I just purchased this book, as well as "New York to Nome."  Both are intriguing for those of us who have taken longer canoe trips (such as myself) and dream of more, and also those who dream, and also those who're looking for more suggestions about new waterways to canoe.

Jimbo wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2011 at 12:42am:


Not the easiest book to find here in the canoeing capitol of the world, Columbus, Ohio, but my wife got tired of library searches and bought the book from Amazon for me. I enjoyed the book very much and like Curran's style of writing. A very easy read. His style of writing has a way of bringing you into the canoe with him. I would guess the portages around the canyons are much more difficult than what I got from his story. I can empathize with their frame of mind at the end of their journey. Thanks for the heads up on this one.

J

OK, let's put it on the back burner and bring it up again next winter. I'm partial to putting in at Lund or the Gammon river. That would save us dough on a flight in to Artery. Plus it would add a more adventurous wrinkle to what is usually done. If everyone had an I-pod and we put banjo music on we should make better than average time.

The more boats we could put together the safer, cheaper and probably funner the trip would be. I have had an itch for a river trip for a while now. There is quite a bit on-line and on u-tube about the Bloodvein. Sounds about right for a fraidy cat like myself. I'll likely get a spray skirt for the Bell so when I pick the wrong run I don't end up with 100 gallons of H20 in the boat.

I think it might be fun. 2012, Lord willing.
Pretty good capsize scene in the slideshow.....what were they thinking?
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Thanks again for the suggestion on the read......I thoroughly enjoyed it

Just call it a "Northern Canadian Wilderness Adventure"...

For crying out loud.........figures I'd come along when your used up.....an empty shell.........but a shadow of the man you once were.

Al
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I'm not sure I'd put it that way... my "shadow" is TWICE the size it used to be!  That's half my problem!

I DO like your idea about shooting down the Bloodvein to Winnipeg.  However, the time commitment sounds like it would be pretty steep.  Might be a worthy trip to target for 2012.  

As long as I don't use the phrase "Woodland Caribou Park" anywhere in the text, I might just get such a story past the publisher of the BWJ.  I've apparently hit his saturation point re: that park for his readers for another few years.

As MT would quote me saying... later.

Jimbo  

Jimbo wrote on Jan 29^th, 2011 at 1:21pm:


For crying out loud.........figures I'd come along when your used up.....an empty shell.........but a shadow of the man you once were.

Is that a sufficient enough challenge or do I need to taunt you a second time?

Tell you what lets do. We can get a bunch of QJ to put in at Lund at WCPP and travel down the Bloodvein all the way to Winnipeg. Some fun stuff between WCPP and Winnipeg. Just a series of straightforward drops with established portages. We'll go in August when there won't be so much water. Piece of cake.

We will need at least 1 practical joker and at least 2 meek and mild folk who can serve as targets. I fit none of those descriptions so don't get any ideas. That will add the comic relief to the story that you write for BWJ.

Talk with Harlan at Copia about what sort of shuttle and pricing we might expect to get back. The more the merrier. Those interested contact Jimbo after Copia. This will be summer of 2012 so you have plenty of time to save your loose change.

After we get a little backbone back into you we can look at something farther north.

As Jimbo would say, Later

Al

MT

It's not a very long book, so I'm guessing you'll be through with it before you finish your morning coffee.  I'm so sad you're suffering in that terrible Florida winter cold.  I'm afraid I've just subjected my wife to the same, putting her on a plane an hour ago destined for Ft. Lauderdale & a cruise to the Grand Caymans... where she will, no doubt, suffer further.

As for us up here in MN, we're having a heat wave.  It almost got up to the freezing mark last night.  They tell me it's back into the freezer, though, later today.

River trips are a different animal from the lake-oriented adventures we mostly read accounts about here on QJ.  I was probably better suited for whitewater challenges in my youth... when I was notorious for placing bets on my ability to stand on my head in the canoe while shooting Class 1-2 rapids.  Ah, the joy of my idiot years!  Where did those days go?!

David Curran stayed fairly conservative with the Class 3 & above whitewater that he did encounter on his Athabasca adventure.  When in true wilderness, that is of course the wisest course of action.  

I've been up in that Stony Rapids area before and it is about as remote as it gets.  I'd love to get up there again but would likely want to cruise some of the lakes around & above Selwyn Lake in the NW Territories.  I stayed at the famous fishing lodge on that lake a few years ago & used motorized craft & First Nation guides to get about.  My favorite memory from that trip was watching 2 sprayskirted canoes appear out of a post-thunderstorm mist on the north end of the lake one afternoon.  I found myself wishing I was noodling around that scrub pine coastline & camping with them versus buzzing around on a motorboat and dining on fine cuisine at a 5 star fishing lodge.  That land at the very north end of the Canadian boreal forest can be brutal but it sure is beautiful during those very few months when it is not covered in snow.

The fishing is pretty darned special, too!

Jimbo  

I'm 3/4 ths of the way through and find it a lively, engaging and entertaining read. Good sense of humor. Just the ticket for a frigid mid winter evening......(Ok, well I did have frost on my windshield one morning and I thought I could almost see my breath the other night.........Brrrr.)

OK Jimbo.....you talked me into it. I look forward to the read.

That would be a dream to do a far northern type river trip. Might as well right? Just have to plug in with the right bunch that first time.

Picked up a DVD from Tom Foster....."solo open whitewater canoeing". Pretty interesting. Lots to learn. Thinking about some sort of lessons or seminar type thing before heading north on a river trip. Right now I'm fairly clueless on whitewater.......

"North to Athabasca" IS the book you are looking for if you are seeking a canoe-camping escape from the winter doldrums.  This is especially true if you are ready to experiment with river canoe trips way up north.

David Curran & his paddling partner from Massachusetts were seeking a remote northern paddling experience.  They had moderate canoeing experience but, really, the most they had ever done before was the Allagash Waterway in Maine (which he had written his first book about... and which I, myself, paddled 30 years ago).  They settled on the McFarlane River, which dumps into Lake Athabasca in northwestern-most Satchkatchewan.  Only a couple of non-First Nation folks had ever attempted it before so information was sketchy, at best, regarding portages, navigability, etc.  There were some rough canyons to negotiate, several wildlife encounters, some interesting logistics issues, and challenging paddling conditions throughout.  It is a very engaging accounts of their trials, none of which were truly exceptional but all of which will be appreciated by experienced QJ paddlers.

Curran writes in an engaging style.  He has a good sense of humor.  He digresses a lot, wrapping stories from his childhood, etc., into his tale.  Nevertheless, I found myself fairly engrossed in this book.  It was surely what was needed on this, the coldest day of the year (thus far) here in the frozen wastelands of MN.  This is not the best book I have ever recommended in this forum but I certainly rate it as a "very good read".  Those of you like me (& KF & dd & MP & MT & nctry_Ben & others) who find themselves creeping ever northward in their canoe camping ventures will DEFINITELY enjoy this book.  

Now there's not much in this book on the fishing; mostly it's about the exploring & the challenges.  Curran does a good job of putting the reader in his mind as he plans, then paddles this very challenging route.  While it turns out to be a fairly short trip, the account is one of a trip very full of experience & discovery.

Get it from your local library for a winter weekend read.  You will not be disappointed.  This gets a big thumbs up!!

Jimbo