I think it's time to say hello, finally

[Aslowhand]

Hello all,
Long time lurker here. I'm impressed by the wealth of experience and knowledge one can find on this forum.
Signed in years ago but I never dared to post anything because my lack of confidence in writing English. Despite that fact Glenn Mac Grady encouraged me to participate actively. He deserves a big thank you for keeping this site alive!

I live in Switzerland not far from Berne the capital. Paddling open canoes is not very popular over here. Most people paddle kayaks or stand up boards.
In my twenties (1985) I did my first wilderness canoe trip in Northern Ontario. That's why I switched from kayak to open canoe. Since then I went back to Canada a few times. Can't wait to do another wilderness canoe trip!

Fortunately the nearest lake (Lake of Thoune) provides soft water most time of the year so I can go out for a short paddle 1 - 2 times a week to stay in good shape.

Last week I took advantage of the good weather and did a overnighter on one of my favourite spots of the lake.


All packed up and ready to go. The canoe is a Redbird 17'6 built by a friend of mine. I'm glad that he lets me use it for my outings.


Paddling out


Camp is set up


Evening view (notice the rowing boat on the left)


A hearty breakfast


The City of Thoune is pretty close


On my way back to the put in

Greetings from Switzerland!
André

 

[alsg]

Thanks for posting. Your written English is excellent, so do not hesitate to post again!

 

[Robin]

Hi, I remember your user name when I was vetting new members back in 2015. I checked back and you mentioned that you did the Savant River in nw Ontario in 2015 which is an out of the way trip for most people, but to come from Switzerland that is quite a trip.
Some pics and story (logistics) of that trip would be more than welcome. nw Ontario is a 2 day ride for me and I let that hold me back. I need to rethink my thinking...haha
Welcome Again.

 

[Aslowhand]

@alsg: Thanks for your reply. Ha ha, google translater helps a lot...

@Robin: Thanks for your warm welcome, back then and now. Your powers of recall are astonishing! Yes NW Ontario is quite far away from home for many of us. But I think it's worth the travel. Savant River? There's a faint memory in the back of my mind............


Virginian Lake NW Ontario

Greetings from Switzerland!
André

 

[yellowcanoe]

OMG what wonderful scenery! I could basecamp there for a week.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

In my email exchanges with Aslowhand I have made believe I recall more of my mother's-side German than I do, so . . . Willkommen!

I just knew you would have some scenic photos, and that stripper canoe is sehr schön.

 

[stevet]

Welcome! What a gorgeous campsite view! Your English is excellent so join in often. Nice to see open canoes in Europe

 

[Penns Woods]

Welcome, looking forward to your posts..

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

Stunning photos! I believe your English is better than mine. Looking forward to more posts from your adventures.

Bob

 

[LanceR]

Beautiful canoe, beautiful lake and a comfortable campsite. What else would you need? Welcome to the land of the living from North Carolina!


Lance

 

[Patrick Corry]

Greetings Andre, lovely pictures! Am I correct that I'm seeing the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau on the left as well as the Berner Oberland peaks on the right of your first photo? I've climbed most of those with the exception of the Eiger. You live in a wonderful part of the world. Thanks for joining in with your first post.

Pat

 

[scratchypants]

Hi André! To limit your posting due to a limited knowledge of English would surely be a detriment to us all. We barely have a command of it ourselves. Cheers!

 

[Abenakiregion]

Hi André! To limit your posting due to a limited knowledge of English would surely be a detriment to us all. We barely have a command of it ourselves. Cheers!

My words exactly. I'm thinking your English may be a bit too good to pass as one of us.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Andre most of us speak only English and when we encounter European folks , I am humbled by their multilingual capabilities.

 

[snapper]

Welcome and thanks so much for sharing your adventure with us. I don't post much myself but this is a welcoming group so don't ever concern yourself with how a post will be accepted. My guess is you'll always find a receptive audience.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Aslowhand]

Hello folks

I'm overwhelmed by your friendly welcome!

Yes I really live in a beautiful part of the world. Unfortunately, I keep forgetting that because it's normal for me.

@yellowcanoe: If you were to basecamp there for a week you shure would have a lot of visitors. That place is very used because of it's easy accessibility (motorboats!). Talking about multilingual capabilities; in Switzerland we have 4 official languages (German, French, Italian and Rumantsch). It's only a two hours drive by car and I'm surrounded by people speaking French, then it's convenient to know a bit of their language. My mother tongue is Berndeutsch a dialect that has common roots with German, it's only a spoken language ; the first "foreign" language I had to learn was "proper" German.

@Glenn MacGrady: Yes you tricked me in to this. I took the bait und es tut nicht weh.

@Patrick Corry: Oh! what a brave mountaineer you are! I know what I'm speaking of, climbed them as well. You are right, it's Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau and the Berner Oberland peaks (i.e. Morgenhorn, Weisse Frau, Blüemlisalphorn and Doldenhorn) to the right. On the evening pictures you also see the Schreckhorn (to the left of Mönch), which has no easy route to it's peak.

Now I have to go to work. If I find some spare time I will post more.

Greetings from Switzerland
André

 

[Mike McCrea]

Welcome Aslowhand (Clapton reference? Do you play?)

I have only ever paddled in the US, in Canada and along the Mexican border on the Rio Grande.

Your second (third, fifth language) writing is better than many folks, me included. In the US people speak ‘Merican of nothing at all. I am envious of folks who grew up in cultures where learning to speak multiple languages is the norm.

There is little posted on North American sites about paddling or tripping in Europe. I’ll likely never paddle in Switzerland, mostly because I can’t drive there, but would love to know more and see more photos.

Bainvegni, willkommen, pull up a chair by the fire.

 

[Aslowhand]

mmccrea, Mike I guess? Yes you hit it right, I'm a big fan of Eric Claptons mastery of the blues guitar, he is one of my heroes. Playing the guitar myself but my skills are far away from what he does.
I really enjoy your posts, you made me chuckle or even laughing out loud a lot of times.
Thanks for your bainvegni.

As I mentioned above, I'll post more if I find the time.

Greetings from Switzerland
André

 

[Grandpa Paddler]

Welcome Andre. My mother was an English teacher and she was always correcting my grammar (both verbal and written). She would have been happy if I wrote as well as you. Gorgeous photos BTW.

Jon

 

[stripperguy]

Hello Andre,
Welcome from upstate NY. Absolutely stunning scenery in your photos.
Looking at your pics, I have too many questions:

Is that public land where you made your camp?
Here in NY, we have the Adirondack Park, a combination of private and public lands, roughly 3 million acres each. Lots of wilderness areas and many, many paddling opportunities.

I see you have just a tarp/rain fly...Do you have biting insects? If so, I imagine there is a season for them?
How about nuisance pests like bears or coyotes? Any concerns?

And yes, that is a pretty canoe. How fortunate that you have a friend that lets you borrow it!