Greetings from Ontario Canada

I'll work on downloading the little cook book.

It has been cold - that miserable kind with wet and chill that seems to go through warm clothing and keeps the body cold. Your situation doesn't help much either; I hope that it will not be too costly for the repairs. We had our share in the spring with a new chimney, a raccoon in the attic, trees down and the like. Home ownership made easy as they say.

I feel badly that you were not able to use the new tent. I think I shared with one of our Camping Babblers that I missed a summer because of a transfer in my work. I didn't even get a weekend in until the following spring.
all I did was drool when people shared their experiences. But...I eventually made up for it - and you will too.

 

A bit...I get that romantic notion occasionally to head off into the wilderness and make my own way. I like to Leave all the urban noise and clutter behind like I've seen on those documentaries. In the last few years I have come to value solitude and become resentful when my space and quiet are invaded by others. I suppose that is why I value the company of my dog. In the evenings he will saunter up an lay his head in my lap. Other times he will just lay beside me and be content for hours. I would be too - sometimes just watching the calm of the water and other times laying on a beach with the sand propped up to provide a place for me to watch the night skies - for hours.

 

I admit that sometimes I scare myself with what I do put into the canoe. I take a good look at the small waves - even the tiny ones and wonder. I haven't had any trouble because I try to be reasonable. Then again...even I have surprise myself as to the gear I bring. The problem occurs when I'm with a colleague - when we haven't sorted out what each should bring and were a bit lackadaisical in our planning. Everybody likes to bring their own stuff and there is always a chance of duplication and multiplication.

The prospector is designed as a tripping canoe and can take bigger loads. Not all canoes are built for heavy duty and I have witnessed a canoe going over when two guys got in. Balance is really important as you might expect - when you see someone putting a steel cooler on top of an already loaded canoe not designed for the same you know that you are going to be entertainment.

 

Surprising enough I've never been in a war canoe and have admired the precision of a working crew. See...you have given me another idea.

 

I tried a kayak this year - perhaps I should be trying a war canoe too. Let me see now...where in the heck am I going to find a war canoe? I guess that will part of the challenge and to find a crew too.

 

Really....really....glad to see you on line.

There is only one place at the moment that I know that I could get into a war canoe. That would be Haliburton Forest. I will keep that in mind for next year.

In the mean time - I'm getting ready for winter camping. Our first group attempt will be at Empessa at the end of January. This very day I was checking our the equipment; especially the chimney and more especially he top. I had a few small burn holes last trip and I want to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

 

Empessa is a regional Scout Camp. Our parish scouts will be out then along with the cub scouts. The older lads sleep out in a Adirondacks and I will be in my four season Alaknak with stove and the cub scouts are in bear lodge.

 

I'm afraid that it will be rather simple, though, I will have a life size [plywood] bear outside my tent. Just to keep things interesting. The difficulty is that I transport my equipment via sled so I try to keep the load down a bit.

I've been cooking up a few recipes - one pot meals that I leave in the Dutch oven. I cook the meal and just leave the reminder in the oven to freeze until I want to heat it up again.

 

Come to think of it...we didn't have any gourmet meals this year. The food was excellent but no one thought to do anything special. We must be losing our grip. At the end of one trip we ventured into a restaurant called Mushers and delighted ourselves with foods that we didn't have to prepare.

You are right about the outdoor food; there are no creatures in the neighbourhood that pose any kind of a threat. It all depends on the temperature of course. You have to kinda like the one pot dinner idea- even though I have buns and bread sticks. I'm a bit crude, because I eat straight from the oven/pot. There will not be anything new this year - easy chili and steak stew. And then. I'm invited to feed at the lodge - so I'm not short on food and fellowship.