Ontario Backcountry Canoe Symposium
Quick question folks. Who here is heading to the symposium in April? We’re very proud to be sponsoring the show this year and as always we’re very excited to be attending. They have a wonderful lineup of speakers this year as well as a great selection of vendors/sponsors. The promoter David Bain not only works his butt off putting this show on , but makes sure its an amazing show each year and we’re lucky to have someone like that to help support the community here in Ontario. For tickets head on… 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
Woodland Caribou: Part One
Okay folks after a severe puppy incident which had me thinking my laptop was for for the pit. I’ve salvaged it all. So over the next few days we’ll be bringing you Tom’s first trip report for the team. Part One: Woodland Caribou Provincial Park August 23rd – Sept 4th 2017 By: Tom Donnachie Photos – Instagram: @thomas_rowan / @ey_pep / @zmp Bucket List canoe trips: Quetico, The Nahanni, Mackenzie River….these are all names that arise when paddlers talk of destinations and routes that exemplify their idea of the remote, wilderness adventure…. Read More
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
Thanks to Swift Canoes
A massive thank you to the good folks at Swift Canoe & Kayak for lending me one of their Canada 150 themed 16 foot prospectors for our 150 for 150 event. Only 150 of these will be produced and we were lucky enough to paddle number 16. You can find out more about them by clicking this link… 🇨🇦http://www.swiftcanoe.com/canada 🇨🇦 Even sitting on shore the canoe drew people to it with the Canadian flag emblazoned on the bottom. It felt very fitting to be paddling such a canoe during an event which… Read More
How were the bugs?
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
Day Two : Tim access to Opeongo
Day Two It was dark when I awoke. Dark and hot, where was I? Slowly the smell of decaying aquatic vegetation made its way to my nose, I was still on the river. It was just after five a.m, the temperature must of dropped in the night as I’d closed the clam shell to my bivy and pulled my sleeping bag on. It was so quiet. I made a bowl of instant porridge and went to sit by the river side. A bull moose was sprinting along the banks , I’m amazed… Read More
