Wild Northerner Magazine Spring 2018 | Page 65

Canadian Shield, bare rock, pristine lakes, muskegs, great wetlands and vast expanses of wilderness - sound familiar? Sudbury and Yellowknife both have that hardscrabble mining town vibe, with the same weather-beaten, potholed roads and graffiti-covered shacks. They can both be tough and gritty, but have gold at their core. Both places certainly inspire adventure. It makes me feel right at home.”

Sabel knows her intrepid sense of getting outdoors came from her father, Franz. He left Europe as a young man with a backpack and a dream and moved to Canada in the early 70s to start a new life. It has helped her in life in many ways.

“That sense of adventure, curiosity, fearlessness and grabbing life by the horns was not lost on me,” she said. “In fact, I may have taken a page from his book, although my compass was pointed a little further North. Of course, I’m grateful for this. It has really defined me as a person. It has meant pushing the boundaries of whatever I thought possible both professionally and personally, and to not shy away from a challenge or hard work.”

Northern Ontario will always hold a big place in Sabel’s heart no matter where in the world she ends up. Her time spent on the pink sandy shores of pristine lakes and white mountains in Killarney along with old growth Temagami forests and Manitoulin Island and Searchmont among other places she frequented over the years will never fade from her memory. They are just as vivid and meaningful as the first day she encountered them. Sabel will always be a proud person from northern Ontario.

“Fall, winter, spring or summer, northern Ontario inspires,” she said. “No matter what, my heart will always be in northern Ontario.”