David & Leah Jackson have published an almost 2 hour long video documenting their three month canoe trip…
“A few years ago, Leah and I were lucky to survive a car accident and crawl out her passenger door after a near miss with transport trucks on a northern highway. The temperature was -30, an unforecasted whiteout had enveloped the highway, and we dawned our deep winter kit and ran for the ditch, terrified of what was coming next. As we stood there, adrenaline pumping, eyes wide, heading home from a month winter camping in the mountains, we vowed to change, to drive less, and spend more time on the land. We imagined going far, from home.
This film is the culmination of that idea born in a frozen ditch. We could have done many things, but the trip was everything we needed to heal our wounded souls and find beauty in the world again, to find peace in slow travel, to live breath by breath. On January 29, 2026, a few weeks ago, as we put the final touches on this video, we were heading for a dinner with Leah’s best friends and their family’s. As we drove out, the highway was shutdown for an accident, and soon the call would come that Cheyenne had lost her life heading to work, 15 minutes from home, after going head on with a transport on the trans Canada Highway 11/17. Our hearts shattered and once again we find ourselves in the frozen ditch, needing to find a way forward, trying to make sense of a cruel world. Cheyenne was a daughter, wife, sister, and dear friend. This film, tragically, is dedicated to her, and all those who have lost their lives on the highways of Northern Ontario that desperately need immediate action to repair, divide, and make safer. This film is our way to heal and live for the memories, for we may never move on, but we can search for trails forward.”
