July 2017

The All Canada Weekend – On Smokey Lake With The Happy Camper

By |2020-05-18T14:00:08-04:00July 5th, 2017|Categories: #fish, Adventure, animals, backcountry, backcountry camping, Campers, camping, campsite, Canada, canada day, canoe camping, canoeing, Conservation areas, conservationarea, cooking, creek, creeks, day trip, education, enthusiasm, Exploring, fishing, Fun, Nature, Ontario, outdoor products, outdoorproducts, Outdoors, paddle, paddling, sunset, swimming, tourism, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I camped with The Happy Camper last month, I had no idea we would be heading out on another trip so soon.  We had discussed the big 150th birthday this year and I had mentioned I wanted to do something awesome, but hadn't made plans yet. Kevin had originally had something booked, but it was cancelled, so,  it left us both open for the long weekend and  it being such a big deal, we [...]

June 2017

Canoe Camping with The Happy Camper -Bugs, Banter & Boney M

By |2017-06-06T17:19:40-04:00June 6th, 2017|Categories: Adventure, algonquin highlands, backcountry, backcountry camping, Bear vault, bearproof, birds, blog, bugs, camp, Campers, camping, camping tips, campsite, Canada, canoe camping, cooking, enthusiasm, Exploring, gear, learning, morel, morels, Ontario, ontarios highlands, outdoor products, Outdoors, paddle, paddling, portage, portaging, recipes, scenery, scenic, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Have you every wondered what it'd be like to camp with the famous Happy Camper, Kevin Callan?  I did too, so I decided to find out! I had chatted with Kevin Callan a few times online at the start of 2017, as he had picked me to do a blurb on my tipi for his winter camping book. When we met at the Outdoor Adventure Show this spring in person, we shared a few stories [...]

May 2017

Bentshoe Lake – 1st kayak camping trip of 2017

By |2017-05-02T16:07:22-04:00May 2nd, 2017|Categories: #drysuit, #kokatat, Bear vault, bearproof, camp, Campers, camping, camping tips, campsite, Canada, Exploring, gear, kayak, kayak camping, kayak portaging, Kayaking, loons, Ontario, outdoor products, Outdoors, owl, paddle, paddling, portage, portaging, scenery, scenic, tangii, tent, tentcamping, water, waterways|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had plans to head over and visit my kayaking coach for some training in preparation of my Level  1 Sea Kayak Instructor Course, but as sometimes plans do, they were moved to another day during the week.  This put me at 8am on a Saturday morning, kayak on car all ready to go, and no plans for the weekend. Guess I could start my kayak camping season after all?  You didn't have to twist [...]

March 2017

Fire and Ice – Skating at Arrowhead by torchlight

By |2017-03-21T17:10:53-04:00March 21st, 2017|Categories: Canada, cold, Exploring, ice, ice skates, ice skating, Ice trail, Nature, Ontario, ontario parks, Ontario Trails, outdoor products, Outdoors, Parks, scenery, scenic, skating, skating trail, skating trails, Trails, Uncategorized, Up north, winter, winter Wonderland|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

About a month ago, my friends from Niagara came up for Galentines weekend. I took them to Arrowhead for a day of winter fun!  While we were there, I saw a sign with the dates for the remainder of the years Fire and Ice. The last date listed was Thursday, March 9th.... my birthday!  I knew right away that is what I wanted to do for my birthday this year! \ A few [...]

February 2017

The Outdoor Adventure Show! -So Many Awesome People in One Place!

By |2017-02-28T18:24:38-05:00February 28th, 2017|Categories: Adventure, animals, booths, Campers, camping, camping tips, Canada, canoe camping, carcamping, Chairs, day trip, Exploring, Fun, kayak, Kayaking, Ontario, ontarios highlands, Outdoor Adventure Show, outdoor products, Outdoors, outdoors show, paddle, paddle canada, paddling, portage, portaging, pot set, Presentation, Provincial Park, tent, tentcamping, trade show, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had an amazing time this past weekend at the Outdoor Adventure Show in Toronto .  I applied to get a bloggers pass and blog about the event and I was picked! I spent two days at the show this year and it was awesome!!!  Last year I was only at the event for one day and felt far too rushed. This year I was able to see all the booths I wanted to, talk [...]

Winter in the Wild -2017-Featuring-Different Ways People Winter Camp!

By |2017-02-23T06:50:28-05:00February 23rd, 2017|Categories: Adventure, Algonquin, Algonquin Park, Algonquin Provincial Park, alone, birds, camp, campchairs, camping, campsite, Canada, carcamping, Chairs, cold camping, day trip, Exploring, falls, family day weekend, food, Fun, hike, Hikers, Hiking, hiking trails, homemade, hot tent, ice skates, ice skating, kyra on the go, Nature, Ontario, ontario parks, Ontario Trails, ontarios highlands, outdoor products, Outdoors, Parks, Provincial Park, skating, skiing, sleep, snowshoe trails, tarps, teepee, tent, tentcamping, timriver, tipi, tourism, tourists, Trails, Uncategorized, walking, walks, waterfalls, winter, winter camping, winter Wonderland, winterglamping, winterinthewild, yurt|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It was a great day to head to Algonquin Park for the Winter in the Wild Festival. I was pretty excited to be a demo this year with my hot tent and also get to see all the other great ways people camp in the winter! There are so many ways you can do it. This year, my plan was to capture a few of each type and post about them. (see green link partway [...]

1st Cold Camping Trip! – Solo Backcountry on St. Nora Lake

By |2017-02-14T15:16:15-05:00February 14th, 2017|Categories: Adventure, Algonquin, algonquin highlands, alone, backcountry, backcountry camping, camp, camping, campsite, Canada, cold, cold camp, cold camping, Exploring, falls, frozen waterfalls, gloves, hike, Hiking, hiking trails, ice, icefalls, inspiration, learning, Nature, Ontario, ontario parks, Ontario Trails, ontarios highlands, outdoor products, Outdoors, Parks, portage, portaging, pull in, sledding, solo trip, summer tent, tent, tentcamping, texting gloves, toboggan, Uncategorized, walking, water, waterfalls, waterways, winter, winter camping, yolo|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

 It was Thanksgiving weekend, 2001 and I did a backcountry trip backpacking in to Bucholtz Lake on the Eastern Pines Backpacking Trail in Algonquin Park. I had a -5 sleeping bag and I remember I was laying there wearing all the clothes I had brought in,  including my jacket, in my sleeping bag and I was frozen solid.  All I wanted to do was be warm but there was no way I was walking  out [...]

1st Winter Backcountry Trip … With the Revised Tipi!

By |2023-03-27T11:59:58-04:00February 7th, 2017|Categories: Adventure, Algonquin, Algonquin Park, Algonquin Provincial Park, backcountry, backcountry camping, Bear vault, Campers, camping, campsite, Canada, cooking, DIY, Exploring, food, Fun, glamping, Hikers, Hiking, hiking trails, homemade, hot tent, Mew Lake, Ontario, ontario parks, Ontario Trails, ontarios highlands, outdoor products, Outdoors, Parks, Privy, teepee, tent, tipi, toboggan, tracks, Trails, Uncategorized, winter, winter camping|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has taken me over a year to get to this point, but I finally made it and I am proud!  I completed my first winter backcountry trip with the tipi and it was a great adventure!   I learned so many things and experienced a bunch of firsts, some thanks to my new friend Ashley from Young Outdoors. Ashley and I met through social media quite some time ago and after many months of [...]

January 2017

My post this week is at My Self Reliance! WOOHOO!!!!!

By |2017-01-31T19:07:13-05:00January 31st, 2017|Categories: #interview, DIY, homemade, hot tent, my self reliance, Ontario, outdoor products, photography, Presentation, renovation, revised, revision, shawn james, tipi, Uncategorized, video, winter, winter camping tips, winterglamping|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I hope your day is going great ! This week my blog post is being featured on My Self Reliance, by Shawn James!!! WOOOHOO!!!!! Shawn contacted me to ask if he could do an interview on me as part of a series he is doing on Winter Camping, and of course, I happily agreed! I set up the tipi for him to see how it all goes together and Shawn made an amazing [...]

Scout Valley Loop Trail – Gorgeous Snowshoeing

By |2017-01-24T20:00:04-05:00January 24th, 2017|Categories: Adventure, alone, animals, Canada, cold, conservatationarea, Conservation areas, conservationarea, creek, creeks, day trip, Exploring, frozen waterfalls, hike, Hikers, Hiking, hiking trails, hikingtrails, inspiration, Muskoka, Nature, Ontario, Ontario Trails, outdoor products, Outdoors, shoe, sleep, solo trip, sunrise, Uncategorized, walking, walks, water, winter, winter Wonderland|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I woke up Saturday morning around 6am with nothing planned for the day.  I was just going to relax, catch up on blog posts and maybe watch a few movies.  Unfortunately, my brain was not in agreement of any of those things. It was supposed to be really cold out, about -30 with the windchill but sunny and I just had to get outside anyways! Since my last trip at the end of December, testing [...]

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