Leanne Minton says some of the 鈥渁bsolute best days鈥� of her life were spent riding through Jasper鈥檚 backcountry with her husband, park warden Phil Minton.
Those trips had such a profound impact on her that the New Zealand native wrote a book about them.
Blue Creek Bride, Minton鈥檚 self-published memoir, is her reflection on the summers she spent patrolling Jasper鈥檚 backcountry with her husband.
Minton says the book is 鈥渁 very personal account of my steep learning curve in the backcountry,鈥� battling rogue porcupines, wrangling horses and surviving mosquitos.
It鈥檚 a remarkable book, not just because of the unique perspective it offers of Jasper鈥檚 wilderness, but because that perspective comes from someone who vowed never to set foot in Canada.
鈥淚鈥檓 embarrassed to admit now that Canada was one of the countries that I said I never wanted to go to,鈥� Minton says, before breaking into laughter, admitting she envisioned it as a cold and horrible place, with ugly trees and miserable weather.
But Phil changed that for her, starting with the tours he gave her when she first came, and later by taking her with him on his backcountry patrols.
They got married, Minton explains, after she 鈥渕ade this unexpected and unwanted trip to Jasper.鈥�
Minton had planned to visit someone in Edmonton, but when he bailed on her, she decided to come anyway, skipping the city and hopping on a bus to Jasper instead.
There she met Shelia Couture, who connected with her immediately, and set her up with her future husband.
鈥淲hen I met [Phil] I kind of thought, 鈥榦h, nothing doing it here,鈥欌�� Minton says sheepishly, 鈥渉e didn鈥檛 tick any of the boxes for me.鈥�
But something sparked after the two spent a week exploring the park together. Within two years they were married.
For five years the pair lived in Jasper, and during the summers Minton joined her husband on his patrols. It didn鈥檛 take her long to fall in love with the wilderness.
She recalls riding along the Ancient Wall, an old seabed that stretches through Jasper鈥檚 north boundary.
鈥淩iding alongside this incredible rockscape, I felt sort of protected by it,鈥� she says, 鈥渋t was just an absolutely glorious, amazing feeling, just to be one of the few people lucky enough to see such beautiful scenery.鈥�
Experiences like that drove Minton to start writing, and 鈥渙ver two long Canadian winters,鈥� she penned a manuscript. It was almost published in 2006, but the deal fell through when she and Phil moved to New Zealand.
But Minton says she always knew she would publish her book, and for years she returned to it, making it better as she became a stronger writer.
Finally, seven years later, she decided to pull the trigger and publish. In February she started a blog to help raise the money, and in less than four months had enough for a basic package at an online self-publishing website.
Her book is now available to order online, and Jasperites can also pick up a copy from Sheila Couture.
Couture says she is selling the book for Minton because she believes locals will appreciate her old friend鈥檚 unique perspective on backcountry life.
For more information, and to check out a sample chapter of Blue Creek Bride, visit bluecreekbride.blogspot.ca.
Trevor Nichols
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