From Frank

I always felt a deep connection with the backcountry, a need to immerse myself in it, and feel right at home. My first adventures however didn’t really turn out that way… I didn’t know what I was doing most of the time, I had the worst outdoor gear ever and I found out what “adventure” really meant…”getting into trouble and not knowing out to get out of It”.

Although books where of some help, they didn’t suffice believe me.

I started then taking several courses to truly learn the wilderness skills I needed to prepare for any kind of adventure. I was so passionate about the great outdoor that eventually in the early 90’s I became an instructor of the Italian Adventure Academy, specialized in survival skills, canoeing, climbing, traditional archery e wilderness first-aid.
At about the same time I discovered a Sleddog School in the Alps. I’ve always been a dog lover, so it was inevitable..I began by volunteering at the school and soon fell in love with the dogs and the lifestyle of the “musher”. Over the following five years I was extremely busy between teaching survival skills and training sled dogs…that wasn’t enough though.

I was having these dreams about Canada, a wide open country of endless forests, lakes and wild animals, a harsh environment, a place of self-discovery with plenty of challenges… I believed it was this the environment where dog sledding was meant to be practiced.

The following year I was on my way to Northern Quebec, to a remote outpost along the Labrador border. Home was a small log cabin in the middle of the Boreal Forest, without electricity or running water, just few oil lamps and a woodstove… Most of my friends would have gone crazy after few days, for me was like opening the door to my dream… Here I spent the whole winter co-guiding dogsledding expeditions along the traditional routes of the “Coureurs du Bois”, the runners of the woods. It was during those intense winter treks in sub-zero temperatures, that I truly tested myself and learned the skills of northern survival.

Looking back, I recognize the experience as a very transformative journey that eventually led me, to pursue my dream by bringing into life my own company, “Wolf Within Adventures”, specialized in guiding unique wilderness adventures while promoting traditional ways of travel such as canoeing and dog sledding.

Since 1996 I have collaborate with many canoe camps and outfitters in Ontario, including guiding extended canoe trips and leadership programs from Temagami throughout the Hudson Bay watershed…

I love sharing my passion and experience with others and also feel the responsibility to pass on a way to reconnect with Nature which is both sustainable and responsible to minimize our footprints and ensure the health and longevity of our wild spaces for future generations.