Madawaska River, ON: Whitewater Training

LOGISTICS (ON,  CANADA)

Private Vehicle: Kanata > Jessup's Campground, Palmers' Rapid

Solo & Tandem Canoe(s): At Palmers Rapid, Madawaska River

Private Vehicle: Palmer's Rapid > Kanata
Dates: June 9 - 11, 2004 / June 21 - 22, 2003 / June 22 - 23, 2002

A bunch of us gathered several times at Palmers for some training.

Madawaska River Photography

Crusty ...

INSTRUCTION: ORCA CT Instructor Level 2 Certification: La Verendyre PP, PQ

A Certification

LOGISTICS (PQ,  CANADA)

Partner: Fred 

Private Vehicle: Kanata & Perth > Bear Creek

Accommodation: Bear Creek Outdoor Centre, Campbell's Bay, Quebec

Director: Jill Baxter

Instructors: Shawn Hodgins, Francis Boyes

Shuttle: Driver Mike from Bear Creek > La Verendyre PP put-in @ Lac Fusel and return

Route: Lac Fusel > Lac Fabrezan > up Riviere de Rapids > Lac Poulter > south end Lac Poulter > Lac Jean Pierre > Lac Richet > Lac Antostagen > Take-Out @ Secondary Road #20

Tandem / Solo Canoe(s): La Verendyre PP lakewater trip, PQ - flatwater, 5 days, 43kms

Certification Obtained: ORCA Canoe Tripping Instructor Level 2

Private Vehicle: Bear Creek > Kanata & Perth

Starz Azzurro Resort, Cabarete, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

We Enjoyed the People the Most

Wikipedia: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

LOGISTICS

Accommodation: Starz Azzurro Resort, Cabarete, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Currency: The official currency is the Dominican Republic peso. A small commission may be charged for exchanging CDN $. US dollars are accepted in some businesses.

The Dominican people are wonderful. They are sincerely friendly, happy and pleasant, but very poor. The only Caribbean country poorer is Haita. Our visit was focussed primarily around the resort and adjacent town area. We travelled the highway from Puerto Plata but never visited the city. The only part of the countryside we visited was during the bike tour. Subsistence farming is common and the people live at a very low standard. They do what they can to make any money at all and that includes trying to sell just about anything, however we didn't witness any begging. The tourist industry has caused much of the economic growth and a move to the coastal areas. Families have relocated from the farming and mountainous regions to find higher paying jobs.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 2004 Photography

Crusty ...

Royal Decameron and Gamboa Rainforest Resorts, PANAMA

Mucho, Mucho Sol ... Mucho, Mucho Calor

Wikipedia: PANAMA

We only saw a small part of this country in the two weeks we were here. Even though we were in three Provinces, we barely entered Cocle and Colon. The heat and humidity at the time of year we were here is very oppressive. Sizzling hot, temperatures ranged between the low 30's to low 40's C and the humidity was typically between 80 and 90%. 

KAYAKING: St. Lawrence River, 1000 Islands, ON

LOGISTICS (ON,  CANADA)

Double Kayak: Day trip in the Thousand Islands

View 2003 St Lawrence River in a larger map

St. Lawrence Photography

Crusty ...

Canoeing the French River, Georgian Bay Islands NP, ON: Western, Voyageur and Main Channels

LOGISTICS (ON,  CANADA)

Designation: FRENCH is a Canadian Heritage River
Canadian Heritage Rivers: FRENCH
Park: Georgian Bay Islands National Park

Private Vehicle: Kanata > Sudbury > Hartley Bay

Tandem Canoe: Hartley Bay > Western / Voyageur / Main Channels French R > Hartley Bay - CII, 6 days, 54 kms

Private Vehicle: Hartley Bay > Sudbury > Kanata

View 2003 French River in a larger map

FRENCH

FRENCH Photography

Crusty ...

Highland Backpacking Trail, Algonquin PP, ON

A Short Backpacking Trip

LOGISTICS
Route: Trailhead @ Mew Lk > Pewee Lk > Provoking Lk > Head > Harness Lake > Mosquito Lake > Fly Lake > Provoking Lake > Trailhead @ Mew Lk
Distance: 36 kilometres

This is an intermediate level trail. Hikers will be isolated at the back end of the large loop at a distance of approximately 15 kms from the MNR Office at Mew Lake. Hikers must be capable of carrying 35 to 65 lbs depending on personal needs and requirements. The terrain is mostly mixed forest with several small wetland area, small lakes with exposed rocky shorelines and trail grades that are fairly steep at times. The trail surface can be rooted and rocky in places. The bush is well-shaded with few sections exposed to direct sunlight. There are very few lookouts and views.

Highland Backpacking Trail Photography

Crusty ...

ORCA Flatwater Instructor Certification

Certifications

LOGISTICS 

Certification By: PMH Outdoors
Instructor: Bruce Hawkins
Courses: ORCA Flatwater Canoe Instructor, Lakewater 1

This course fulfilled all my expectations and I was successful at obtaining both certifications.

ORCA Flatwater Instructor Certification Photography

Crusty ...

Super Club Breezes Jibacoa, Playa Jibacoa, CUBA

Wikipedia: CUBA

We left the resort grounds and made several trips into the countryside. We met a number of Cubans whose families had been working the land for generations. Western propoganda has done immeasurable damage to the way in which Cuba is viewed internationally. The people are wonderful! An overwhelming percentage (90%+) support Castro and the Revolution ... even those Cubans that fled to the USA support the Revolution, but not Castro.

Winter Camping: Lac Phillipe, Gatineau PP, QC

2003 Lac Philippe, Gatineau PP, QC, CANADA

FIRST and probably LAST Time  

Backpacking the La Cloche Silhouette Trail, Killarney PP, ON

One of Ontario's' Premier Trails

LOGISTICS
Direction: Clockwise from Baie Fine Trailhead > Lumsden Lk > Three Narrows Lk > Little Mountain Lk > Silver Lk >Little Superior Lake > George Lk > Silver Peak Trailhead
Days: 7.5
Average Daily Distance: 13 kms
Total Distance: 98 kilometres

I have wanted to do this backpacking trip since I first paddled in Killarney with Helen a few years ago. As the brochure states, one of only a few wilderness parks in Ontario, Killarney Provincial Park offers a window into some of the finest back-country canoeing and hiking in Canada. Killarney's exceptionally scenic landscapes are noted for exposed white rock cliffs and crystal lakes. At it's southern edge, Killarney hugs the north shore of beautiful and wild Georgian Bay. Killarney hosts warm summers, crisp, cold winters, spectacular autumns and fresh spring days. 

Canoeing Blackfeather Creek / Mountain River, NT: Willowhandle Lake > Mackenzie River Confluence

Canoeing the Aux Sable River, Massey, ON

FIRST Guiding Job

LOGISTICS (ON,  CANADA)

Partner(s): Several of the clients

Air Travel: Ottawa > Sudbury

Shuttle: Sudbury > Chelmsford > Bull Lake > along Massey Tote Road to first right after Bull Lk. Lodge > Put-in @ first bridge crossing

Tandem Canoe: Bridge crossing > AUX SABLES R., > oxbow @ UTM N5127500 E413300 - 2 day, CII+, 40 kms.

Shuttle: return to Sudbury > Sudbury Airport

Air Travel: Sudbury > Ottawa

View 2002 Aux Sables River in a larger map

Canoeing the Petawawa River, Algonquin PP, ON: Lake Travers > McManus Lake

Another River Trip

LOGISTICS (ON, CANADA)
Paddlers: Wanda & Al, Karen & Gerry, Heather & Fred, Rick & Me
Water Level: HIGH
Guide; 'Petawawa River Whitewater Guide' George Drought
Tandem Canoe: Lake Travers > McManus Lake - CII+ / CIII, 3 days, 50 kms
Rapids Run: Big & Little Thompson (CIII), Grillade (CI), Above the Chute (CII), Natch (CIII+), Schooner (CII), Five Mile (CII)
Portage: around Crooked Chute CIV
Skill Level: Intermediate - river,lake and wilderness travel, some rocky steep portages
Wildlife: Moose, Red Fox, Eastern Algonquin Wolf, many Raptors
Photography: Scanned Analog

The origin of the name Petawawa is lost in antiquity, but legend has it that it's an Algonquin Indian word pronounced 'Petwewe' which translates roughly to ' where one hears a sound like this' referring to the roar of the white-water rapids of the river.

PETAWAWA 2002 Photography

Outlast Adventure Race

Dann's First (and only) Adventure Race

Team: Chris Kurlicki, Bruce Schom, Me
Oldest Competitor This Race: Me @ 50
Support Crew: Helen, Mae, Earl
Disciplines: 5 km orienteering, treking, running, 16 km mountain biking, 10 km paddling
Total Distance : 31 kms
Time: 5h 35m
Result: 6th place out of 23 teams, 4th in 3-man category
Photography: Scanned analog

We just wanted to complete this race, so we were pleased to place as well as we did.

El Dorado Royal Resort, Quintana Roo, MEXICO

FIRST Trip to MEXICO

LOGISTICS

Travel: Ottawa > Cancun > El Dorado Royal - 4 hr flight, customs, a corona getting on the bus, 45 min bus trip, 3 hr check in delay while room was cleaned, eat - drink - beach - eat - drink - bed.
Photography: Scanned analog

El Dorado Royal Resort, Quintana Roo Photography

INSTRUCTION: ORCA Canoe Tripping Level II Certification: Canoeing the Missinaibi / North French / Moose Rivers, ON

A Certification

LOGISTICS (ON,  CANADA)

Designation: MISSINAIBI is a Canadian Heritage River

Canadian Heritage Rivers: MISSINAIBI
Put-In: Peterbell Sched Stop 

Solo & Tandem Canoes: Missinaibi River - CIII, 19 river days, 443 kms
Experience: Intermediate moving water skills are required to negotiate rapids CII and greater, there is some lengthy portaging and the area is an isolated wilderness

Take-Out: Moose River Crossing

Certification By: White Wolf Expeditions
Instructor: Jeff Zuchlinski
Course: ORCA Wilderness Tripping II
Photography: Scanned analog

MISSINAIBI  Photography

The Smokies

The Smokies

Accommodation: Mountain Rose Cabin, Cobbly Knob Rentals, Gatlinburg, TN

TEAM Brooks: Helen, Ron, Sue, Cheryl, Kyla, Trestan
Others: Katie, Me
Hiking: Ramsey Cascades Trail (12km, strenuous)
Rafting: Big Pigeon River (CI > CIV), 11kms, 17 rapids, water level HIGH
Outfitter: Rip Roaring Adventures
Guide: Meaghan 
Guiding: I steered the raft through the final half dozen CII > III's at days end. 
B&W Photography: Sue
Photography: Scanned analogue
Event: 27th Wedding Anniversary

Apparently, called the Smokey Mountains, because the air rarely clear due to continuous and sometimes very heavy humidity.

KAYAKING: Pukaskwa Shoreline, Pukaskwa National Park, Lake Superior, ON

Paddling On The World's LARGEST Freshwater Lake

LOGISTICS (ON,  CANADA)

Route: Hattie Cove > Michipicten Harbour, Lake Superior, ON
Paddlers: Karen, Gerry, US
Duration: 13 days on the water
Description: The section we paddled is said by many kayakers to be the best on Lake Superior, if not all of the Great Lakes. 175 kms of road-less wilderness, clear turquoise waters, wonderful sand beaches and several white-water rivers with spectacular waterfalls.
Photography: Scanned analog

From Superior - Journeys On An Inland Sea, by Gary and Joanie McGuffin

"Superior is the most expansive lake on Earth. Its' area of 32,000 square miles (82,000 square kilometres) would cover the province of New Brunswick with room to spare, or the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts combined. A rock dropped into the water over the lakes' deepest spot would sink 1,330 feet (450 m) before coming to rest on the bottom. Superiors' enormous size can also be described by its volume of water: 3,000 cubic miles (6,500 cubic kms), enough to cover the North and South American continents a food deep. A drop of water entering Superior from rain clouds or rivers can circulate the basin for 200 years before it flows down the St. Mary's River at Sault Ste. Marie. More than 200 rivers flow into it, but the St. Mary's is the only one flowing out. The coastline is nearly 2,000 kilometres long and if you add to that, the shoreline around all its' islands, the total distance is closer to 3,000 kilometres. It creates its' own weather patterns, establishing rules about the ebb and flow of seasonal life. Its' sheer size deters crossing by hawks, eagles, ospreys and falcons, who prefer to fly the eastern and western shores during fall migrations."

Pukaskwa NP Photography

INSTRUCTION: Basic Sea Kayaking: Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, ON

Women's Sea Kayaking

LOGISTICS (ON,  CANADA)

Dates: July 6 - 10
Paddlers: Chris, Donna, Peggy, Helen
Put-In: Killbear PP
Route: Put-In > Pancake Is. > Franklin Is. > circumnavigate Franklin Is. > Takeout at                             Killbear PP
Instruction: Basic Sea Kayaking skills

Lake Huron Photography