Put five paddlers who have never paddled together – most of whom had never met – add a gorgeous spring weekend and a new-to-them route and see what pops out!
Preparations
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This trip came together in what felt like record time. E-mail introductions went out on Friday, April 10th. The route was scouted by air and videotaped (SO wicked) on Saturday the 11th to determine how much ice still sat on our proposed route. On Monday the 13th two of us bowed out of the trip then jumped back in a day later. On Tuesday the 14th, one of us who was in then bowed out due to time constraints. By Wednesday the 15th we had our confirmed five paddlers in two tandems and a solo canoe: David, Andrei, Justin, me, and Martin.
With a day and a half to sort out group gear, paddling pair gear, and individual gear the e-mails flew fast and furiously. Thank goodness for e-mail.
I shopped on Wednesday for snacks and ingredients for a Friday night fajita dinner. On Thursday I rummaged through our second-bedroom closet / my gear shed and started pulling out and organizing everything I would need for a whitewater canoe trip. I baked oatmeal cookies, did food prep, and packed Thursday night.
Equipment
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- None! My paddling partner for the weekend was taking care of it.
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[su_plan name=”Shelter”]
- Tent, fly, poles, stakes, and footprint
- -10 degree Celsius sleeping bag, fleece liner, and overbag
- Emergency tarp and a Thermarest
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[su_plan name=”Clothes”]
- 1 extra set of long underwear, wool socks, and fleece jacket
- Camp pants, rain jacket, synthetic fill ‘down’ jacket, hiking boots
- Buff, wool hat, wool mitts, waterproof overmitts, splash pants
- Plus what I was wearing when I left (silk weight long underwear, running tights, short- and long-sleeved merino wool shirts)
- Sunglasses
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[su_plan name=”Safety”]
- Drysuit, helmet, Neoprene socks and gloves
- PFD, whistle, multi-tool, pigtail, throwbag
- Headlamp, waterproof matches, compass
- Small first aid kit
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[su_plan name=”Food”]
- Trail mix, CLIF bars, apples
- Ground coffee (Kicking Horse 454 Horse Power), quick oats
- Peanut butter sandwiches
- Dinner for Friday (fajita makings)
- Water (3 liters) + Pristine drops
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[su_plan name=”Toiletries”]
- Toothbrush, toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Toilet paper, trowel, camp suds, hand sanitizer
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[su_plan name=”Luxuries”]
- DSLR
- Lenses, spare battery, and spare memory cards
- Gorillapod
- Pelican Case
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Daily Log
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Holy cow did the day ever start early: Justin (Wild Adventures Canada) picked me up at 5:30AM. Nothing like meeting someone for the first time while groggy.
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Our main day of paddling brought everything from quiet contemplation over a strong cup of coffee to being thankful for my drysuit to laughing with new friends over a ridiculous dinner and a cozy campfire to end the day.
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The last day on the water always feels a little bittersweet and so we lingered in camp a bit longer.
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Kate Monahan Outdoors 