Announcing our newest crew member!

Happy New Year Everyone!

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our newest crew member:

Rane Allister MacDonald was born on December 1, 2012.  He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 2 oz.

Big brother Jude has decided that Rane should come canoeing with us next summer – we’re glad he approves!

We plan to head out for our final season at the end of May this year.  Stay tuned for details.

Geoff, Pam, Jude, Rane, and Taq

Finally across Manitoba! Assiniboine River., Winnipeg R. to Kenora, ON: July-August 2012

Thank you for this photo taken by David Hinton at The Forks in Winnipeg, MB

Friends from Germany Join us in July

Two different groups of friends from Germany paddled with us and it was a blast!

Sandra and Marco Zabel joined us for a couple of weeks at the beginning of July.  They got to experience the flooding on the Assiniboine R. and the large numbers of mosquitoes that seem to especially favour foreign blood.  Setting up the bug tent became a necessary evening ritual.  They developed a specific set of canoeing skills during our flood adventures through the fields and trees.  Who knew to expect small rapids when the river was flowing over dykes!

Sascha Tueck and Sebastian Burdack joined us for a week in mid-July.  Sascha has paddled with us before on the South Saskatchewan R. in Alberta.  This was Sebastian’s first paddling trip.  They got the benefit of fewer bugs, but paddled through some really intense heat.  We averaged a speed of 9-10 km/hr on the swollen river.

Flooding on the Assiniboine R.

Once again, it has been a difficult summer for farmers along the Assiniboine R. in Manitoba.  We had heard some information on the news, but seeing it firsthand really helped us understand the impact of the flooding on both the farmers and the landscape.  There were times we paddled directly through fields because the river was flowing straight across the oxbows (bends).  This often means we were weaving our way throw openings in the trees to find our way back to the main channel.

The water level was so high that we had to be wary of approaching bridges.  In the picture below, we just managed to get underneath the bridge by crouching into the bottom of the canoe.  We actually had to portage around a bridge further downstream because we couldn’t fit underneath it.  Imagine!

Oh Taq! 

At night we tie Taq to the corner loop of our tent where he has access to the cover of the vestibule while allowing him the ability to alert us if any animals come into camp.  We have tried a Eureka tent this year, as Sierra Designs have discontinued the model of tent with the optimal vestibule fly on it.

A feral cat decided to climb a tree next to us one night.  Taq’s over-enthusiastic lunge at it actually tore a corner completely off the Eureka tent.  Geoff could stick his arm out the gaping hole left behind.  This had never happened in the 4 years we used Sierra Designs…

Taq is almost 7 years old.  It seems that as he ages, he is less able to handle the heat.  We tried to get him swimming in the water as much as possible, however, it takes a lot of coaxing these days.  We are grateful to Dave and Sharra Hinton for letting him sprawl on the cool floor of their basement in Winnipeg for a couple of weeks during the heat of the summer.  This is the first time he’s missed part of the trip.

Pregnant Pam got Poison Ivy

Yes – we know what poison ivy looks like, however, Taq does not.  Our theory is that he may have rubbed the plant on one of his many tours through the bush around camp and inadvertently transferred the oils to Geoff and I.  We are very thankful that Jude didn’t get it.  Geoff had a couple of itchy spots on his body that cleared up eventually.  I had a severe reaction to it that went systemic throughout my body – swollen joints, headache, some nausea, with patches of poison ivy showing up on different parts of my body daily.  At one point it had spread to over 50% of my body and I was scratching in my sleep.  The picture taken above shows it in the early stage on my leg.  It was spreading by the hour and nothing seemed to slow it down.

A doctor in the emergency room at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg finally helped get it under control by getting me into a dermatologist the next day.  After a 10 day dose of medication, a cream, and daily cool oatmeal baths (thank you once again to Dave and Sharra Hinton), it finally subsided.

Jude

Jude took the summer in stride.  He spent the majority of the time in the canoe lining up his cars and trucks.  It was terribly exciting for him to see some of the abandoned vehicles along the river – he’d exclaim “cars don’t belong in the river!”

Sand continues to be his favourite medium to camp on, but somersaults in grass are a close second.

Bike Portage from the Red River to the Winnipeg River

In order to completely avoid Lake Winnipeg and the multiple dams on the lower Winnipeg River, we decided to portage the canoe from Lockport, MB on the Red River to Pointe du Bois on the Winnipeg River.  David Hinton and Geoff rigged up a 2×4 hitch to hook the canoe to, then they attached a toddler seat to the back of the other bike for Jude to ride in.

Traffic on the highways was busy; we are grateful to Bob (Geoff’s Dad) for following us in the safety vehicle.

Wildlife Caught on Camera

This seems to have been the summer of the Great Blue Heron (picture in the next 2 shots).  They are quite private and tend to be elusive once we get within range for a picture.

The red squirrel pictured last was a cheeky fellow who decided to help himself to food in the campground garbage can.  Jude found this immensely entertaining.

We passed through many different landscapes this summer:

This summer we paddled the Qu’Appelle River, Assiniboine River, and the Winnipeg River.  While the Qu’Appelle and Assiniboine Rivers pass through a great deal of farmland – clay banks are the norm with the odd gravel bars and sand beach; the Winnipeg River brought us back to the rocky Canadian Shield.

Where do we go from here?

Now that we have finally crossed Manitoba, we are turning our attention to choosing a route for our final season of paddling next year.  Mini paddler #2 will be joining us in November of this year, so we will be planning our route from the French River, ON to the East coast accordingly.  We will send out an update once we have combed the maps and decided on a plan for 2013.

Thank you for all of the wonderful e-mails and notes of support – we really appreciate them.  We look forward to getting back out there next year.  Have a great winter everyone!

Thank you!

• Dave & Sharra Hinton and family continue to help us a great deal on our quest to finally cross Manitoba.  While resupplying and managing logistics, we’ve practically moved into their home.  They have welcomed us with open arms – including our friends from Germany who paddled with us for 3+ weeks in July.  Dave & Sharra found room for all of us amid a visit from their family at the same time – at one point there were 14 of us sleeping in their home.  We had a blast!  We greatly appreciate the hours of driving and logistics they did for us in addition to the countless delicious meals they shared with us.  A big thank you for looking after Taq during the weeks of intense heat in July.

• During our bike portage from Lockport on the Red River to Pointe du Bois on the Winnipeg R., Geoff’s dad, Bob, was a huge help.  He flew out from Ontario to drive the support vehicle and shuttle us to and from Dave and Sharra’s house in Winnipeg.  Jude really enjoyed hanging out with his Grandpa in the Toyota.

• Thank you to Joel who stored our canoe at his farm while we picked up Marco and Sandra from Winnipeg.
• Tannis & Blake McFarlane-Kelly of Rocanville, SK, stored our Toyota and trailer on their farm while we paddled to Brandon, MB.  They live in a beautiful spot next to the Qu’Appelle River.
• Bill gave us a ride in his Chevy truck from Tannis & Blake’s to the bridge where we launched our canoes.
• Aryn Bewer gave us permission to camp in his field along the Assiniboine R.  He made everyone’s day by bringing us cold beer and gatorade after a scorching hot day of relentless sunshine.  Jude was thrilled to ride in his truck for a tour of his farm.

• Gerry and Shirley Joynt didn’t miss a beat when we knocked on their door asking to fill up our water jugs; before we knew it, we were enjoying cold iced tea and learning a great deal about the effect of flooding on local farmers.  They graciously allowed us to pitch our tents in the shade of their farmyard for the night – bringing us cold watermelon to snack on while we set-up.  Delicious!

• Al & Ruth Nickel of Brandon, MB, have a beautiful yard that gradually meets the Assiniboine R.  We are thankful they allowed us to store our gear and canoes in their yard.  In addition, Ruth helped us call a taxi that would fit 5 of us, gear, and Taq!  We enjoyed the refreshing drinks of water while we waited.
• The staff of Portage La Prairie General Hospital were very friendly and helpful.  Even though he was busy and I wasn’t in for anything baby-related, I especially appreciated one of the nurses using the doppler to let me hear our baby’s heartbeat.  It was a special moment and meant a lot.
• George Dayton of St. Francois Xavier, MB, allowed us to pitch our tents on his shady lawn.  We were drawn to his place by his grassy boat launch that minimized dealing with slippery, wet, clay banks.
• Geoff’s Aunt, Mirleen Kittle, made us feel very welcome in her home along the Red River.  We enjoyed delicious steaks, veggies, and plenty of cold drinks in addition to visiting with her children Tim, Bev, Terry and many of the interesting folks living in the neighbourhood.  Jude enjoyed playing with Bev’s daughter, Toomi (sp?) who is close to his age.

• Thank you to Mirleen’s neighbour, Art, who let us use his dock to launch and store our canoe in his yard.
• MaryAnn and Jerry Grewinski stored our bikes and canoe at their house on our way to the Winnipeg R.  Jude enjoyed the treats, playing with their toys, and petting their dogs.

• We are grateful to Chris Cooper for allowing us to park our Toyota and trailer at his cottage in Kenora, ON.  It made the logistics of arriving in Kenora a great deal more manageable.
• Kyle Quinn helped us carry our packs and gear from the truck to the waterside.

• An unplanned stop at Pine Island Lodge on the Winnipeg R. turned out to be a lot of fun.  We had a great visit with Tim Wood, “Smartie”, Dave Darsch, and Eric Beaudry.  This visit provided something for everyone:  a much-needed can of Raid for Taq to get the biting flies that were driving him crazy in the canoe, cold drinks (beer/coke), and cheesies, pretzels, and twizzlers for Jude.

• Doug Minor shared a cold beer with Geoff while sharing some of the history of his family island on the Winnipeg R.

• A thunderstorm loomed over us as we set to work on the final 4 km stretch to Kenora from Keewatin, ON.  We were paddling hard when a cheer erupted from the deck of a house, high above the lake.  We waved and continued on feeling boosted by the unexpected support.  It was becoming clear that we weren’t going to be able to make it to Kenora before the storm hit.  One of the lovely people who had cheered had run ahead to a dock around the corner to invite us to their house for dinner and a place to stay.  We greatly enjoyed meeting Kim & Gord Sweeney, Tannis & Stewart, and Jody and Woody.  Their invitation was perfectly timed, as the skies opened up soon after we’d unloaded the canoe on their dock. We watched the storm from the protection of a covered porch while feasting on ribs, salad, and homemade pie.

Qu’Appelle River, SK: 680 km so far…60 km to go! June 2012

Thank you for this photo from Dana Lougheed: taken on Buffalo Pound Lake, SK

Stats:

• # of bridges paddled = 63
• # weir/dam’s portaged = 5
• # of coyotes taunting Taq at night = too many!
• # of ticks picked off Taq = 400 +

Qu’Appelle River, SK

The Qu’Appelle River flows 725 km from Lake Diefenbaker to the Assiniboine River.  The first picture is the outflow structure at the Qu’Appelle Dam at the very start of the river.  We needn’t have worried about there being enough water, as this precious river provides drinking water to a great deal of Southern Saskatchewan (including Moose Jaw and Regina.)

The Qu’Appelle River is one of Saskatchewan’s best kept paddling secrets. In the 680 km that we have paddled so far, we have passed through many changing landscapes: grassy banks, gradual to steep clay banks, crops, and forest.  Depending on the geography, the height of the banks varies from a few feet to 30+ feet high.  The wind was a constant companion, sometimes blowing so hard that the canoe stopped in one place (despite the current and our paddling!)  The river winds it’s way across southern Saskatchewan sometimes folding back on itself (called oxbows) such that we can see the river only 10 feet across the bank.

Abundant Wildlife

We think the first picture is a Short-eared owl?  Anyone know for sure?  The second is a mink, then baby raccoons, and finally a crayfish.

If your friends jumped off a bridge in Tantallon, SK…would you? Of course Geoff did!

We stopped in Tantallon, SK and tied up our canoe under this concrete bridge built in 1930 to enjoy air conditioning, dinner, and cold drinks at the local watering hole.  When we returned, there seemed to be a party going on – even the police were there!  It turns out that some local kids had decided to cool off by jumping into the river from the top of the arch over the bridge, and the police had stopped by to ensure the water was deep enough for it to be safe.  Geoff eagerly stripped off his shirt to join them (first picture)  as Jude, Taq, and I cheered from the bridge.  We took before and after pictures of the local kids jumping in from upstream of the bridge.  What a blast!

Pics of our hitchhikers…

We can’t have a newsletter without a few pictures of our adorable hitchhikers – Jude and Taq.

“Rescue” on Mission Lake, SK

The headline sounds a lot more heroic than it really was.  We came across a couple working their way to shore while holding onto a single lifejacket.  Their canoe had capsized while they were fishing in the middle of the lake.  We towed them to shore with the stern rope and then retrieved some miscellaneous items we could see floating around:  tackle box, paddles, shoes, bait container, and snacks.  We looked around for the canoe, but never found it.  Connie and Clint called their friends to pick them up on our cell phone and it all ended well.

Severe Thunderstorms

The last week of June has been full of severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado warnings, and wind warnings on the prairies.  We felt the effects on the river through strong winds, but we had somehow managed to steer clear of the thunderstorms until the last night before we were meeting Dave to resupply.  We set up the tent and secured the canoe in time for the heavens to open in the biggest storm we’ve ever camped in.  It started with bright flashes of lightening in quick succession, then rolling thunder.  Jude fell asleep before the real storm hit us.  At one point a wind gust hit the tent with such force that the roof of the tent was suddenly inches from our noses lying down.  Geoff and I instinctively extended our legs to hold the tent up.  Rain poured in through the side vents and soaked the bottom of the tent.  Jude slept on.

Taq, however, was unimpressed.  As is his usual practice in hot weather, he dug a big hole to lie in under the vestibule.  Instead of functioning to cool him off, it acted like a little bathtub for him.  He sat in the pool of water during the storm with his ears stuck out to the sides looking like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world.  An hour later when the worst of the storm had passed, he left the vestibule to sleep outside.

Everything faired well in the storm except for our tent poles.  Two of them are bent, but still functional.

Where are we?  Where do we go from here?

We have pulled out about 28.5 km from the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border to resupply and meet our friends from Germany who will be paddling with us over the next 3 weeks.  We will paddle with them to St. Lazare, MB, where the Qu’Appelle River joins the Assiniboine River.  We will get as close to Winnipeg as possible.  How far depends on the winds and the current.

Thank you!

• Pak & Allyson Wong (Pam’s parents) continue to graciously open their home to us  - we take over their computer, kitchen, and most of the basement while we reorganize and pack.  Thank you also for dropping us off at the Qu’Appelle Dam, we really appreciate all of the time you take to drive us around!

• We enjoyed a short visit to Wade, Marlene, and Eric Forbes farm near Moose Jaw, SK.  Jude was thrilled to drink a cold glass of peach juice on such a hot day.
• Sometimes you meet some people and you feel as though you’ve been friends for years – that is how we felt when we met Marilyn and Lyle Wilson and Mauricio, Kim, and Emmet Jimenez at Buffalo Pound Lake, SK.  Marilyn drove me to the gate to find a campsite, to the store to get some treats.  We then joined everyone at the their campsite for dinner.  We were having so much fun – time flew by!  Thank you very much to Mauricio and Kim for dinner in Lumsden as well.  We’ll have to take the kids paddling together sometime!

• Irma and Andre Burgess were friendly campground neighbours who allowed Jude to “drive” their truck.  Jude was thrilled at the chance.
• Andrea Reimer kept Jude entertained at the Buffalo Pound Dam by showing him all of the pike she was catching.
• Jason Szarkozicz, Doujana Raybaya, Scott & Shannon Polowik, and Allan Lazarenko helped Geoff finish off the portage around Buffalo Pound Lake Dam.  The had given us a great tip about where to look for turtles below the dam…we saw 2!
• Alyssa Lawford of Lumsden, SK very kindly let us wash our clothes at her house after we discovered that the town didn’t have a laundromat.  We had a nice chat while her son, Kingston, and Jude played in the yard.  We are also incredibly grateful to her for mailing Geoff’s wallet back to him.   It was nice and clean, since it had gone through the wash and somehow landed in her daughter’s bag in the laundry room.   We can’t thank you enough for finding it!
• Larry Trask drove out from Regina to have lunch with us.  We had a great time – so much so that Jude didn’t want to leave his van.  Larry drove him around the campground for one more loop before he would reluctantly exit the van.

• We bumped into Merv Woods and Tiera MacLeod at the Lumsden campground right before we were leaving.  We talked canoeing for a while and soaked up some of their info. about the area.  It is always great to meet fellow paddlers.
• Eldon and Katy of Cravenworld Campground helped us ferry our gear to our campsite.  It saved us at least an hour of hauling, plus it enabled us to reach the Craven restaurant before closing.
• Stephanie Robertson and Nathalie Brunet were part of a 6 person team who paddled from Vancouver, BC to St. John’s, NB in one season! They met us at Echo Valley Provincial Park where they brought us all kinds of delicious goodies – truck for Jude, chocolate for me, and cold beer for Geoff.  On top of all of that, they brought dinner in a crock-pot and even fixed the handle on my paddle!  The hours passed too quickly while we exchanged stories.  They are the first cross-Canada paddlers we’ve met in person.  It was a lot of fun.

• We arrived at Fort Qu’Appelle soaking wet and looking for a place to tie up the canoe to get some groceries in town.  Leann Kowalchuk gave us directions and Mike Sali owned the dock we tied up to for the afternoon.
• We decided to take a rest day in Fort Qu’Appelle and dry out.  There was only one room left in town (busy, busy area) and they didn’t take dogs.  Ron and Wendy Froese of Fort Qu’Appelle Pottery recommended we call the nice folks at Braeburn Kennels.  They solved our additional problem of where to stash the canoe by offering to store our gear in their yard near the river – even helping us load up when we headed out.  We are very grateful for the opportunity to dry out and rest up.

• George and Linda Ferguson of Braeburn Kennels graciously accepted Taq – they even gave us all a ride back to our canoe and helped us load up our gear.
• James Wallis of Fort Qu’Appelle gave Jude and I a  ride to the Inn while Geoff walked Taq to the Kennel.
• Linda of the Fort Times met us at the river before we left.  Thank you for the cute picture of Jude in the canoe.
• A big thanks to Terry Hendrickson of The Pas for giving us the radio.  It has been our constant companion on this river – keeps us in touch with news, weather, and some tunes to get stuck in our head.
• Once again we owe Dave and Sharra Hinton a huge thank you.  They deserve a permanent spot (along with our parents) in this section – as they are an integral part of our support system on this trip.  Dave picked us up from a bridge on the Qu’Appelle River near the Manitoba border.  They have made us feel incredibly welcome in their home – nice soft beds (thanks Kendra and Paige), warm showers, delicious home-cooked meals, rides all over town, storing gear, and much more.  Their hospitality is boundless!  It has been wonderful to spend time with them along with Kendra, Paige, and Andrew.

Saskatchewan River May 9-25, 2012: Tobin Lake, SK to Cedar Lake, MB

A day in the life on the water: Geoff is sterning, Taq is sniffing, and Jude is lining up his cars.

Stats:

• Average night-time temperature = 2C (34F)
• # paddles broken = 1
• # hot wheels cars lost in the river = 1
• # night-time visitors = 2:  1 cow moose and an obnoxious beaver taunting Taq.  He is tied to the tent each night so he doesn’t wander from his job as protector.  In his enthusiasm for the beaver’s taunts, he ripped the corner of the tent.  It was cold enough for me to consider the value of a beaverskin hat, but Jude was sleeping and we didn’t think he’d deal with a shotgun blast during the night very well.
• # of calm days (no wind) = 2 (out of 16)

Saskatchewan River

The Saskatchewan River is lined by sandy, clay banks.  It has the unique ability to coat every single thing you own in a matter of minutes.  Over the past couple of weeks, we were able to watch the woods transition from barren branches and icebergs to grassy banks and bright green leaves in bloom.

The wildlife along the river is amazing!  We saw 2 elk on the Old Channel of the river, the industrious beaver was at work on every bank, and eagles watched us pass by from their large stick nests high up in the trees.

A cow moose swam over to our camp in the middle of the night.  Fortunately, she didn’t stay long.  If you asked Taq, his favourite would be the beaver, hands down.  Oh, if only one would just get close enough…

We have tethered a Jude-sized paddle to the canoe since last season in hopes that he would be inspired to help make some miles.  This season he is truly becoming a little paddler.  You can see from the above pictures.  In the middle one, he is standing in classic cold weather paddling style – hands tucked into his life jacket to keep warm.

For those who think Taq is beautiful, be thankful his photos are not scratch-and-sniff. In the photo above he is rubbing his head (and later his body) in a fresh pile of otter poo. The smell was revolting – even more so for my pregnant senses.

The people in The Pas know how to fish in style!

We saw a Sasquatch!

We’ve been told that Manitoba has the most credible Sasquatch sightings in Canada.  In fact, when we pulled into a boat launch at The Pas, MB, a man hopped out of his truck and promptly informed us that we should keep a close eye out for them when we’re out there.  Good thing I had my camera ready…

Route Change:  All part of the adventure of exploring Canada!

For the majority of cross-Canada paddlers, Lake Winnipeg is one of the most challenging sections. It is a huge shallow lake with incessant prairie winds.  It takes most cross-country paddlers 3-4 weeks to complete. Those paddlers travel without toddlers: and being a parent means being responsible for our precious cargo.

Between May 9 and 25, we had the equivalent of two calm days. When we reached the delta extending into Cedar Lake we faced a 4 km crossing. Our attempt to cross was thwarted early on by whitecaps in the distance. Five days passed without so much as an hour of calm. We came to the realization that the 600 km of Lake Winnipeg could take us months…we needed an alternative.

In 2008, we paddled the South Saskatchewan River. North of Swift Current, we travelled Lake Diefenbaker. We found our alternative at it’s south end. By portaging the dam which diverts water from the Qu’appelle River drainage we’ll forge an unbroken route to Lake Winnipeg via the Qu’appelle, Assiniboine River, and Red Rivers.

Is there enough water in the upper reaches of the Qu’appelle River to float our 20 foot canoe? We sure hope so. If not, we’ve got wheels for the canoe, and we’ll tow it as far as necessary to find water deep enough! It’s going to be hot where we are going…if you see us on the river, or the road, we’d gladly accept cold drinks from passing motorists.

Thank you!

Once again, we had some help during our journey.  A big thank you to:

• Bob MacDonald (Geoff’s Dad) for driving our Toyota to Winnipeg, MB.
• Dave and Sharra Hinton for storing our vehicle at their house, picking up Geoff at the bus station, and for packing him a lunch for the road.
• Don Fiddler and co. for picking me up on the side of a dirt road beside the Sask. R. after we realized that we had forgotten our rain jackets in the car.  He arranged a ride for me into Nipawin, SK with Pat the Postman.
• Pat (sorry, didn’t get your last name) is the Postman for Cumberland House.  Every weekday he drives to Nipawin to drop-off and pick up the mail.  Fortunately for me, he was on his way into town when we popped up on the side of the road.  While he did his work in town, I was able to find rain coats for the 3 of us in town.  They served us well for the ample wind and rain we experienced on this leg of the trip.
• We knocked on Terry Hendrickson’s door in The Pas, MB, to ask him if we could store our canoe in his yard while we resupplied for the night.  He immediately made us feel like a member of his family.  He helped us unload, store our gear, arranged for accommodation, then gave us a tour of The Pas.  He then handed us the keys to his truck and his cell phone.  It was a very big help for us because it made our resupply errands (groceries, laundry, etc) a lot easier.  While we enjoyed showers and restaurant food, he even repaired Geoff’s broken paddle and put together a fishing rod and kit for Jude!  We are also grateful for the radio he gave us when we left.  We listened to the local CJAR 1240 radio station for hours while we were windbound.

• While we were at the Opasquia Times newspaper for an interview, 4-year-old Asia Kryschuk befriended Jude.  Her Grandfather, Joe, took us all to visit the brand new piglets at their farm outside of town.  It was wonderful to see the two kids playing together and having fun.  A great day!

• CJAR 1240 Arctic Radio station posted a few announcements of our trip during the afternoon programs.  Everyone there was friendly and genuinely interested in our trip.  We spent many hours listening to their programs and music while we were windbound.

• Thank you to the folks at the Opasquia Times for writing an article on our trip.
• We shared a campsite with Dallas Hay and Chris Alych.  We enjoyed our brief conversation with them as they helped us load our canoe.  We are very grateful they shared their cookies with Jude – he was thrilled!

• Ben Guerard pulled up the wind forecasts for us multiple times during our times waiting to cross Cedar Lake.
• We are grateful to Shannon King and Mike Nelson for looking after our house and renter while we are away.  Peace of mind is priceless!
• Jim Smith and his crew drove their incredibly fast boat out into the Delta to bring us back to The Pas, MB, after we decided to change our route to avoid Cedar Lake and Lake Winnipeg, in favour of a previously overlookedf route in the south.  Really nice guys, it was a pleasure meeting you.

Exciting news – expecting a new crew member!

Hey everybody!

We are excited to announce that we are expecting a new baby this November. Jude has requested a “big brother” to play with. We won’t be finding out because we’ll be in the bush during the screening and ultrasound tests.

For our final season next year, we will have a crew of 5! Is anyone interested in a paddling nanny job for 2013?

We will be heading out on the Saskatchewan River at Tobin Lake, SK, tomorrow. Looking forward to a week or 2 without bugs.

www.canoeacrosscanada.ca

2012 Paddling Season Begins!

Hello everyone,

This year we are trying the blog format, instead of the larger, more time-consuming newsletter format we’ve used in the past.  Although it was snowing yesterday in Calgary, we begin our drive to Tobin Lake, SK, tomorrow morning.

This year our big challenge will be paddling around Lake Winnipeg.  It will be a full load this leg because we are packing 6 weeks of food and supplies.  There are very limited places to resupply on the segment from Tobin Lake to the Winnipeg River, MB.

After two seasons of bugs and floods, we are finally ready to “get ‘er done!” It turns out the Jude has inherited Geoff’s zen ability to handle bugs. I am wondering if it is linked to the “Y” chromosome?

http://www.canoeacrosscanada.ca

Food Preparation 2012

Six weeks of food takes a great deal of preparation. Planning, purchasing, unpacking, and repacking in waterproof packaging requires a lot of time and planning.