Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Thank you!!!

Two big thumbs-up to all of you that responded to my request for comments! It was so great to see the remarks from the people that actualy read my blog and I will do a seperate post to respond to all of your questions.

I was able to get the 20 comments just in time and I am pleased to tell you that Steve will be reluctantly delivering me a bottle of Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 early next week.

Since I would not have won without your help, I will be sharing this bottle with all of you. We will meet in Algonqin Park August 2, 2007 @ 8;30 pm on Robinson Lake . We will share the bottle while we enjoy another Algonquin sunset.

In the event that no one else is available, Gerry and I will be forced to drink your share, but will be thinking of you while we do...

Thanks again!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

This is where I beg for your help...


Hey everyone!

Today I was just blown away by the traffic on the blog...OVER 100 page views today(and counting) ...simply amazing!

I was talking about it with a work friend and they took a look at the site, counted the number of comments and were quick to point out how almost nobody leaves a comments. From this he (falsly) concluded that the traffic is being generated solely by Gerry and me.

I then bet him that I could have at least 20 comments posted by Christmas eve and this is where I need your help!

PLEASE POST COMMENTS I am begging you!!!

RULES:

1) Gerry and I do not count
2) Each reader can only post once
3) Comments must include your name and comments on the blog


Thanks in advance for your time....oh and Steve if you are reading this, you better have that bottle ready 'cause you are going down!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Monday, December 18, 2006

Weekend Update:

This was another good weekend.

Like many others, this time of year always has me feeling a little better then normal and I try to use this time to focus on my family. I can be a fairly intense person and with that, I often fall into a "can't see the forest for the trees" state of mind. With all the things that have to be done, it is easy for me to get lost in tasks and not appreciate what little time I have to enjoy my family. This weekend I put aside my usual routines and devoted all of my time to my kids and it was a real eye opener...in the best way possible.

We all went to Jacob's hockey practice on Saturday and for a practice, he was much more excited about it then usual and it showed. He has done very well and next Saturday is his first real game. He and I went to get him a new stick on Sunday and he was very happy that he got to pick any stick he wanted. For my part, I was very happy that he chose the $12 one.

Lauren and Ethan are just as excited as there Brother and will be in the stands cheering him on.

Below is a short clip of him at a practice a few weeks ago.

Dealing with Wind and Waves

Although the canoe is a reasonably stable craft, it is definitely affected by wind and waves. A brisk headwind can turn a leisurely paddle into a grueling battle, and a tricky cross wind can mean you spend as much energy trying to keep the canoe on course as you do propelling it forward. This is a lesson Gerry and I learned last year when we left the calm waters of the Nipising River and were suprised by the pounding we took while crossing Cedar Lake.

Large swells from the side can potentially dump you into the drink. Breaking waves from the bow or stern can fill and swamp your canoe in a hurry.

Avoiding Prevailing Winds

Some local winds are caused by sunlight warming air over the land, which rises, drawing in cooler air from over lakes and other bodies of water. This cooler air also warms up over the land mass and rises. This local wind effect can sometimes be avoided by paddling early in the morning or late in the evening.



Heading into Open Water from a Lee Shore

Any time you leave the sheltered lee shore and head into a large body of water, caution is advised. Even on a windy day, the water immediately adjacent to the shoreline will always seem calm, since the land mass is blocking the winds.

As you get a little further out into the lake, the winds will begin to drop to the lake surface and cause some waves. A bit further, the sheltering effect of the land becomes non-existent and you may find yourself in huge rollers or breaking waves. At this point, it is very difficult (sometimes impossible) to turn the canoe around and head back to the shore without taking waves broadside and swamping or tipping it.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Black Bear or Grizzly?

Most people know that black bears are excellent tree-climbers, and grizzly bears are not.

It was recently suggested that this might be a good way to differentiate between the two species if I were to run into a bear.

The approach suggested upon encountering a bear was to immediately climb a tree.

If the bear climbed the tree and ate me, it was a black bear.

If the bear knocked over the tree and then ate me, it was a grizzly.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Trip Related Updates and News


Route Changes?

I have been looking at changing our route for CC 2007. The change would be to the return route and would prevent us form having to retrace the path we will take in....that is the good part. The bad...the alternate route would take us on some serious "low maintenance" portage routes totaling 5895 meters. Although change can be good, neither Gerry or I are sure this would be a good idea and I can not even find a single person that has done our alt. route before. You can check it out on the map to the right.


New Water filter

We have used the MSR Mini-works and it did a great job, but the time we spent pumping the water and worse yet, cleaning the filter was unwanted, frustrating work. For that reason we will be replacing our MSR Mini-works with the H2O Amigo Gravity Filter This simple filter requires no pumping, filter a liter/minute and weighs less then half a pound. For $50 US including delivery, my only regret is that we did not buy this one first!

Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show

Frankly, this show really sucked last year. It will be here again in February and they have made some changes that may make us take another look. You can check it out here. Even if the show is terrible it will give us an excuse to have a night out and maybe grab some BB-Q.....ehhh?

FREE Calendar

The 2007 Ontario Outdoor Adventure Calendar is now out and you can get your free copy by calling 1-800-ONTARIO. It is a beautiful calendar featuring the best photo's of 2006. (...and just in case you are wondering, I already ordered you one Gerry)

New Stove?

We are still thinking about selling our MSR Whisperlite International and moving up to the Dragonfly. The main reason is the lack of any sort of simmer setting on the Whisperlite. This one is still up in the air.

It's a Girl!

As most of you may already know, my best bud and canoeing partner Gerry is now the proud father of his first girl! You can read about it in his latest post.

A BIG congratulations to Both Gerry and Marie!