Canadian adventurer Stan Walchuk Jr. should probably be dead by now.
Since he was about 13 years old, Walchuk has spent a whole lot of time trekking through the Canadian Rockies, encountering everything from angry grizzlies and other ferocious beasts to near-drowning accidents and bar fights.
鈥淚n the mountains you meet a lot of people who are really into rock climbing and whitewater rafting and skiing in places way up, and the idea is that most people are seeking that next adventure, looking for the thrill and danger of climbing that next mountain,鈥� Walchuk said. 鈥淏ut for me I never thought of myself as an adventurer.
鈥淭his was my lifestyle. Everything I did was who I was.鈥� 听听
Now that Walchuk has settled down, he鈥檚 spent the last three years penning some of his highs and lows in an autobiography titled Common Man, Uncommon Life.
鈥淭he book had a really innocent beginning. I鈥檝e always been a storyteller,鈥� he said, adding that he鈥檚 already published two other books. 鈥淎nd one night my wife said that I should really start writing down all these stories that I鈥檓 always telling.
鈥淎nd the book just kind of happened that way.鈥�
Despite living in McBride, Walchuk said he鈥檚 always had a special relationship with Jasper, having been a resident here on three different occasions. In his latest work, Walchuk shares several Jasper stories, including an icy mishap that sent him bobbing down the Athabasca River and a close call with what Walchuk can only describe as a Sasquatch.
鈥淚 was just north of Jasper in Moose Horn Valley and I heard this super amplified scream and the branches started moving,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought it was a cougar and I was going to die, but then the screams got smaller like a baby crying.
鈥淭he sound got further away so I started running in the opposite direction, but then the sound was back and louder than ever. It was like a ventriloquist was playing a sick trick on me.鈥�
After that bizarre experience, it took years before Walchuk was comfortable being alone in the woods.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in a situation where you think you鈥檙e going to die, death is actually the last thing on your mind,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll you鈥檙e thinking about is survival.鈥�
Common Man, Uncommon Life isn鈥檛 just filled with backcountry woes and mishaps. Walchuk lets readers explore almost every crevasse of his personal life, including his honeymoon.
鈥淭here are some funny stories in there like how me and my wife had to sleep on the back of a truck on our honeymoon because we couldn鈥檛 get into a wilderness听cabin,鈥� he said. 鈥淎fter it was published my wife said she wasn鈥檛 so comfortable about me sharing all this personal stuff, but if you鈥檙e going to do something like this you have to be honest.
鈥淚 wanted to include the good and the bad and the crazy.鈥�
Walchuk released Common Man, Uncommon Life in November and said so far he鈥檚 received nothing but positive feedback.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a book like no other and people will really enjoy it.鈥�
Walchuk鈥檚 latest creations are expected to hit shelves in Jasper later this month.
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
