Hälle and Linda Flygare in Banff National Park. Photo by Bruno Engler.

Linda and Hälle Flygare are long-time residents of Canmore, Alberta. They are outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers. Hälle was born in Lund Sweden in 1936 and Linda (maiden name Powley) is from Regina Saskatchewan born in 1941. Before Linda met Hälle she travelled around the world for two and a half years working in various jobs. Linda’s father, Bud Powley, was a professional hockey player in the US. Linda and Hälle were married in Vancouver in 1968.

Hälle’s early interests and experiences as a young person growing up in Sweden shaped his future career in Canada. As a boy he enjoyed reading books about Canadian pälsjägare (trappers) and in his early teens he worked in a darkroom at a camera store developing film and printing pictures. His love of nature and the outdoors drew him to seek out an opportunity to work in the forestry industry in Sweden.

Hälle became a Swedish/Canadian exchange student from 1959 to 1960. He then emigrated to Canada in 1962 and obtained full time work that same year with the BC Forest Service until 1965. After 1965 he accepted a job as a timber cruiser for Reid, Collins and Associates in Vancouver. Timber cruising is the process of assessing standing timber to estimate its volume, quality, and value, often for purposes like timber sales or property valuation.

Hälle was then offered a supervisory role with a BC Hydro to cruise timber and mark out Right of Way (RW) for its power lines from Peace River to Vancouver and from Mica Dam to Vancouver. Hälle hired Linda to work as a cook for his BC Hydro field crew in Mica from 1970 to 1971. During that time they lived in Vancouver from 1968 to 1972.

Hälle packing out camping supplies in 1960 for BC Forest service in Prince George, he was 24 yrs. old.

When Hälle's job ended in 1971, Linda and Hälle moved to Banff as Hälle wanted to become a full time wildlife photographer. Linda worked for the Parks as a secretary, and Hälle accepted a job as Park Warden from 1972 to 1992. In 1992 Hälle started Alpine Book Peddlers because of his book "Wild Flowers of the Canadian Rockies".

In the fall of 1972 Hälle worked for two months for a Big Game Outfitter Bob Stewart in the Chilcotin and guided 12 Swedish Moose hunters who had read Hälle's Swedish book, "Storvilt i Canada". It was here that Hälle found old native trails and Bob told Hälle that Alexander Mackenzie had trekked here in July of 1793.

Hälle's book in Swedish "Storvllt i Canada"

Alexander Mackenzie’s route across the continent is significant because it was the last thread in the fur trade network that once stretched Canada wide. Sir Alexander Mackenzie was a Scottish explorer known for accomplishing the first crossing of North America north of Mexico by a European in 1793. United States learned of Alexander Mackenzie's exploration and President Jefferson commisioned the Lewis and Clark expedition to find a practrical water route across the continent to the Pacific Ocean arriving there in 1805, twelve years after Alexander Mackenzie completed his yourney in 1793.

Hälle was seconded by Parks Canada from his Park Warden job in Banff National Park to investigate, retrace and map out the Mackenzie trail. Hälle and Linda hiked Alexander’s trail from the Fraser river in BC to Bella Coola on the Pacific Coast of Canada. Part of the journey was photographed by Peter Tasker and documented by John Woodworth for Beautiful British Columbia Magazine in 1981. See map below showing their route.

The Mackenzie trail in British Columbia is 340 km long from the Fraser River to Bella Coola River. Since 1982 the trail is protected by a 200 meter wide corridor. Hälle's first job was to investigate how much of the Mackenzie route was hikeable. Linda served as cook while Hälle spent 4 months in 1975 with two natives from Nazko Village. The main problem today is that the trail is full of windfalls. The Flygare’s retraced the trail several times and Hälle has written a number of books about the Mackenzie trail and produced maps and photographs along the route. They both hope that the trail will be restored and preserved for future generations.

Linda and Hälle Flygare hiking the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail. Photo by Peter Tasker, 1981.

Hälle and Linda by a directional rock cairn near Mackenzie Pass. Photo by Peter Tasker, 1981.

 

Linda Flygare wading Sundyman Ford in 120 cm deep water of the Euchiniko lakes, km 136.54 on the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail. Photo by Hälle Flygare August, 1975.

Hälle Flygare standing next to an Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail sign. Photo by Brian Patton, 1986.

Linda Flygare, John Woodworth and Hälle Flygare at the "Rock" after completing the first field season of the Sir Alexander MacKenzie Heritage Trail for Parks Canada, British Columbia Parks and the Nature Conservancy of Canada, August 1975. The message reads: “Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada, by land, the twenty-second of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three". This message was carved into a rock outcropping at Alexander Mackenzie Park in the Dean Channel west of Bella Coola, BC and represents the end of Mackenzie's exploration.

 

Halle's publications on the Alexander Mackenzie Trail include maps and photographs.

In 1972, Hälle and Linda moved to Banff and Hälle was hired as a Park Warden for Banff National Park where he worked for the next 17 years. While working in the Park he noticed a significant loss of wildlife that had crossed the Trans-Canada highway. Hälle knew that in Sweden the highways were fenced to reduce wildlife collisions and he proposed that they should do the same in Banff and provide underpasses for the animals to cross. At first his suggestion was ignored, but after a semi-trailer truck killed a large number of elk, the establishment acknowledged Hälle was on to something and the park began fencing parts of the highway and building underpasses. Today the Trans-Canada highway has fencing, underpasses and overpasses. Research studies have shown this has significantly reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by more than 80%, and in some cases, over 96% for elk and deer.

Hälle and Linda Flygare photographed at the Vermilion Lakes outside Banff. Photo by Bruno Engler.

Hälle served as a Park Warden in Banff National Park for 17 years. Photo by Linda Flygare.

While Hälle worked as a park warden he dealt with problem bears and educated visitors to the park in a friendly manner. Hälle had traded in his own guns for cameras and became a highly respected photographer. As an entrepreneur he established a successful business selling wildlife photos, wildflower cards and books. He produced a popular book on wildflowers that used colour coded pages to facilitate flower identification and started Alpine Book Peddlers. Linda suggested the use of colour coding the pages to facilitate the quick identification. His book “Wildflowers of the Canadian Rockies” sold over 45,000 copies and is still available today on Amazon. In addition, he produced a number of plasticized pamphlets for identifying birds, animals and wild flowers. Hälle also served as a photo guide for other professional photographers from around the world. Hälle and Linda have since travelled to numerous locations around the world to take photographs from Antarctica to the Arctic.

Park Warden Hälle Flygare with Flip on Ranger Pass, a 10 day backcountry patrol in Banff National Park near Indian Head area. Photo by Gordon Antoniuk, 1976.

Hälle sold over 45,000 copies of his book Wildflowers of the Canadaian Rockies which is still for sale on Amazon along with his plastic coated pamphlets for quick identification of flowers, mammals and birds.

Hälle's book published by Firefly in 2023 is available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.ca/Wildlife-North-Animals-Latitudes-America/dp/0228104556

Hälle has photographed a wide selection of animals and plants that can only be appreciated by viewing some of his books. In this short article I have only shown a small selection of Hälle’s images including animals, birds, and flowers. Hälle photographed using a 35 mm film camera and after the year 2000, he used the latest digital photography cameras from Nikon. I have had the pleasure and privilege of photographing with Hälle in parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia (BC) and the Northwest Territories. His knowledge about wildlife is extensive.

Left to right: 1) Wolverine 2) Male mountain Lion 3) Canada Lynx - photos by Hälle Flygare.

Grizzly (Ursus arctos horribillis), taken in Banff National Park by Hälle Flygare

Hälle Flygare in 2010, photo by R. Berdan

I met Hälle in Calgary 30 years ago at a color printing workshop. Since then we have been close friends. We have driven through parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan in search of wildlife and even photographed rattle snakes at Red Rock Coulee. I encourage those interested in Hälle’s photography to visit his web site natureinwildplaces.com. We have also driven from Calgary to Yellowknife a few times. North of Yellowknife we photographed Caribou and the Aurora borealis at Peterson’s point lake lodge. The lodge is situated close to the Bathurst Caribou herd. In Yellowknife we camped at Prelude Territorial park. I also accompanied Hälle on a boat from Bella Coola to Mackenzie rock a few years ago while I was a photo tour guide in “The Great Bear Rainforest”. Hälle successfully captured beautiful pictures of the Spirit Bear while I only managed a few photographs of black bears and some West coast wolves. Below are two of my favorite photographs of Hälle taken near Yellowknife and while resting alongside an esker on the Tundra. This article is only a brief synopsis of two lives well spent. Hälle and Linda Flygare contributed to the historic, artistic and natural tapestry of this beautiful corner of the world which we call home. My wife Donna and I feel lucky to know both Hälle and Linda, we only wished they lived closer to Calgary so we could visit them more often.

Hälle Flyare photographing outside Yellowknife in 2015. Photo by R. Berdan.

Hälle Flygare resting on an Esker near Point Lake, Northwest Territories. Photo by R. Berdan.

Acknowledgements: I thank my wife Donna for proofing, suggestions and comments.

Halle's Web site: visit Nature in Wild Places to see more of Halle's photography.

Halle's Contact Information
909-15 Street, Canmore, Alberta, Canada T1W 1X2
E-mail: halle@nucleus.com
Phone: 403-678-4236

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Bio: Robert Berdan is a professional nature photographer living in Calgary, AB specializing in nature, wildlife and science photography. Robert retired from Cell\Neurobiology research to pursue photography full time years ago. Robert offers photo instruction ain all aspects of nature photography, Photoshop training, photomicrography and macro-photography. Portrait of Robert by Dr. Sharif Galal showing some of Robert's research in the background.

Email at: rberdan@scienceandart.org 
Web sites: www.canadiannaturephotographer.com  www.scienceandart.org
Phone: MST 10 am -7 pm (403) 247-2457.