Fieldlings: Creatures on the Bow

Fieldlings are short stories and essays inspired by nature, infused with the wisdom of the great outdoors.

Slowly, serenely, we paddled up the ribbon of turquoise blue. My daughter and I had hatched a simple plan: pack snacks and layers, load our two bodies on my paddleboard, and paddle the Bow River with no destination in mind. We were now at our midway point, having paddled as far upstream as our arms could take us. And now the easy work began. She lay down in the sun, toes dipped in the cool water of the river, hands on her belly. I sat at the back so I could slide the paddle in when we needed a course correction. But the work was effortless. I gazed at the treetops, looking for ospreys.

Water lapping. Wind rustling. And the next thing we heard was the raw, reedy cry of an elk bugling. The higher tones carried upriver, and I sat up straight, my eyes scanning the banks. At the next cry, my daughter sat up, attentive to the strange noise coming from the trees.

A cow emerged. Then another. Several females gathered near the river’s edge. The bugle rang out again, and we spotted the source: a bull was among the herd, grazing on shrubs. I back-paddled to slow our journey, and just in time; not far downstream, a cow had entered the water and began her swim to the other side. She came within metres of the paddleboard, and I felt the energy shift in the water around us.

I was enthralled, both by the elk and my daughter’s transfixion with the moment. In an age of screens and high-stimulation entertainment, I have tried to instill in my children a reverence for the natural world. But in our encounter with the elk that day, we transcended our efforts to notice and connected with something primal. For a few minutes, we weren’t humans observing.

True connection was forged when we became just two more creatures on the water.

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Meghan J. Ward is an outdoor, travel and adventure writer based in Banff, Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the author of Lights to Guide Me Home. Meghan has written several books and produced content for films, anthologies, blogs and some of North America’s top outdoor, fitness and adventure publications.