We spent a few days paddling the west channel of the Nelson River. Playgreen Lake is essentially the west channel, so we only had to battle the current in a few narrow spots. After a day of paddling, we found ourselves on the main body of the lake. This body of water is much different than others we have paddled on throughout the spring and summer.…

What a week! Paddling the rest of the Grass River was phenomenal. We spent some time observing the pictographs on Tramping Lake. I recognized some images easily – a caribou, a person, hand prints – but some images were a mystery to me. Symbols that meant something to their maker long ago.

We camped near Wekusko Falls and paddled across Wekusko…

The last week has been a time of transitions. After being whisked down the Sturgeon Weir River we struggled up the Goose River to Cranberry Portage like many Voyageurs before us. This now abandoned route used to be an important link between the Saskatchewan watershed and the Nelson River watershed. When we marched through downtown Cranberry Portage on Portage Rd we were following in the footsteps of Samuel Hearne who passed this way several times in the 1770s. He established the Hudson Bay…

In the past week we paddled downstream, upstream, and then downstream again. Shortly after our last update, we reached the confluence of the Reindeer River and the Churchill. We had a short paddle up the Churchill to Frog Portage. After portaging across the historic Frog Portage, our travel has been downstream again. We then paddled through a series of lakes to reach Pelican Narrows. From there, we have been paddling on the Sturgeon Weir River.…

Two words: crazy good. Camping at the Presidio? Playing on Crissy Field? I’m going to argue this Outdoor Nation Summit was rocking the best view of the outdoors. We wrapped up the summer’s Summit series in style.



We rolled in Friday morning to our big outdoor tent at Fort Scott at…

After a break of several days in Southend, Saskatchewan we began paddling the Reindeer River. Our time in Southend was spent as it is in most towns, catching up on computer work and eating foods that we crave while in the woods. We stayed in a little cabin at Nordic Lodge, which is just a couple miles out of town. So we even experienced the luxuries of taking showers, cooking stuff in an oven, and sleeping in a bed. Fennel seemed to enjoy this time off too, sleeping on the kitchen floor…

There is just something about big water. That something calls to both Dave and myself. Is it the clear, cold water? Is it the distant horizons and expansive views? Is it the potential for big waves? Or the amazement in the calm moments that such a massive body of water can lie entirely still? Is it the fact that you can easily find a rocky point with a breeze to escape the torment of mosquitoes? There is just something about big lakes.

We have spent the past week on Reindeer Lake.…