“…but I’m not looking for anything hardcore, yet.” I’m often asked for advice about outdoor trips, and every once in a while, the person ends the question with the above statement. I find this interesting, especially the “yet” part. The inference is that there’s a hierarchy to the camping world; your first trips start with…
Blacksmithing and leatherwork and bushcraft, oh my.
Like most people, I have a variety of interests. Sometimes, the popular pastimes that appeal to my colleagues and friends don’t hold that same draw — I don’t play golf, or follow sports. Some of my passions do fall closer to the mainstream — craft beer, pool, good food. The interests that titled this post,…
Are survival kits the “good” silverware that gather dust?
I recently read a brace of posts from fellow outdoor blogs, The Oak and the Mountain, and Wood Trekker talking about survival kits. Now, the reason I came across these posts was because I was actively looking for survival kit ideas. I thought it was high time I re-visited my personal kit. Given that it’s…
A Day with Pinock Smith
On January 15, 2011, I had the distinct pleasure of spending the day with Pinock Smith, a master builder, known for his traditional canoe-building methods. I first heard of Pinock in the second season of Ray Mears’ Bushcraft, where he and Ray built an authentic birchbark canoe in a week. They worked on screen again in…
Packing up your gear for the end of the season
I came across an article on this subject from the Ontario Parks Insider enewsletter. It’s a quick overview of the main tasks to think about when you’re squirreling your gear away for the off-season, or just to give your gear a good clean after some hard use.
Time for a wanigan
I’d like to talk about one decision I’ve made when it comes to kitchen on a canoe trip. There’s a part of me that wants to go as ultra-light as possible, knife and a flint striker and some rope, and improvise from there, but there’s another, more obsessive side that wants to bring every…
Trip Report: SittingMan Lake
This was a good trip for my friend Keith’s first time into Algonquin, in terms of what to expect for canoeing, since the Tim River to Rosebary, and then on from Longbow to Sitting Man Lake (our final destination) is a good mix of winding rivers, grassy marsh, ponds, and nice, open lakes with deeper…
Assembling the Pakcanoe
I live in a small apartment in downtown Toronto, Canada, so I had a few challenges to deal with when deciding which canoe to buy. I needed flexible storage and transportation options. I ended up with a Pakcanoe, a skin-on-frame canoe that comes apart and stores or travels in a bag about the size of…