Good 'eh Folks,
I recently turned 34 on a mountain by a glacier in Kluane National Park. I usually write a reflective journal entry on my birthday but because we were back-packing and tenting, I left my 'morning pages' book at home to cut weight. As I lay in my tent on the eve of my birthday I reflected on this past year and decided it was by far, one of my favourites thus far.
One of the highlights was writing, recording and releasing the 2016 album 'Fire on the Ice' with Home Sweet Home (myself, Keitha Clark and Boyd Benjamin). The album combines a selection of songs that reflect our cultural backgrounds (Keitha is from Saskatchewan and Boyd is from Old Crow) as well as our current musical interests. We had fun adding twin fiddles to latin rhythms and major seventh chords to old country tunes. We toured the album in March in Saskatchewan and released it up north in May.
I performed in Ontario in the spring time at the Ottawa Grass Roots Festival. There is a photo below of myself and Bob Nesbitt (the artistic director) at a CKCU radio interview on 'Canadian Spaces' with Christ White. I performed in Maynooth while in the area visiting friends and rafting on the Madawaska. I was also excited to play at the Acoustic Grill in Picton with my Dad (Alan Weekes) and my brother (Miles Weekes). There is a potter's studio and art gallery just outside of Orangeville where I played a wilderness-themed show to an audience that was abundant with paddlers.
From June through to September I worked as a canoe and hiking guide for a company called Sea to Sky Expeditions. This was a fantastic experience spending time in incredibly beautiful places in the Yukon and BC. Hiking trips included the Chilkoot Trail, The Tombstone Mountains and the West Coast Trail. Canoe trips included the Yukon River and the Wind River. The Wind River is in the Peel Watershed, in the northern Yukon. I paddled this river in 2014 and was thrilled to be out there again with a great group of people.
Now the summer guiding season is over and I have a couple of months to focus on songwriting and booking gigs for the new year. I found out a few days ago that I will be heading to Norway December 1st to be a dog mushing guide for four months! I'm incredibly excited as this has long been a dream of mine. I am winding things up in the Yukon right now and played a gig a few days ago with my fiddling friend Keitha Clark.
See you in Scandinavia!
Kate
