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Sounds like the typical donation canoe offered to the local nature center. Maybe your friend should have offered to haul it off for free (that would be a fair price). At least he could have tried canoeing and if he didn’t like it he could borrow my sawzall.

Agreed. The local nature center rents way more kayaks than canoes. When I help with boat rentals, we have to help with lowering some people into kayaks and almost all adults need help getting out. We promote the sit-on-top kayaks to a lot of adults.

I kind of agree - when I first saw one, Johnson Outdoors (owner of Old Town Canoe), had donated one for a raffle to the nature center where I volunteer. I picked the thing up from the Johnson Outdoors store downtown at their headquarters. I was immediately not impressed - it looked like another...

I remember seeing a similar canoe many years ago which I think was an Old Town with the hull covered with the Budweiser bow tie emblem. The guy who owned it was an SC Johnson employee who got it from Johnson Outdoors (owner of Old Town Canoe). Apparently it had been used for promotional purposes...

Almost any outfitter, resort, etc can sell you the necessary camping permits in Ontario. Or go to Manitoba where there is no Crown Land Camping permit required. Clem Quenville, a great resource for shuttles, etc is a Whitesands First Nations member and he has allowed people he was shuttling, etc...

When I used to fish I used a basketball net tied off at the bottom then filled with enough rocks to do the job. Then I tied the top shut with the anchor line and over it went. When I portaged the rocks were discarded to be replaced at the next water body. Since I quit fishing about 20 years ago...

You can get somewhat out of Armstrong on maintained gravel roads, including to Caribou/Little Caribou, but unless you want to go on unmaintained and abandoned logging roads your options might be limited. My advice would be to contact Don Elliott at Mattice Lake Outfitters or Clem Queville, both...

Gamma, given your thorough planning and determination, you will bag this trip. It’s just a matter of when. When I retired just about 20 years ago l thought I would have all the time in the world to do what I wanted, when I wanted. Funny how things keep popping up that require my involvement.

I have been thinking about the lack of freight car space for canoes during the “high season” for Wabakimi tripping. Perhaps Via Rail could add another freight car during their busy months. I also wonder if an outfitter didn’t purchase these on speculation that they could be sold to his...

On one very rainy Wabakimi trip in 2009, which was an extremely rainy year in NW Ontario, Uncle Phil showed us how to quickly dry out a really soaked tent. He fired up the Coleman 400 series stove put it in a pot and very carefully placed in the erected empty Timberline 4. The tent dried out in...

Cruiser, sorry for the bum tip. Just found the packing list, I got the bug tarp almost two years ago. I was thinking last summer or fall - time sure flies when you’re older.

In all years of Wabakimi area trips, where it usually rains a lot, we always packed the wet tent or fly outside the waterproof pack liner but inside the pack. But when traveling with Uncle Phil (Wabakimi Project founder) we traveled on Wabakimi time which often allowed plenty of time in the...

I will never separate my tent fly from the tent body. On a Wabakimi trip several years ago I made a distressing discovery - when I set up my tent on the first night, I discovered I did not have the fly. It then dawned on me that I had given the fly to my wife the previous fall for some quick...

Cruiser, it may be too late but Johnson Outdoors, the owner of Eureka, sold it and was unloading all of its existing stock including their bug tarps. I picked one up (NoBugZone CT11) directly from Johnson Outdoors for about $70.00. I sure hope this purchase works out better for me than when I...

A friend wanted roof rails on his Wrangler with the detachable composite roof (fiberglass ?). He bought a pair of rails made for the Subaru Forester and attached them to the top. He transports his boat (40+lbs) and so far everything is going okay. I wonder about the safe weight capacity for this...

I use the gloves Costco sells every spring in 10 ct packs. Very inexpensive and durable, I go through maybe 2 pr per year. I like my paddling gloves by NRS. I started using these on the advice of my dermatologist who noticed too much sun exposure on the top of my hands.

When I owned a VW Eurovan I usually provided the trip vehicle carrying two canoes, gear and four paddlers. I would load my canoe without assistance using a step stool. This was necessary due to the height of the van. I kind of viewed the balance required to do this as a form of exercise. I no...

I doubt there is a safe month to paddle on the big lake. I have a friend who worked as a seasonal ranger at Sand Bay in the National Lakeshore. They regularly rescued people who rented kayaks there. The saddest incident in the Lakeshore was when a father and 3 young children perished in an...

With my limited computer skills I was able to find portions of the popular segments of the Kopka River, NW Ontario.

Great report (like your others), on a dream trip. I would bring my wife - who is conversant in French.