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GANGLER’S NORTH SEAL RIVER LODGE Despite all the signs of foot traffic on the “Central Esker” in northwestern Manitoba, Brian Kotak believes he and I are likely the first people to walk here in hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. Kotak, the resident biologist at nearby Gangler’s North Seal River Lodge, located about 100 kilometres from the Nunavut border, guides me along the sandy ridge formed by retreating glaciers 8,000 years ago — one of the lodge’s new eco-adventures. Accessed via float plane, the trek is made easy by a well-worn game trail dotted with numerous moose, caribou, wolf and bear tracks. Wildlife, as well as northern lights viewing, mountain biking, kayaking and fishing, are all on offer, but exploring the geology, species and Indigenous history of the region’s 13 globally important and geologically rare eskers is the highlight. “To us, it’s a jewel of Manitoba,” explains lodge proprietor Ken Gangler. “There’s really nothing else like it.” Read more about Gangler’s eco-adventures at cangeotravel.ca/ss18/eskers.