February 2018

My 1st backcountry Canoe Trip Algonquin 2002- Canoe Symposium Presentation Part 1 of 2

By |2021-02-14T08:11:37-05:00February 13th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, Algonquin, Algonquin Park, Algonquin Provincial Park, animals, backcountry, backcountry camping, Bear Barrel, camp, Campers, camping, campsite, Canada, canoe, canoe camping, canoeing, enthusiasm, Exploring, Hiking, inspiration, Nature, Ontario, ontario parks, Outdoor Adventure Show, Outdoors, paddling, portage, portaging, Presentation, Provincial Park, Up north|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I was little, my family rented a cottage up north, and for one whole week every summer, I was in total heaven. It was awesome and I have some very fond memories of my time there, even though sadly, we never canoed or paddled.   We did do a lot of really fun things… like looking for tadpoles and frogs, trying to catch minnows in our sand pails, roasting marshmallows beside a big huge [...]

January 2018

Hot Tent Reno’s -Stabilization of the Painters Pole

By |2018-01-30T17:01:44-05:00January 30th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, alone, backcountry, backcountry camping, camping, camping tips, Canada, DIY, education, enthusiasm, Exploring, homemade, hot tent, Muskoka, Ontario, outdoor products, Outdoors, renovation, renovations, revision, Uncategorized, winter, winter camping, winter camping tips|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

After my last backcountry trip, I had a major issue that I needed to deal with before my next trip.  The issue was being caused by  my painters pole.  It was quite a nifty thing and I really liked the idea of it, but in reality, my friend Tierney was right.  It was unstable and you didn't know if it would just suddenly collapse.  She was bang on on that. On my trip backcountry camping [...]

New Years at Mew Lake in Algonquin Park – 2017/2018

By |2018-01-16T18:30:55-05:00January 16th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, Algonquin, Algonquin Park, Algonquin Provincial Park, camp, Campers, camping, campsite, Canada, carcamping, cold, cooking, enthusiasm, Exploring, hike, Hiking, hiking trails, homemade, hot tent, Mew Lake, Nature, Ontario, ontario parks, Ontario Trails, outdoor products, Outdoors, Parks, Provincial Park, scenery, scenic, teepee, tent, tentcamping, tipi, Up north, walks, water, waterfalls, winter, winter camping, winter Wonderland|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While saying goodbye to 2017 and welcoming the new year, it was only proper that I mark the occasion by camping. I spent the last day of 2017 and the first day of 2018 in a chilly winter wonderland in Algonquin Park, with some of the awesome people I've met through a shared passion, a love and respect of the outdoors, that brings us all together. I arrived at Mew Lake early Saturday morning. It [...]

Hot Tent Backcountry Trial Run – How to Stake a Hot Tent When Camping on Rock

By |2018-01-02T17:19:19-05:00January 2nd, 2018|Categories: Adventure, backcountry, backcountry camping, Campers, camping, Canada, Climbing, conservatationarea, Conservation areas, conservationarea, crownland camping, enthusiasm, Exploring, falls, frozen waterfalls, georgian bay, go home lake, hike, Hiking, hot tent, ice, Muskoka, muskoka trails, Nature, Ontario, Outdoor Adventure Show, Outdoors, scenic, sledding, snowshoe trails, snowshoeing, tent, tentcamping, tipi, toboggan, water, winter, winter camping, winter camping tips, winterglamping|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A few weeks before the hot tent was done, I 'd made plans to take it out into the backcountry with my friend Sue, from Sue's Outdoor Crew.  She had spent the weekend before making a sled so she could carry her gear on it and some of the items needed for our weekend.  The day before our trip, we had some issues locating a good spot to camp as it's very difficult to find [...]

December 2017

How to Make A Hot Tent Camper Christina Style – Part 1

By |2020-05-19T13:48:22-04:00December 5th, 2017|Categories: camping, Canada, cold, DIY, education, enthusiasm, Exploring, gear, homemade, hot tent, inspiration, learning, Muskoka, Nature, Ontario, outdoor products, Outdoors, tipi, toboggan, winter camping, winter camping tips, winterglamping|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In November 2015, I built a DIY Tipi hot tent.   It is awesome and I love it dearly, but unfortunately, the tipi is not made for the backcountry. I took it on a few small trips last year and very quickly realized it weighs a tonne.  I hadn't realized how much until I had made a statistics sheet about it for winter in the wild and was amazed to see that it weighed about 65 [...]

October 2017

Mike Ranta – Hanging out in Killarney with a Modern Day Voyageur!

By |2017-10-11T09:30:22-04:00October 11th, 2017|Categories: Adventure, alone, camping, Canada, canoe, canoe camping, canoeing, enthusiasm, Exploring, inspiration, killarney, legend, Mike Ranta, Nature, Ontario, Outdoor Adventure Show, Outdoors, paddling, solo trip, Spitzii, water, waterways, winter camping|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I first met Mike Ranta at the 2017 Toronto outdoor show I didn't really know that much about him. All I knew was that I had just heard him present and I had never heard someone speak so passionately about something.   Mike Ranta speaks from his heart and he is so passionate about what he does that it gave me chills.   I was inspired instantly. This year him and his amazing canine Spitzii [...]

Georgian Bay – Solo Kayak Camp – Conquering Fears !

By |2017-10-03T18:46:19-04:00October 3rd, 2017|Categories: Adventure, camp, camping, campsite, Canada, crownland camping, enthusiasm, Exploring, georgian bay, kayak, kayak camping, Kayaking, Nature, navigating, navigation, Ontario, Outdoors, paddle, paddling, scenery, scenic, solo trip, sunrise, sunset, tangii, women, yolo|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have always loved the beauty of Georgian Bay.  You see, I have a thing for rocks. I just love them and Georgian Bay is full of them, in all different shapes, sizes and colors.  Then there's the water... it is this deep deep blue color... so pretty!   I spent some time on Georgian Bay during my Level 2 Sea Kayaking Course and I have wanted to go back ever since.  The problem was, like [...]

September 2017

Algonquin Kiosk Loop – 5 Day Solo Canoe Trip – Part 2 of 2

By |2023-11-10T20:07:32-05:00September 20th, 2017|Categories: Adventure, Algonquin, Algonquin Park, Algonquin Provincial Park, alone, backcountry camping, Campers, camping, campsite, Canada, canoe camping, canoeing, enthusiasm, Exploring, inspiration, kiosk, Ontario, ontario parks, Outdoors, paddle, paddling, portage, portaging, Solitaire, solo trip, sunrise, sunset, tangii|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Part 1 of this trip can be found here.   This is the continuation of that post starting from the afternoon of Day 3 at my site on Big Thunder Lake. I had just arrived, set up my small footprint tarp and was sitting under it enjoying some lunch...... While eating my lunch on day 3 on Big Thunder Lake, I realized I would have to move the small footprint tarp I was using and [...]

Kayaking with Kevin Callan – Herb Lake, Haliburton Water Trails

By |2017-09-12T19:33:35-04:00September 12th, 2017|Categories: Adventure, Algonquin, algonquin highlands, backcountry, backcountry camping, camp, Campers, camping, camping tips, campsite, Canada, cooking, education, enthusiasm, Exploring, food, inspiration, kayak, kayak camping, kayak portaging, Kayaking, learning, Nature, navigating, Ontario, ontarios highlands, outdoor products, Outdoors, paddle, paddling, scenery, scenic, sightseeing, sunrise, sunset, tangii, teach, teaching, training|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Ever since my first trip with Kevin Callan, The Happy Camper, in June of this year, there has been a challenge set forth for Kevin the (mostly) canoeist to go on a kayaking trip with me.  Our second trip over the Canada 150 long weekend, brought us canoeing once again, but I was promised a kayaking trip at some point and I was going to make sure it happened, no matter how short or the location. [...]

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