The Road Less Traveled
Jason Marleau knows Ontario like the back of his hand. Actually, he knows Ontario much better—he’s walked every path, fished every stream, paddled every river, camped every clearing, and mounted every mountain. It’s his job.
As an associate director and guidebook writer for Backroad Mapbooks, Jason, armed with a backpack and GPS, scopes out the lesser-known natural areas of Canada to lead travelers to the most remote and intriguing spots to hike, fish, climb, kayak, or enjoy other activities, including off-roading by mountain bikes and ATVs.
“I think I’ve driven every primary, secondary, and most of the tertiary roads in Ontario,” says the affable Jason, 35. “About five times a year I take research trips that last a couple weeks and go to extremely remote locations that I can only find through GPS tracking.”
He takes most of these trips alone, leaving his wife and two children behind. He admits it did take some getting used to. “At first, it was pretty hard, not talking to someone for five days straight. Sometimes I got pretty nervous—like, if I turned an ankle and couldn’t walk, I thought I might be stuck somewhere for a week,” he explains, but overall he’s thrilled that his job includes canoeing and camping in the wilderness.
“I like the feeling that I’m the last man on Earth, like I’m in complete control of my life,” says Jason. “Sometimes, I’ll stare for an hour or two at a beautiful meadow or a burbling stream and just think about things I wouldn’t normally think about because usually we’ve got so much going on around us,” he says. “There are mornings when I wake up, look up at a pure blue morning sky, take a deep breath of fresh air and think, ‘It’s great to be alive!’”
Jason can thank brothers Russell and Wesley Mussio of Vancouver, Canada, for his enthusiastic attitude toward work. They founded Backroad Mapbooks in 1993. The two avid outdoorsmen loved to hunt, fish, kayak, backpack—you name it. When they got tired of lugging around a host of guidebooks for each activity, Russ turned to Wes (or Wes to Russ, depending on the version you hear), and said, “Why not create one book that covers everything?”
Today, the company publishes 33 different books, CDs, and topographic maps that encompass just about all of Canada, and the staff draws on “tons of volunteers,” says Jason, to supply the writers with new trails and tips that other outdoors people stumble upon.
While Jason has seen more of the great outdoors than most people, he’s still waiting to see a grizzly bear. He says bear watching is his favorite part of the job; it’s a fascination he’s had since childhood, keeping a log of every bear he has seen since he was seven years old.
“To me, bears are the pinnacle of wilderness,” he says dreamily. “Without bears, there is no wilderness.”
One could counter that without Jason, there would be no maps to get to the wilderness.
Jason Marleau recommends these recreational sites in the northern Lake Erie region:
WINTER
“The Mitchell, Stratford, or Kitchener areas are great for
snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. These are agricultural areas
with plenty of open fields. And for people who like ice fishing, there are a
number of small lakes and ponds in the region.”
SPRING
“The Long Point National Wildlife Area has a number of unique
environments, including sand dunes and wetlands. Bird watchers love the
park because it attracts the highest concentration of migratory birds in the
Lake Erie area.”
SUMMER
“The Grand River runs through Woodstock, Kitchener, and
Guelph. You can paddle the river, which stretches over 100 kilometers [over
62.13 miles], and there are a lot of nice campsites in the area.”
AUTUMN “Point Pelee National Park is beautiful when the trees are
changing color. Bird watchers like this park, too. Thousands of species
pass through the area. It’s phenomenal.”
Backroad Mapbooks is the leading publisher of outdoor recreation guidebooks and maps in Canada. Visit backroadmapbooks.com for more information.