Wilderness Wavelength

Join us for a little journey down Highway 40 south on this episode! Marie Laska from Cadomin and George Spanach from Mercoal stop in for a chat about the historic Alberta Coal Branch and share stories of from the area.

Marie is a has been a Cadomin resisident for 5 years and has fully embraced the community. She tells us what brought her to Cadomin and the adventures she has had in area.

George was born in the coal branch town of Mercoal in 1944 and he describes growing up in a boom town. George still spends his summers in Mercoal staying in the heritage home that his father built in 1939.

Follow along with Marie's adventures through her Candles of Cadomin page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089984826755

Join Scott Sunderwald on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/northern.rockies.bushcraft/

Sitting around a cozy wood stove at an old cabin in Rock Lake Provincial Park reminiscing about the Willmore.

Grandpa and Grammy, Calvin and Susan Shantz, have been coming to Rock Lake for decades and talk about what keeps bringing them back and some of their wild pack horse adventures.

We are so excited to chat with local adventure enthusist, Jailin Bertolin on this episode! Jailin exemplifies the active winter lifestyle with hobbies that include fatbiking, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, skijoring, and so much more!

Jailin tells us about some of her amazing adventures throughout the Northern Rockies and around the world!

With the Winter Magic festival coming to Hinton in February, we dig into fatbiking and the Hinton Growler Fatbike Race. Find out more about the race at https://www.bikehinton.com/

This winter, the Hinton Nordic Centre is celebrating their 50th anniversary and have a ton of events going on in February! Find out more at

https://www.facebook.com/HintonNordicCentre

Follow along with Jailin's adventures on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jailinbertolin/

You can also learning more about Rising Wellness Reflexology at risingwellness.ca or https://www.instagram.com/rising.wellness.reflexology/

Check out Scott Sunderwalds latest adventures at https://www.instagram.com/northern.rockies.bushcraft/

At just 18 years old, Tate Tocher is already living the outdoorsmans dream! Tate has worked for guiding outfitters in the Yukon and Northern BC and tells us about his adventures spent in the wilderness and helping out with hunts for moose, elk, sheep and mountain goats.

We also chat about some of the challenges with taking pack horse trips into the wilderness and a day in the life of a wrangler.

Follow along with Tate on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/tatetocher/

Check out Scott Sunderwald's latest adventures at https://www.instagram.com/northern.rockies.bushcraft/

Nate and Noah drop by the show to share the story of their maple syrup legacy! Maple production has been part of the Mathisons family for six generations and we get an inside look into the operation.

Besides maple syrup, the brothers also chat about what brought them to the Northern Rockies as well as hunting and fishing back home in Ontario. We also discuss New Years resolutions and plans for 2026!

Check out the Mathisons on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mathisonsmaplefarm/

Follow along with Scott Sunderwald at https://www.instagram.com/northern.rockies.bushcraft/

Stay Wild!

The Christmas Bird Count is North Americas longest-running citizen science project, where volunteers count birds to identify population trends and species distribution.

Biologist Beth MacCallum has been part of the Hinton bird count for the past 39 years and stops by to chat about the count and some of the finds and changes in the Hinton area over the past few decades.

This year the Hinton bird count is happening on December 26th and the Brule bird count is December 27th. If you would like to be involved in either count, reach out to Beth at [email protected] or 780-865-4906

If you are visiting elsewhere over the Christmas break you can visit https://www.birdscanada.org/bird-science/christmas-bird-count to find a map of active circles in your area.

Follow along with Scott Sunderwald on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/northern.rockies.bushcraft/

Good Birding!

Just got home from a Costa Rica vacation. Cristina and Casey help highlight some of the trip! Pura Vida

Cameron Crawford returns to the podcast to update us on his Sasquatch search! Cameron and his research partner, Josh, have been traveling throughout Alberta in search of Bigfoot and following up on sightings and leads around the province.

On this episode we dig into some possible sightings, the facts for and against the existence of Sasquatch and what the future of the Sasquatch community looks like.

Follow along with Cameron on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/travellingcanuck29/ and his Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@thetravellingcanuck29

For Sasquatch sightings, email Cameron at [email protected]

Follow along with Scott Sunderwald on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/northern.rockies.bushcraft/

STAY WILD

This is the longest episode of the podcast to date and things get a little wild! The lively Matthew Ritchie from "The Next Chapter" stops by to chat about his adventurous 2025 fall hunting season. Matthew and Scott Sunderwald hand out some great hunting advice and recount some exciting hunting stories.

Jeff is also back on the show and helps us with a game of "Would You Rather"!

Follow along with The Next Chapter on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/202535382783070

Follow Scotts adventures on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/northern.rockies.bushcraft/

4 year old Casey sits down for a chat about hunting season, monster trucks and he even tells a few jokes!