November 2018

First Canoe Cold Camp – Haliburton Highlands Water Trails

By |2018-11-20T16:01:34-05:00November 20th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, algonquin highlands, alone, backcountry, backcountry camping, backcountry custom canoes, camping, Canada, canoeing, cold camp, cold camping, Exploring, Nature, Ontario, Outdoors, paddle, paddling, solo, solo trip, winter, winter camping, yolo|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last year at this time, I didn't have the loaner canoe any longer from Backcountry Custom Canoes so I wasn't able to do a canoe trip in the snow.  I did head out in the kayak, right up until December 1st weekend,  but only had ice on the water to deal with, no snow, so this would be a first for me. I had planned to do a few more canoe trips this season before [...]

November 2017

East Paint Lake – Relaxing with Snakes

By |2017-11-21T19:34:52-05:00November 21st, 2017|Categories: Adventure, alone, backcountry, backcountry camping, camping, campsite, Canada, Exploring, fish, fishing, kayak, kayak camping, kayak portaging, Kayaking, Nature, Ontario, ontarios highlands, outdoor products, Outdoors, paddle, paddling, portage, portaging, scenery, scenic, solo trip, sunrise, sunset, swimming, tent, tentcamping|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had been go go go and I needed a bit of a break. I,  of course, didn't want to stay home though, so I planned a quick trip to one of my favorite areas, the Haliburton Highlands Water Trails.  I found a site on a lake called East Paint Lake that was all by itself.  To get there I just needed to do a short paddle and an 823m portage. Easy peasy!  Booked it [...]

Fall Paddling Trip to Nunikani – Snorts, Surprises & Snow

By |2017-11-14T17:14:16-05:00November 14th, 2017|Categories: Adventure, algonquin highlands, backcountry, backcountry camping, Campers, camping, campsite, Canada, canoe camping, canoeing, cold, cold camp, day trip, Exploring, fall, kayak, kayak camping, kayak portaging, Kayaking, Nature, Ontario, ontarios highlands, Outdoors, paddle, paddling, portage, portaging, recipes, tarps, tentcamping, waterfalls|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It was a great weekend, it was cold, it was wet, it was windy and I vowed momentarily not to camp again until next summer, but it was a total hoot! I had been in correspondence with Mike Burns who had provided me with a huge amount of advice and information regarding my recent solo trip to Killarney.  I had met Mike at the 150 through another friend Derek, from Paddling Adventures Radio, a podcast [...]

September 2017

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. [...]

July 2017

My 1st Solo Canoe Trip – Haliburton Highlands Water Trails

By |2017-07-11T14:35:06-04:00July 11th, 2017|Categories: #solo, Adventure, backcountry, backcountry camping, camping, Canada, canoe, canoe camping, enthusiasm, Exploring, fish, fishing, loons, morel, morels, Nature, Ontario, ontarios highlands, outdoor products, Outdoors, owl, paddle, paddling, portage, portaging, training, Uncategorized, waterways|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

My first solo backcountry trip was 2 years ago at the Massasauga Provincial Park.  It was by kayak and since then I've done many solo kayaking trips and a few solo winter camping trips both by tipi and by tent.  I had never gone on a solo canoe trip, however, until this past weekend. At the 150 for 150 event on Canoe Lake the weekend before Canada Day, Jon from Backcountry Custom Canoes answered my [...]

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 [...]

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