Recent content by memaquay

I was guiding a couple down the Steel River. As we approached Deadhorse Creek bridge, there was some debate between them about ending the trip early. I said I would go up on the road and stop the first vehicle that came along, ask for a ride back to my truck, and return for them. There was...

Greetings fellow wilderness canoe trippers! I am thrilled to have found this forum where I can connect with other like-minded individuals who share my passion for exploring the great outdoors by canoe. I have been paddling and portaging through the wilderness for years, seeking out remote lakes...

I'd say five minutes a strip sounds about right, maybe less if it was full length.

Don't forget the goats.

I use staples and bead and cove, so a hull the size of an osprey can usually be planked quite quickly. I don't think I would have the patience to do it your way, but aesthetics have never been big in my wood butchery.

Great report so far. I believe your moose might actually be a caribou.

I've been thinking about the double layer thing quite a bit lately. My first Osprey, which saw several thousand kilometres of tripping over the course of a decade was built with one single six ounce layer of regular fiberglass, inside and out. It saw some very rough usage, had some bad dumps...

I was a bike guy in my 20's, racing and touring. When Cannondale came out with the oversize tube aluminium bike, I took part of my student loan and bought one. It was pretty advanced for the time, now it sits in my son's garage, probably worth almost nothing. My interests have always bordered...

A 6 percent increase should bring you close to 16 feet I'm guessing. I'm wondering how close your canoe will be to the Shearwater, the bigger sister of the Osprey.

I don't mind providing detailed maps to people who come up here. Our geographical location keeps the traffic low, and anyone willing to come all this way deserves to have a basic map. As I age and the ticker gets more hardware, I am hopeful that other people will adopt some of these routes and...

Let's not be so quick to rush to judgement about whiners and lame threads. Callan's article does more than register grief at not being able to book campsites in provincial parks. It is also leaning toward blaming the social media-ization of wilderness canoe tripping, which is ironic, since...

I feel for you guys, I really do. I couldn't live in an urban cancerous sore of a city, I get the heebeegeebees in Thunder Bay. I can drive for 15 minutes and not see another human for months.

My son got married at our place over the weekend. Brought out the canoe I made for my wedding and Honeymoon and put it to use.

The Journey seems heavy, mine comes in at 13 ounces, lol, not that 2 ounces is anything in a big outfit. I don't like the grip on the journey, but after 20 minutes or so I stop noticing it. I have paddles that I like more, that feel better in my hands, and in the water, but the weight gets me...

I would say weight and paddle length are the two main differences, and not so much straight vs bent. My straight shaft carbon paddle has spoiled me, and I now rarely use my wooden ones.