Team
Matt Olsen
Whisky
Peter Olsen
The Kids
What's New
Summer is here
Summer is officially here for the Paddle In crew. Kids finished school yesterday so we get to up our game when it comes to canoeing. This year will be a little different for us and the kids will be with me a lot more this year. What does that mean? It means we’re sitting around the breakfast table with a bunch of maps out and a notebook. The kids each have a few places they’d like to visit and it’s really the first year they’ve been this involved. We have a list… Read More
Happy (early) Fathers Day
As I mentioned earlier our first family spring trip is a special one. Another reason for that is my Dad (Pete) normally joins us. Having three generations of Olsen’s out on the trip is really amazing. Some of you have met Pete, some are lucky and haven’t yet 😬. He’s the reason I do what I do and why I picked up a paddle in the first place. Father’s Day is just around the corner so we figured it was a good time to say thanks to this great Father,Grandfather, and Paddler…. Read More
How were the bugs?Â
A lot of you have asked the question “How were the bugs?” Well here’s a few shots from our first night on Lake Temagami. Kids in the bug nets, Dad and Grandpa out collecting drift wood for a fire, and no the camera lens wasn’t dirty all those black dots are black flies buzzing around the kids heads. They’re attracted to my kids pretty fiercely . But never a single complaint was uttered by either of them. They were happy to be back in Temagami bugs and all. Cheers -Paddle In
We’re back.Â
We’re back! The Obabika River P.P was a great place to celebrate Ireland’s 7th birthday. We had a little bit of everything thrown at us this trip. Thunderstorms, wind, hordes of black flies and mosquitos but it was worth it. I had been in major Temagami withdrawal and this was just what I needed. We’re busy unpacking and cleaning up our gear (there are black fly corpses in everything). We have lots of photos and stories to share with all of you soon. Have a great weekend! Hopefully you can all spend… Read More
All-in-one collar +leash combination from Rad Dog
We recently got our hands on the All-in-one collar + leash combination from the folks over at www.MyRadDog.com. I’ll be referring to it as the collar/leash for the rest of the blog. Well I think before we say anything we’d like to state that Whisky our wonder test dog loved his new collar/leash. He loved it so much he wrote his own blog about it, but since he’s a dog it didn’t make any sense and he just got mud all over the keyboard. So we stepped up and decided to write one… Read More
I didn’t choose the buglife, it chose me.Â
Tis the season to wear bug nets fa la la la la la la la la..okay sorry I got a little carried away there. But it’s true the legions of blood sucking , biting creepy crawlers has risen from the fast moving brooks and stagnant beaver ponds. Yesterday we had a few conversations about bug prevention on canoe trips, now it’s all we’re thinking about. Luckily we make sure to have the following on our trips 1) Bug Jackets. The ones from The Original Bug Shirt Company are fantastic. 2) Bug spray…. Read More
To canoe
Best part of the last trip was watching all the exchange students discover a love of canoeing. Many talks and few laughs centred around that aspect of their experience in Algonquin. With only one small water/canoe related soaking it was definitely a positive experience for them, at least I think so anyway. Having our Swift Canoe & Kayak t-formex prospector was fantastic. It rides extremely well and could take any abuse they threw at it. I’ll have a more in depth write up about that canoe shortly. Hope everyone’s having a great… Read More
Start building an ArkÂ
If anyone was wondering what the water levels we’re like on the east side of Algonquin right now. They’re up! Portages and campsites were all a little smaller when we were there this past weekend. But it was well worth it to get out and enjoy some time paddling and sitting around the fire with friends. Just remember even though the ice is gone the water is still insanely cold. So be safe when you’re out there. #getoutside #wearApfd Cheers -Paddle In
Tattler #IceOut2017 Algonquin
Big thanks to Scot from ManCamping.ca as well as Tom for a great weekend celebrating Algonquins #iceout2017 on Tattler Lake. We had good weather , okay weather and on our way out horrible weather combining hail, wind , rain and a temperature of zero degrees. But it was totally worth it as the trip was filled a ton of laughs , nothing a little freezing rain and hail could stop. Here’s a little highlight -met some new folks who were on their first backcountry canoe trip -threw out enough 80’s movies references… Read More
Ontario Turtle Conservation Center
Continuing on with the turtle theme you may asking yourself how you can get in on the action and help out your fellow heroes in a half shell. If you’d like to make an impact and help injured turtles I’d suggest heading over to Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre and go to their shop. They have a bunch of great items and the proceeds go on to help fund this organization which helps a lot of injured turtles. They aren’t the only one either many groups have formed over the years to help… Read More
