New Format for Trip Reports

Solo trip in 2007 - The highest reward for a person's toil

is not what they get for it, but what they

become by it. - John Ruskin

Hi Everyone,

I decided to try something different. As I find myself writing way too much for one trip report, I decided to do it as a daily format. Therefore it is quicker for people to read, more pictures to see, as well as more posts. (eventually I hope to add video as well) This way I can get trip report info out faster and it will be more ongoing. I'll try it with the the Obaibika river trip and hopefully, I can get some feedback as to how people like it.

Let me know!
Cheers,
David

Obabika River Loop Jun 21-25 08 - Day 1

This trip was no exception to the endless display of immense

cloud formations, - as well as rain!!!

Its been quite a while since I've written a trip report. Almost 9 months in fact, so I'm due! (get it!, okay bad joke) Anyhow, lets go back to June of last year where we find ourselves on the shores of lake Temagami. Last year, on our big loop trip to various surrounding areas around Temagami, we ended up finishing the trip a few days early and not completing the last section of the intended route. Therefore I thought it would be nice to head back and paddle this section in the next 5 days. The intention was to head out from the Central Lake Temagami Access Road, head west to Obabika Lake, then turn south and paddle the length of the Obaibika river before turning north into to Wawiagama lake. Then it was back to Lake Obabika where we would head back the same way we came.

As most of you know, 2008 was infamous for record levels of precipitation; and this trip was no exception. It had already down poured just before we got to the put-in and the huge cumulonimbus clouds that hung around was a precursor of things to come. We got to a very late start because we had to stop at several places along the way up, so it was almost four o'clock by the time we were on the water!

It looked like it was turning out to be a great day, but the scorching sun that reappeared after the downpour made the air thick with humidity and made any effort a struggle. We stopped after a good long hour of steady paddling to rehydrate and get some reprieve from the sun on a campsite before continuing in a northeasterly direction. As we were paddling up the Northwest Arm of Lake Temagami we couldn't help notice the landscape on the east side where there was a large forest fire in 1972. Despite more than 30 years later, we could still see a distinct delineation of new growth verses the old! It was incredible that the effects from the conflagration was still evident!

Look carefully on the left and you can see the clear line of

old growth vs the new from the 1972 fire, - still!

Continuing north, we decided to break up the long paddle by portaging through a chain of lakes on the west side that would get us to Obabika Inlet. The change of pace was good except for all the bugs we stirred up along the trail. We now had to deal with clouds of mosquitoes and black flies over our heads looking for blood. (bad idea!) Otherwise, other than the interesting names (Jumpingcat Lake, Banana Lake - who thinks up these names?!!) the solitude and scenery through this area was nice.

Let me guess, "Banana Lake!", that's the first thought that came

to mind when I saw this lake! (okay, its shaped like it)

Once back on Obabika Inlet, we started to hear the all familiar grumble in the distance. Huge voluminous clouds draped the heavens and our first priorities at this point was to look for a campsite. The only problem was all the marked campsites were non-existent or totally overgrown. Hungry and annoyed, we then made the decision to push hard to Obabika Lake by portaging in near darkness along the 870m trail.

Annoyed and frustrated that we couldn't find a campsite on

Obabika Inlet. The thunder wasn't helping!

Once we made it to the lake, we quickly paddled northward, scanning the shoreline for a campsite with the help of the occasional lightning that lit up the sky. (Marylou was getting antsy) Of course the first marked campsite didn't exist, (like why would they?!!) but to our relief the next one appeared on a point further ahead. We paddled now with urgency, quickly unloaded on shore and set up the tent and bug shelter just in time as the rain started. It was past ten at this point. Supper was prepared quickly and downed voraciously as we watched the light show and rain. We were very happy to end the day crawling into our tent, as sleep that night came as fast as our heads hit the sack.

Next: Day 2 - "Storm?!, what storm?!

Kuujjua River/Beaufort Sea Expedition Completed

This is an update to the blog post I made in mid-July of 2008 when friends of ours, Jim and Ted Baird set off on an incredible journey on the remote Victoria Island paddling the Kuujjua river. Although its been quite awhile since they've come back, I'm happy to report they are back safe and sound with memories and experiences to last a lifetime. We finally got an opportunity to have dinner with them and hear the incredible and mind-boggling circumstances and adventures they found themselves in. Needless to say, we sat stunned and breathless at times, just trying to assimilate the information! Even the photos they shared were incredible, but do little justice in a 8x10 format.

Ted and Jim Baird on Victoria Island

Luckily, their adventures and photos will not be kept from inquiring minds. For those of you who would like to hear a mesmerizing story of an extreme adventure and gawk at beautiful photographs on a large screen, they will be presenting at the annual Wilderness Canoe Symposium in Toronto this year. Information regarding the event on Feb 13 & 14, can be found on this website: http://www.wcsymposium.com Trust me, I will be there!!!

"Looking across the mouth of the Minto Inlet on the

Beaufort Sea, Victoria Island"

As you can already see, Jim has graciously provided some photos from his expedition for us to view and salivate. If you want to see more, you can go to his website www.canoebeyond.com and look up Kuujjua under Expedition. Or even easier, here's the direct link to more of the photos from his trip: http://www.canoebeyond.com/kuujjua/kuujjua.html

Jim scouting a section of the Kuujjua River

Congrats gentlemen to the completion of an amazing adventure and your safe arrival! Looking forward to the presentation!!!

Victoria Island, NWT, Canada

All photos in this post are courtesy of Jim & Ted Baird

A New Year

As I sit here and write, while contemplating what the new year has in store for me, its hard to even imagine what its even going to be like. Splitting up with my paddling partner recently inexplicably will be the biggest and most drastic change to the usual course of events that happen throughout the year for me. As hard as it is, I'm making the best attempts to move forward and push ahead.

The time around the holidays was extremely tough to get through, but in my case (as it seems to be with canoeing), when one bad thing happens, there always seems to be more. Of all the holidays that I could have used my family's company to keep me sane, there wasn't any! (some no fault of their own) After the smallest Christmas gathering in years, I was left alone to fend for myself until the new year. Of course, that was just the beginning. Dealing with the break-up, I attempted to try and keep busy or get into new things to keep my mind occupied. First off, I bought a treadmill (what a bitch that was to get it inside on my own!) to help me cope with the pain. And run I did, lots of it! It really was therapeutic, except after a good long run on Christmas morning, I got off with some odd "knee" pain and ended up limping for the next several days, - great!

I also started "hot" yoga - something that I would not normally do, but thanks to my persistent sister I thought why not? It was supposed to also relieve stress, - okay! Could you imagine me in tights trying to get into some pretzel configuration!?! Yeah, don't say it! (I did dread it once I got there and saw all these fit limber bodies) Oh by the way, "hot" is not because there was "hot" women there (they always out number the guys and yes, some of them are "hot"), but its because you are doing yoga poses in a room that is heated to 100 degrees Fahrenheit! I won't go into the specific benefits of hot yoga, also known as Bikram yoga, but it was really amazing and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I couldn't get into many of the poses and I know I looked ridiculous at times, but I came out feeling great physically and in mind and spirit. Okay, I'm going off topic here, but the reason I brought it up was the fact that I went there alone (thanks sis!) after my injury thinking that it would help stretch out my knee and speed recovery. Nope! It somehow made it worse and put me in more pain!

The other pressing issue was a planned winter outing with my friend Ben. We were supposed to head out on a winter camping trek to Algonquin for 4 days on Jan 1st. I really needed something like this to just get out and clear my mind. We were going to hike using snowshoes while pulling sleds along the Western Uplands Trail, but the knee injury was a real concern as I couldn't properly bear weight on it. We were also then invited by another friend to party at their cottage during the same time, so we considered it as Plan B especially given the circumstances. Except, the only problem was access to the cottage. It is water access only, therefore, the only way to get there was hiking through the bush for 5km to bypass the frozen lake, which was unstable due to the recent rain. (yes, rain!) So in the end, I had to unfortunately cancel plans with Ben (sorry!!) as well as the cottage outing due to the nagging knee issue.

So here I was, frustrated as hell, alone at home, couldn't run, couldn't do yoga, couldn't party or trip, or anything that required walking! I felt I was in jail at home! When I finally went back to work (with a limp), I realized despite having a few days off, my leg was just not fit to be walking on. Just walking from the parking lot to the hospital was painful enough, so after I took care of things in the morning, I told my boss I was going back home. But first, I headed straight to an urgent care clinic (our own ER was way too busy) to find out what was going on. Once I saw the doctor, he determined it may be some soft tissue injury, - ligament, meniscus, etc. so he ordered an MRI. With the help of staff I knew at the hospital, they got me in fairly quick for the scan and I waited nervously for the results. The tech did mention that he did see something on the scan but wasn't at liberty to say as the radiologist gives the final diagnosis. So when the dreaded phone call came for me to go back to the clinic to see the doctor, I knew it couldn't be good. Diagnosis: stress fracture on the top of the tibia! Yikes! I was scripted for a Zimmer split to immobilize my leg and crutches to stay off of it! Possibly a cast (don't think so!), and 4-6 wks off! Wow! It was like I already struck out 3 times, but now they were kicking me out of the game! (please tell me this is it!!!) Maybe I should take up drinking - in quantity! (joke!) Running too much was the likely culprit, crap!

So yes, I have lots more time and not much to do. So why not start writing! (seeing that I've been so delinquent) So here I am, a slave to the screen!

So, I'm taking offers of visits, both at my place and yours! If "you" need company, my service is free! Come on people!, its a limited time offer!

Seriously though, I do have a lot of people to thank. I wasn't always alone and many of you offered support and encouragement that blew me away. I truly want to thank all of you for your support, especially those that went over and beyond. You know who you are. Also, much of the time alone wasn't always bad as it made me think alot about things and refocus myself to heal and move on. Its just frustrating when you put things in place to help you cope when they all collapse around you. I just have to pick my ass up and do it all again.

I have to say, some of the advice that was given was awesome, insightful and helpful, while some were downright hilarious! Like taking up crocheting, baking, offering a sister, speed-dating, jujitsu (help to vent), online dating, offering a hooker with an Adam's apple, drinking, baby-sitting, etc. It made me realize what good friends I have! (lol!) In regards to the online dating (looking more for friends rather than a soul mate) I even went so far as pulling up the website but stopping short of entering any info! (yeah, I'm a chicken!) Anyways, like I mentioned, I've thought about many things and have some ideas in place to pursue and refocus my life in the coming year. Canoeing is hazy, but its there. At the moment, all options are open. Getting back to backpacking, maybe some mountain-biking, do I dare say - kayaking(!), running a marathon, rock-climbing, who knows. All I know is I have to get back out there and find the peace, happiness, and joy that captured me in the first place without all the pain that may be associated with it. So I'm on a mission to live life again, find new friends, reconnect with old ones, seek new adventures and opportunities to fill the void. Thanks again, everyone! I'll keep you all in the loop as things unfold.

So for now, to kick start the year, I decided to give everyone a laugh. I've contemplated whether I should show it or not, (hope no one is offended), but I said, "To hell with it!" As you all know my passion for canoeing, sometimes I receive or purchase items that are canoe-related. There are the usual things such as souvenir paddles/canoes, books, and pictures. But how about a wearable canoe item? No, not shirts, an underwear!! Yes!, that's correct! A canoe underwear! (If any of you have one, even before me, let me know!) So on my last solo outing, I finally got the courage to take a shot of it and show everyone.

There is a funny story behind it besides the garment itself. When I had gone solo paddling in November to the Magnetawan, I forgot about hunting season. To my consternation, all my warm clothing was dark colours - blacks, brown, greys etc with no hint of fluorescent orange! And let me tell you, it was full on active hunting all around me, - gunshots all day everywhere! It was all out war on Bambi! So early one morning when the lighting was good, I mustered enough guts to pull off my pants to take a picture of myself while shots were resounding all around. Because I shot myself with the tripod, I had to take multiple pictures to get the lighting and framing right. It was slightly unnerving, wondering if a hunter(s) were watching, wondering, and laughing from the opposite shore! It was only after I finally got the picture I wanted that I pulled up my pants and realized something! My canoe underwear is bright fluorescent orange!!! It was the best thing I had to keep me from getting shot! So really, in some sense I guess I was "prepared"! So here it is, in all its glory!, - the underwear damn it!

I love to show my "canoe-related-stuff" with other

paddlers,..for the most part!

So just in case you were wondering, no, I didn't buy it! It was a gift! Like I would buy an orange underwear! Sheesh!

Thanks again everyone! Hope you had a good laugh!
Hope to have a trip report out soon!

David

Roof Rack Dilemma

There are many milestones in a canoeist life - such as paddling for the first time, purchasing your own canoe, surviving your first rapid or making love in a canoe (still working on that one). But sometimes it extends beyond the usual stuff, such as buying a new vehicle. You're probably saying, "What!?" Well, if your life centers around canoeing (ahem,...I meant after my significant other), you have to ensure that everything around you has to align itself to further your goal of paddling. Hence when I was looking to replace my "adequate" Ford Escort, I had to think and choose carefully about the next canoe vehicle.

My Ford Escort did an admirable job of carrying my

canoe, but it was time to replace her. Never

mind the snow, - don't ask!

So I am thrilled to recently become the owner of a new vehicle, a 2009 Toyota Matrix. She's a beauty, but lots of consideration went into picking the right vehicle for my needs. Marylou already has a Honda CRV as most of you know, so it doesn't make sense to purchase another truck-like vehicle. As much as I drool over the Toyota Tacoma and would love to own one, the reality is that its not practical for many reasons. First off, we both don't need canoe-carrying 4x4 vehicles. Secondly, the huge increase in fuel cost had us thinking about its implications - considering the dozen or more trips we go on per year. So really, we needed a more compact fuel efficient tripping vehicle for the majority of paddleable areas with road friendly access. Some other considerations included things like ample space for gear and road clearance, but the most important was its ability to transport a canoe. That's where the problem comes in.

Wondering what to do? - a brand new 2009 Toyota Matrix

with no prospects of a roof rack!

Considering Canada is regarded as the "canoe-capital" of the world, you'd think canoe related gear/accessories would be available left, right, and center. Well unfortunately, its not. Don't get me wrong, we have stuff, but its not like we have a dozen or so to chose from. So when it came to my car purchase, I naturally considered a roof rack and thought I'd have lots to choose from. Wrong! There are tons of roof related-stuff for bikes, kayaks, and carriers, but they haven't put much thought towards the humble canoe, let alone a simple sturdy elevated roof rack! Am I asking for too much?!

I really wanted stock roof racks, but car companies barely offer any that are suitable for a canoe. Let me rephrase that, they are available, but you'd have to dish out a lot more money for those vehicles, or particular models just for a suitable roof rack. (not in my budget!) So I'm stuck with ones that are either too flimsy, not the right size, or barely able to hold much weight. I believe roof racks today are more cosmetic features to spruce a car's appearance rather being the utilitarian devices that they are supposed to be. Even Subaru with their notable 4x4 drive trains - particularly the Impreza model, which is somewhat similar to the Matrix in shape, doesn't come stock with roof racks anymore! (what market are these cars made for?!!)

No fuzzy dice in this vehicle - appropriate

paraphernalia for a canoeist vehicle!

I didn't purchase the stock roof racks from Toyota as it was very short lengthwise (?!!!), low clearance from the roof, and not very wide. (37-38" across - barely wide enough for my Nova Craft Prospector!) So I decided to check out Yakima and Thule, the foremost names in roof racks and related contraptions. Well as it stands, both provide only clip-on towers for the cross members which basically latch onto the top of the window sill. The problem with these is that over time and use, they gradually scratch the paint off the roof. I've seen cars with rust all around the clips/pads, as well, my sister-in-law's vehicle has the tell-tale scrape marks on her Protege5. They only trip a couple times per year, so imagine - I would have the equivalent amount of markings in one year that they would have in six! Foam blocks won't work as the rear spoiler makes contact with the canoe (haven't tried the Pal yet), but the straps also rub the sides of the roof and will abraid through the paint. (realized from previous experience) Dilemma, dilemma.

Recently, I spoke to a company well known for specializing in roof racks. They told me if I don't get the usual ones that clip on to the side of the roof, the only other option is to get a custom job. This entails laying down 2 tracks along either sides of the roof and then have towers installed which will hold the actual rack. All said and done, the job including the parts would put me out roughly $500-600. Not cheap. The one other thing that is a major issue concerns the warranty of the vehicle. Since I would be altering the exterior of the roof, I would most likely void the manufacturer warranty on the vehicle. Great, so I'm back to square one! It seems to be a case of one step forward, two steps back. Who would have guessed?! I never knew I would have so much issues!

Is it a little obvious that I own a Nova Craft canoe?

As it stands, I've decided to hold off and do nothing. For now we've decided to use the truck exclusively on canoe trips and my vehicle for everything else. Its obviously frustrating, but I don't like the options I have so far. Maybe I'll change my mind later on, but for now I will give it some time and more thought before doing anything. So much for this paddler's "milestone"! If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please email me! I'm all ears! Thanks for hearing me out!

Frustrated,

David

Shirtless In November!

Talk about hot! (no not me!!) Hey, at least

I kept my pants on!

Well, the weather certainly did deliver! It was hot! My clothes were too warm! (at least for the first half of the trip) I don't normally paddle with my shirt off, but I had no choice. I didn't have a t-shirt or anything light, so it was either sweat profusely, or just take it off. I have to say, it was a first, - for November. And of course, the weather also promised rain, which it certainly delivered - lots of it! (memories of the summer) The trip itself was filled with surprises and many interesting twists - many which could have gone the wrong way. I'm just glad to be home safe and sound. Here's a hint: Just imagine what you can get yourself into when you miss a portage that bypasses a long canyon filled with falls, chutes, and rapids. Trust me!, I know!

Time to get writing!

D

Opportunity Not to be Wasted!

With this wave of unseasonal warm temperatures it was hard not to think about canoeing. Its smells and feels of spring as the temperature gets up in the high teens during the day! Its really evident outside as people are not wearing jackets. (I even saw skin!,...t-shirts and short skirts!) So in the interest of utilizing the weather to its best potential, I decided to do the only thing that was right. Yes, it was a hard decision, but I will put my best "paddle" forward and head out! This time, I'm headed to the Magnetwan river to do a short loop starting from Harris lake. Even though I've been to the Magnetawan river before, this is a section that I haven't paddled through. And no, the four days that I'm out will not be all sun and warm temperatures. As it's forecasted for now, after the first day the temperature is steadily going to drop, as well as rain continually. (so why am I going?!) Because I love canoeing and the long portages on the last 2 days, will guarantee that I stay warm!

Be in touch soon!

Cheers!

D