Muskox in Aulavik National Park grace the cover of Park Bagger: Adventures in the Canadian National Parks/Marlis Butcher

The title of Marlis Butcher's new book begs the question — what exactly is a park bagger?

National Parks Traveler asked the Burlington, Ontario-based author of Park Bagger: Adventures in the Canadian National Parks where the term comes from and what led her to visit all of Canada's national parks and then transform her travel journals and photography into a book.

What exactly is a “park bagger?” and where does the term come from?

I’m the first “Canadian Park Bagger.” The “bagger” term originates from Scotland, where people who attempted to climb all the peaks of the Monro mountains referred to themselves as “Monro Bagging.” After each peak reached, they could say “I bagged another one.” From that, people who try to climb all the major mountains in the world called themselves “Peak Baggers.” As I wanted to visit all the Canadian national parks, I borrowed the word and coined the term “Canadian Park Bagger.” My game, my name.

Park Bagger author Marlis Butcher hikes in Glacier National Park/Marlis Butcher

What’s your life/work background and how did you become obsessed with parks?

I’ve always loved the outdoors — I need to be outside, no matter where or what the weather. As a child, I volunteered to shovel snow and weed the gardens, just so that I could be outdoors. My parents thought I was a strange child, but didn’t complain. My family couldn’t afford to stay in hotels or motels when on vacation, so we camped. I loved camping so much that I joined the Girl Guides. I spent most of my summers at Guide camps, sleeping in tents, canoeing, hiking and learning outdoor skills.

I happen to have a head for mathematics, so I became a finance specialist and an accountant. That’s how I earned a living. However, my weekends and vacations were spent outdoors, exploring Canada and other countries. When I returned to my office on Toronto’s Bay Street, I’d share my tales of adventure. Several years ago, a colleague asked me how many of the Canadian national parks I’d been to. I counted them up — I’d visited more than 20. I like ticking things off lists, and this new list of mine was only half done. Hence my obsession to get to all of the parks, not simply to stop by, but to personally experience each of them.

You visited all (47) national parks and (1) national urban parks in Canada. Can you talk about the first and last ones you visited?

The first national park I visited was Thousand Islands National Park in Ontario, with my family in the late 1960s. That was an easy day’s drive from our home in Laval, Quebec for my dad who hated driving. We camped in a nearby campground. I spent my days helping with the camp chores and exploring the woodlot around our campsite. We had fun in the playgrounds, beaches and water, and we splurged on a boat tour of the lovely islands.

The last park I visited was Ukkusiksalik National Park in Nunavut in 2019. This is a very remote park on the northwest coast of Hudson Bay. There is no road access. You have to fly there in a plane that can land on the tundra, or go by boat. The local communities are working with Parks Canada to develop some infrastructure to help visitors get to know the area. The low rolling, tree-less hills are covered in wildflowers and berries. My small team of explorers watched caribou grazing in the valleys and seals lounging on river rocks. We listened to the Inuit who live, hunt and fish in the area, and learned about this bountiful land. Ukkusiksalik is a very special place.

Spotting polar bears in Wapusk National Park/Marlis Butcher

You didn’t just breeze through these parks, you hiked, mountain biked, canoed, kayaked, snowshoed, snorkelled and trekked. Can you share a few thoughts on how each activity might change how you view a park? You also visited a few parks via expedition cruise ship?

Before visiting a place, I like to read as much as I can about the area because I don’t want to waste time figuring out what to see and do when I’m there. I also don’t want to miss any of the “good stuff.” The first thing I usually to do when I arrive is to get to know the general layout by visiting the information kiosk and easy-to-access places, and reading the information plaques along the roads and pathways — whatever formal structure is available in the park.

Then my personal preference is to visit and do activities that relate to the history or traditions of the area. This allows me to “feel” the landscape, learn about the wildlife, appreciate something about how Indigenous peoples live there, perhaps understand some of what the first European explorers experienced when they arrived, and learn about the research currently happening in the parks.

A third of our national parks have no road access. As infrastructure is still being developed to help visitors experience some of the remotest parks, I had to become creative and take advantage of whatever opportunities were available to get there. This included joining a small expedition ship to visit some Arctic parks along the Northwest Passage — Sirmilik National Park and Qausuittuq National Park. As a result, I travelled by a variety of means, adding to the diversity of my park experiences.

The cover of Park Bagger by Marlis Butcher/Rocky Mountain Books

During your travels, you experience three kinds of bears (polar, grizzly and black), wolves and wolverines, storms, falls and sinking boats? Does the average park-goer understand the potential risks?

I think most people know that there are risks, but many don’t pay attention or consider the potential consequences of what they are doing, when they are doing it.

Visitors should be aware that our national parks have a dual purpose: to preserve and to present samples of our country’s diverse geography, so that people now and in the future can enjoy and appreciate our native wilderness. Those places include beautiful landscapes, wild animals and unpredictable weather — and like everything in life, there are consequences if we do not respect them.

In cities, we respect the rules of the road, we dress for rain/snow/heat as required, we dispose of waste in garbage cans, we don’t trash other peoples’ property, we don’t threaten or hurt people, etc. In the parks (and in any wilderness) we must show the same respect. Stay on the marked trails, dress for the terrain and weather, dispose of waste in garbage cans, don’t wreck the place, and leave the wildlife in peace.

It’s impossible to pick favourites — I’m sure you have many. But pick a few favourites.

You’re right, I don’t have a favourite park because each one highlights the beauty and the best of its region. However, I’d like to spend more time in some of the parks, including:
• La Mauricie National Park in Quebec — so idyllic with its laid-back, friendly forests.
• Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan — wandering with the deer, antelope and buffalo through the prairies.
• Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta — snuggled in a mountain chalet in the winter.
• Sirmilik in Nunavut — visiting the floe edge with friendly, local people, admiring belugas and seals.
• And of course, Wapusk National Park in Manitoba — one of my all-time favourite experiences anywhere in the world. The trip is very expensive, but so worth it for the thrill of seeing wild polar bears.

Has writing a book created a natural end to your park journeys, or do have plans to keep going?

Definitely not the end of my journey. Parks Canada has a mandate to create a park in each of the 39 geographical regions it’s divvied the country up into. Several of those regions do not yet have parks. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new park in the Northwest Territories, Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve, was announced. As soon as travel restrictions are relaxed and it’s safe to visit, I’ll be exploring Thaidene Nene. My quest goes on.

What do you want people to do after reading your book?
I hope people enjoy the stories of my adventures in our national parks, and that they gain a greater appreciation and respect for our country. I wish to inspire people to help preserve our natural Canadian environment, to perhaps visit some of the parks themselves, or to reminisce about their own past adventures in the parks.