive Guides Association**
● **Hiking Guide, Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG)**
● **Outdoor Council of Canada Field Leader**
● **Field Experience since 2001**

Calgary Explorers Club Meetup Group

Steve Bommer

Land of the Larches

Elbow Lake Parking Lot

A thousand years ago the sea was a dangerous place. Long before
Europeans had ventured onto the open ocean, Polynesian
navigators, without maps or compass, were successfully piloting
their catamarans over vast distances. Described by Wade Davis of
National Geographic as one of the great achievements of the human
mind, the story of how they did it and the cultural revival it inspired is
as incredible as it is beautiful.
[Purchase Tickets here](https://calgaryexplorersclub.ca/pages/events-1)
In a once in a life time experience, I joined the crew of a “vaka”
bound for Aotearoa (New Zealand) [some 3500 kilometres distant](https://calgaryexplorersclub.ca/pages/events-1). I
would learn to raise the sails, navigate by wind, stars and swells,
and survive a storm at sea. On the first day as we sailed away, an
exasperated voice in the back of my head was saying, “My god,
you’ve really done it this time!”
Please join me, Lorne Perry, for a narrated slide show of a truly
unique and fascinating journey!

"Vaka Motu In The Wake of the Ancestors" a Presentation by Lorne Perry

Irish Cultural Society in Bowness

Calgary Explorers  Club

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