On our high adventure canoe trip each crew packs and cooks food for a group of five to nine Scouts. Our menu is a combination of freeze dried and grocery store food that keeps the cost reasonable while providing good nutrition and good eating. After making adjustments to our menus and the kit we assembled to prepare it over…continue reading
High Adventure Canoe Trip 3 – Portage Details
April 5, 2013 by · 2 Comments
At the beginning of a high adventure canoe trip our portage packs our packs weigh about 60-70 pounds. This is quite a load for some of us but time has proven that even our smallest Scouts can handle them very well. As the trip progresses we eat our way light and by the last portage out the…continue reading
High Adventure Canoe Trip 2 – Gear and Clothing
April 4, 2013 by · 4 Comments
Any high adventure canoe trip requires selecting the right gear and clothing. I am pretty specific about what we carry on our trips because I know one thing for sure; in the case of where we are going: It’s All About Portaging In a place like Algonquin you’ll be traveling from lake to lake, and the lakes connect by trails…continue reading
High Adventure Canoe Trip 1 – Overview
April 3, 2013 by · 5 Comments
For the last nine years every summer our Scouts pile into a van and drive north to Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park for a week-long high adventure canoe trip. Our crews typically cover 40-50 miles of paddling and portaging during our stay. Two years ago we started alternating these canoe trips with a trip to Kandersteg International…continue reading
5 Quick and Healthy Breakfasts for Camping
September 29, 2009 by ·
Oatmeal, again? Pop Tarts? Doughnuts? A good quick breakfast while canoeing or backpacking (or car camping for that matter) is as important as it is elusive. Bryan Hanse at the Nessmuking shares five simple yet nutritious ideas for a lightweight breakfasts: On my first paddling and camping trips, I often overlooked making a good breakfast…continue reading
Tomato Powder
August 24, 2009 by ·
We spotted this young moose with it's mother in the passage between Big and Little Crow Lakes Well, we're back from our sixth annual canoe trip to Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park and it was a great success. This year a record 23 people in three crews participated. Each crew took a different route through the…continue reading
The Island Will be There Tommorrow
September 1, 2008 by ·
Several years ago a local Scout Troop ( I swear it wasn’t us) suffered through a period of infamy they flipped several canoes while paddling in some heavy weather and had to be rescued. On this year’s trip to Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. Eighteen Scouts and leaders in two crews chose a route…continue reading
The Portage Lexicon
August 15, 2008 by ·
Today 18 Scouts and adults are off to our annual high adventure trip to Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park. Canoer Chris Lawson, in writing about his Bonnechere river trip in Algonquin, has developed a lexicon for some of the conditions he encountered while portaging: The Armadillo: wherein the clear line through the bush becomes suddenly a…continue reading
Paddling Articles by Kevin Callan
March 26, 2008 by ·
Kevin Callan is the author of several books and guides about canoeing and camping. The folks at paddling.net have a collection of his articles that will appeal to canoeist’s and campers alike. From “Storm Proofing Your Tent” First things first, you need a good tent. A three-season with minimum waterproof rating of 600 mm for…continue reading
Canoe Paddling – Canadian Style
February 26, 2007 by ·
Here's an interesting look at the mechanics of paddling a canoe solo in the Canadian style. The paddlers in this video are Rolf and Debra Kraiker form Blazing Paddles in Ontario, Canada. More information on this at Canoe Dancing
No Canoe Can Hold Me
September 5, 2006 by ·
Had a fantastic week canoeing in Canada last month. I had to laugh when I saw this article in The Onion. Thankfully Dennis wasn’t with us. No Canoe Can Hold Me By Dennis Puttkamer The Onion March 29, 2006 | Issue 42•13 Care to take a relaxing, uneventful canoe trip down the…continue reading
Critical Judgement II
May 25, 2006 by ·
CRITICAL JUDGMENT II Understanding and Preventing Canoe and Kayak Fatalities from The American Canoe Association is an analysis of the 500 plus fatal canoe and kayak accidents reported to the United States Coast Guard between 1996 and 2002: Among fatalities who had been paddling canoes at the time of death, 85% were not wearing a…continue reading
Tundra Tarps
May 17, 2006 by ·
Normal camping tarps have some weaknesses; grommets may tear out in heavy wind, there are never enough points to tie onto and while most people use a center pole to hold the tarp up it typically falls down when the wind picks up. Cooke Custom Sewing’s Tundra Tarps solve these problems and incorporate several other…continue reading
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