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Telling tales of solitude

Chris Czajkowski, one of BC.'s most accomplished wilderness dwellers will share her experiences at SAGA Public Art Gallery Friday.
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Wilderness dweller Chris Czajkowski appears at the art gallery Friday.

Chris Czajkowski has lived in the far reaches of the Chilcotin for almost 30 years, where she has hand-built all of her cabins, often with no help at all.

Resourceful and fiercely independent, Czajkowski has become one of B.C.’s favourite wilderness dwellers.

She will share her experiences and introduce her new book, Ginty’s Ghost: A Wildnerness Dweller’s Dream, at SAGA Public Art Gallery at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9.

In 2006, Czajkowski bought a derelict homestead at Ginty Creek. Although there is rough road access into this property, it is still quite remote.

Her new book is Czajkowski’s account of settling into this homesite, which previously belonged to Ginty Paul, an eccentric recluse with whom Chris became quite intrigued. Accounts of Ginty vary greatly. Some locals remember her as a cheerful woman, always laughing, while others feared her volatile temper. Some thought it plain strange that she allowed goats into her house and kept a jar of pickled mice on her shelf.

This fascinating character comes alive as Czajkowski intersperses her own experiences with excerpts from Ginty’s letters and documents, as well as accounts of this peculiar woman from friends and neighbors.

 

Ginty’s Ghost is a story about two unconventional women who, have lived remarkable lives immersed in British Columbia’s spectacular wilderness.