Temagami, Ontario. Hiked the tallest point in the Province called the Ishpatina Ridge. And, one day was gruelling: 9 portages (double carrying) and a 16km paddle.

Completed the “Nellie Lake Loop” in Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario Canada with my youngest son. Excellent route but with lengthy portages. “We hiked through the forest with a canoe on our heads.”

Looking forward to my annual father and son canoe trip on this upcoming post-Canada Day weekend. Any guesses?

And blueberry crocs at camp 😁

After decades, I’ve finally found the perfect solution for me. In the spring, it’s knee-high neoprene socks and Salomon S/LAB Waterway boots. These are like jungle boots, meant to get immersed, but instantly drain out on first steps of a portage. The Achilles tendon cut-out is perfect for paddling.

My sleep system in the boreal forest is a tarp and bug net; perfect for canoe travel on boreal lakes because the understory always has openings where cushiony club mosses and pine needles are abundant. Unlike a tent, I can find semi-protected spots to watch storms, sunsets, and the northern lights.

Kirkpatrick / Blue Lake ice-out, 6-night spring canoe loop in the Algoma Region near Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada via logging roads with @cabbageleek.bsky.social was a tough one but well worth the physical effort on long portages and the bug-less but restless, nightly chill.

Great time paddling and hiking around the Barron Canyon & the Cascades of Eastern Algonquin Prov. Park this weekend. Ran a nice pushy little Class 1 rapid & felt the first rush of the season. Next up in a few weeks is chasing wriggly trout with @cabbageleek.bsky.social near Elliot Lake, Ontario.

New purchase for canoe trips to help dissolve my earthly worries.

You could say there’s a problem when your basement spare bedroom has become the paddle gear room, but I don’t 😀

Levelled up my cast iron cooking to help clear up the fridge before a big move. Quiche!

Have my eye on an ice-out canoe trip somewhere near here mid-May. It’s never too early to plan an adventure, especially when there are deafening spring peepers to hear, perhaps too the gulping of American bitterns, and slippery brook trout to catch.

Half of my YouTube subscriptions list says something about my year. The other half says the same thing for next year. 🛶

In The Great White North, we have yellow snow warnings.

Got my eye on another 9 canoe trips next paddling season, some with challenging portages, some with no known maps, and a good 3 day trip on the Western reaches of Killarney Prov. Park for the whole family.

Solo paddling adventure last weekend in Algonquin Provincial Park in -4C weather was...adventurous. I flipped butt-over-teakettle, ironically fetching water for a late night tea. Many colourful words zinged Clamshell Lake. I later read this spot is 210ft deep, being the base of an old waterfall. 😬

It snowed! At least I had the foresight to scrounge for a toque in the woollens bin before the trip — no doubt purchased when last visiting the folks at @gbif.org in Copenhagen before there was grey in my beard.

Have some pancakes with maple syrup at sunrise in Algonquin Provincial Park. I’m sorry, I ate half.

Preparing for a chilly Canadian Thanksgiving paddle with several 2km+ portages in Algonquin Provincial Park with a friend from my high school years. Might be the last one of the season. 🛶 💪 🦃 🥶

Had a great little weekend meaningfully connecting with my eldest son. From the moment we pushed off in the canoe, we were in perfect rhythm, completing portages and camp chores without comment of these things, instead reserving words for his aspirations, his anxieties, and giving shape to his life.

Stunning and other-worldly solo canoe trip circumnavigating Philip Edward Island on the NE shore of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada. Two nights and three days, not a cloud in the sky and what little wind there was, it was at my back.

Departing on another paddling adventure to somewhere near here, the greatest concentration of freshwater islands in the world.

Almost peed on one last summer! You hear 'em before you see 'em so take care as you plant your feet.

Photo bomb!

Back from a 4-day solo canoe trip to N. Algonquin. Beaver dams, lift overs, lining, oh my! Been so luck with the weather on my adventures this summer.

A four-day solo paddle with multiple, lengthy portages starts tomorrow morning. It's been at least 20 years since the last time I was truly all alone, fending for myself. I am grateful for my family who understand that I have been quietly aching for this. #MyLittleRedCanoe

What to do with scraps of uneaten dehydrated food from the last canoe trip? Plan another one! Son and I couldn't complete this Algonquin trip in May; he had a rotten virus. Good on him to tap the mat. At that time we were deafened by spring peepers and an American Bittern youtu.be/bAxAEoAVmuc?...

I was pleased to honour the effort put into lugging the ingredients and the real maple syrup! Plus, I can’t waste any opportunity to strut my Canadian bush fashion sense at sun-up while flipping flapjacks.

Retrieving the dewy canoe while the boy sleeps. Photo by @cabbageleek.bsky.social

Last week’s canoe portage in Wabakimi was brought to us by the ladder, eh?! 🤔