HanesImagery

The Manicouagan Reservoir is one of the most unique and intriguing locations that I’ve ever paddled. An impact crater created more than 200 million years ago, flooded by a now 75 year old dam.

This is where it all started for me. My first ever canoe trip, a 9 day adventure through Algonquin as a student at the Gould Lake Outdoor Centre, immediately changed the course of my life’s journey. Since that first fateful adventure, I have now spent more than a year of my life in the park, paddling its incredible network of lakes and trudging its historic portages.

I was drawn to Alaska for many reasons, but the first motivation I had was to see grizzly bears in the wild. I originally planned a route that would circumnavigate the Admiralty Island or Kootznoowoo, ‘the fortress of the bears’. In the end we spent about half the trip on the shores of the island, and the other half exploring the glaciers of Tracy Arm Fjord. And we even had a couple of bear encounters along the way.

In my many journeys through Algonquin Park, the Petawawa River has become among my favourite routes. Challenging whitewater through some of the beautiful northern parts of Algonquin and spectacular campsites like the Natch and Bypass Falls make it one of the most exhilarating and enjoyable trips in Ontario.

I paddled the Noire River solo in early spring of 2018. I tried to squeeze the approximately 180km distance into 3 days. With assistance from my dad, the brave and foolhardy chauffeur who dropped me off in the Quebec wilderness at 5am the morning of departure, I nearly succeeded. Unfortunately things didn’t go quite as planned.

My first ever solo wilderness trip, I decided to jump in the deep end and paddle this 750km route in the middle of Ontario. It was also my first trip paddling by packraft, and I quickly fell in love with the versatile boat. ‘Peanut’ - as I came to name my raft - and I survived days of solitude, cold spring water rapids, and billions of blood sucking mosquitoes as we made our way east towards James Bay.

I’ve paddled the Missinaibi River from Mattice to Moosonee 5 times now, and every time the river is just as captivating and spectacular as the last. From roaring rapids in the Canadian shield to the wide rocky bends of the Hudson Bay lowlands everything about the Missinaibi is pure magic.

Anticosti is a huge island located in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. At one time a german stronghold, another, the personal playground of a wealthy chocolatier, it is now an incredible wilderness kayak destination. With rugged coastlines, forgiving tides, plentiful beaches and sandy cliff lined bays for camping, there is no where else quite like it!

I’ve paddled many times in Killarney Provincial Park, probably 7 or 8 multi day canoe trips. The park is small but boasts some of the most beautiful lakes found in Ontario. Famed for clear blue waters, a result of acidification from nearby industrial activity, the lakes have been in a slow process of recovery over the years. Some of my favourite campsites in any provincial park are found here.