New YouTube video
New video is live! A short one on one of the trips from last year we took with the kids through Temagami. Thanks for watching.
Tips Tuesday #2
We’re back for another tips Tuesday. Who makes a trip plan? Who then leaves the details with someone they know? It’s a good idea to leave a detailed version of your trip plan with friends or family. Marking where you’ll be staying and when. This way if something does happen to you help can be sent out right away and search and rescue can target the areas you were supposed to be traveling through? Now some folks might say “wait I have a spot device for emergencies like that!” True it’s great… Read More
Ode to the Black Fly
“I’ll die with the black flies picking my bones. In North Ontario” -The black fly song – So if you’re like me your FB feed is full of people who have already got out for their first paddle as they live further south or are lamenting about the remaining ice and dreaming about paddling a northern lake. I’m just here to remind you what follows iceout just a few short weeks later. Those are not birds in the photo , nor is it a fleet of airplanes soaring in the skies of… Read More
Lighting a fire(box) without a lighter
Hey guys Shawn here and my contribution to tips tuesday is showing you all how to light a fire(or in this case a Folding Firebox Stove) without a lighter. I place it just on the outside of my tarp on rain days to help stay warm in the cool weather. It is the perfect size for 2 people. When doing this I use the Swedish torch method that stands chunks of wood upwards because I find I get a longer burn time. Step 1: grab dry tinder and or small twigs… Read More
Monthly Update
Big thanks to all of you who have been following along with us and a big hello to all our new followers . Just wanted to highlight some of what’s been going on the last month or so. We launched our YouTube site. First video of our Coffee Lake trip is up. I finished editing three more last night so keep your eyes peeled as every Wednesday we’ll be releasing more. We also launched our monthly meet and greets . First one will be March 25th at 2pm . Details can… Read More
Part 5 Woodland Caribou
Ohhhhhh Day 9. Anyone reading this who’s had even limited portaging experience has suffered through a day like this. The terrain, distances and/or environment may vary, but the common factor is that times like these push you to your limits and beyond. Tempers run short, and while the physical toll is typically exhausting, it’s the mental drain on such days that really make you question your choice of masochistic hobby. It was overcast and threatening to rain. A strong wind had kicked up by the time we broke camp on Lightning. We’d… Read More
Part Four Woodland Caribou
Day 5 began earlier than I expected due to my choice of sleep shelter. Even though the open setup provided loads of crisp Northern air that knocked me out cold for the night, the site’s wildlife didn’t agree with my plan to sleep in the next morning. Not long after dawn, a red squirrel bolted over the midsection of my sleeping bag, jerking me right out of my deep sleep and into fight-or-flight mode with the thought that I was being attacked. You’re definitely not falling asleep after that, especially when the… Read More
Woodland Caribou: Part Three
Part Three: Woodland Caribou Day 2 ended up being as leisurely a day as one can imagine. We only had one portage to the western portion of Larus, which would position us for the following day’s travel south into Simeon and eventually Dunstan Lake. We slept in, ate a relaxed breakfast, and slowly packed up for the day. Our paddling was extremely laid back that day, with little urgency to cover ground quickly. We cruised past the fly-in lodge situated on the lake’s south end, realizing that this would potentially be the… Read More
Part Two: Woodland Caribou
Part Two: Woodland Caribou Almost 7 months later, and it was finally time to depart for Red Lake. Word of warning: the drive from the GTA to Woodland Caribou is a LONG one. A straight shot from East York would have been approximately 20 hours, but with breaks for gas, food, and driver changes, we completed the drive in 24 hours – not an easy feat. Harlan messaged me on our way up to inform us that we could fly into the park a day early due to a group cancellation. We… Read More
