Dave and Kielyn Marrone are the owners and operators of Lure of the North, based out of their off-grid, wilderness property in Ontario, Canada. Their passion is for all aspects of traditional winter camping, wilderness travel and northern culture. Their focus is making winter a safe, enjoyable experience to as many people as possible. Equally, they love to encourage people out of their comfort zone and explore new limits, all the while discovering how enjoyable winter can be by using the terrain appropriate technologies. From polar dipping at their base camp to walking 170 km down the Missinaibi River, they have yet to find the limit for the intrepid adventurers that join them in the wild.
They use the traditional travel techniques and equipment that has been successfully developed over thousands of years and lead groups on expeditions up to three-weeks into the wildest places in the Boreal forest. Their desire for good quality winter clothing and equipment has led them to now produce much of this themselves, which has led to a related passion for crafting and constant gear improvements.
To get a better sense how all of this comes together, the following short film by Goh Iromoto captures the essence of traditional winter travel…
Both Dave and Kielyn are graduates of Laurentian University’s Outdoor Adventure Leadership Degree program. Having shared a passion for traditional winter travel, crafts and culture for years, Kielyn and Dave started Lure of the North in 2011, after completing a 40-day, self-supported snowshoe journey in Northern Ontario in the winter of 2010. You might also recognise Kielyn from season 7 of History Channel’s popular reality show, Alone.
Their biggest trip yet is the 90-day Trans Ontario Expedition from Lake Superior to Moosonee. You can read more about this here.
We look forward to hearing more about Dave and Kielyn’s ongoing adventures, as well as learning from their experiences and expertise, at the 2022 Global Bushcraft Symposium.