solopaddler

I figured Adam would chime in with his excellent piece. Another thing that just popped to mind, a bulk pack of baby wipes are worth their weight in gold, especially at a camp with no running water. Also very handy for lower end maintenance, a common problem when eating lots of red meat and fried foods.

-Paper plates and bowls. Who wants to wash dishes when you're on vacation? Burn them when you're done. -A giant sponge (Canadian Tire sells them) Invaluable for sopping up water in the boat and cleaning the crap on the floor. -If I'm cooking a lot of fish, especially deep frying, I always bring a collander with a tight hole pattern. Once the oil has cooled strain it back into the jug using a funnel. It can be reused.

Hi Don, amazingly I don't have a list but off the top of my head: -couple cans of Seafoam (often the motors run rough - they tend to mix the gas on the rich side) -spark plug wrench and sandpaper -adjustable wrench and a couple of screwdrivers -duct tape (has a million uses) -can of indoor Raid to spray cabin before sleeping (preferred over coils, it takes 5 minutes and works great) -bring a twin mattress sheet for each person along with your sleeping bag. (the mattresses can be gross) -MSR water pump and 1L Nalgene bottles for clean drinking water -clamp on rod holders for trolling -make sure you have extra batteries for your fish finder or if the camp has a genny bring your charger -an extra coleman lantern (these camps are notoriously dim) -pack non perishable food items in cardboard boxes. You can burn them at camp and have one less big empty container to bring home. I'll chime in later with more ideas.

Thanks guys. I love doing these reports as they provide me with a great record of the experience that I can look back on. There is a ton of work that goes into them though, and it's really nice to hear the positive feedback. Thanks Al, and yes I know you're a brook trout nut. If you ever want to go please drop me a line as I can likely help. I'd love to see you up there fishing those waters. I'll be fishing the Sutton again next month, pretty stoked about that. It's honestly hard to say which is better as both are amazing in their own way.

Awesome Matt

Which is exactly what I'd have thought if it didn't jive with what I'd heard 25 years ago and again 3 years ago.

Truly impressive fish! Well done to the both of you!

Glad you liked it Shayne. No you don't have to hear Leon to get the full effect, just see Bill at the waters edge bathing himself. "Say buddy that's a pretty sweet sweater you're wearing!". "Wait a minute that's not a sweater!!!!!" Bigfoot lives.

This signing should round out their bottom 15 nicely.

Yeah. There was one really long "interesting" entry from Dan Gapen, and another from RD (the rugged dude ) Maybe one day you can join me Mike. You're underwater photo taking skills would be nice, and the big bonus is you're the size of one of Bill's legs. That = more cargo weight on the plane. Thanks my friend! Hope all is well on the home front, I know there's a momentous moment fast approaching.

See Dave, that's what happens when you eat strange berries at the side of the road. Your mind starts to imagine al sorts of weird things.

I can make it rain by going camping. A weekend trip will induce light showers. A week long trip and people start building arks. Farmers should pay me for my services.

You should have fell down on the ground and started writhing in pain. Her head would've exploded.

Congrat's, that's pretty amazing! Your buddy looks like a hobbit standing next to you, are you that big?

Sweet bunch of fish dude, well done! But no houses? You might need to schedule an appointment with the eye doctor. (don't mean anything by it, sometimes I just can't help myself. )

Awesome place. I've been working with Steve the owner this year with bookings. It's not really what you're looking for (full American plan, more expensive). But I'll bet I could swing you a deal that's within your budget. Could be a tiny bit more but when you factor in not having to buy and cook food you're ahead.

Nice slab dude!

Thanks guys, once again I'm glad you enjoyed the story! Oh boy, is it ever a small world! Steve thanks for the kind words and I'm reasonably certain I read an incredibly poignant entry from your dad in the guest log at camp dated 2005. It's still there and I read through all of it. In a very elegant but shaky script your dad more or less said this may be his last trip and told anyone who was reading to enjoy the experience and enjoy life... It honestly touched me and I took his words to heart. I'm sincerely glad you chimed in, thank you! All the best, Mike

Absolutely! When the fire is gone from your belly you might as well give it up.

Thanks bud! As far as best written, I'm not so sure about that, but I believe it's compelling. I do think I'm slowly getting better with the video end of things. Roughly 25 years ago I paddled the entire length of the Asheweig as part of a lengthy solo expedition. The trout fishing was amazing and I always wanted to return. I knew the camp hadn't been used in years so back in January I fired off an initial email to the natives in Kas which started the ball rolling.

No offense at all LOL! I'm a little surprised no one else has commented on the bigfoot story.

There isn't. Adam confused me with his earlier comment, had me thinking I talked about price. I discussed it with Mitch Diabo (he's the guy you need to talk to) and it'll likely be in the neighbourhood of $1600 a week flying direct from Armstrong. I defy anyone to find a better value for brook trout fishing of that calibre.

It's pretty hard to beat Brad, especially at the price and especially if they open up the water to anglers further downstream which I'm sure they will. I paddled the entire length of the Asheweig solo many years ago and I was honestly far more nervous being in an aluminum boat with someone else on the tiller. Starting next year they'll be using motorized freighter canoes which would be a huge plus, they handle rough water far better than an aluminum.

Been thinking about this over my morning coffee and I've decided to share. (I'm fully aware of what this is going to sound like). First some background. Back in my paddling days I spent a lot of time in this region travelling solo. Almost 25 years ago while travelling past the native community of Fort Hope on the Albany River I ran into several natives in a boat and we stopped to talk. They told me a pretty wild tale about a bigfoot (they had a different name for it) who lived nearby. I inwardly rolled my eyes but the story stuck with me and I filed it away. 3 years ago fishing the Dusey River in this same region the outfitter jokingly told me that local natives will not travel downstream on the Dusey past Dusey Lake because a large hairy man-like creature (bigfoot) lives there. Again I joked about it and filed the story away. Last week on the Asheweig while chatting with Leon he tentatively starts to tell us some stories. Tentative at first as he was gauging what our reaction would be. The man had no agenda, he embellished nothing. He simply told his stories in the same quiet matter of fact way most natives have. Story after story of these creatures who live in the region. He once saw one standing on the shore of a lake and thought it was a bear on its hind legs at first, but the color was wrong and it was too tall. "Did you take a shot Leon?" I asked. He looked at me like I was crazy and said no. "The elders tell us to leave them alone so we do. I turned the boat around and left". Other stories like the time he was calling moose in the fall drawing this particularly large bull in. Suddenly he heard a bizarre shriek...definitely not moose or anything else expected. He froze when he heard splashing in the swamp like a person walking through shallow water. Finally he glimpsed the creature from about 100 yards away as it stopped to stare at him in his blind. He packed up quickly and left not disturbing it. Many other stories like the girl in the control tower at Kas who saw something that scared her to death. The next morning upon searching they found large tracks everywhere. The tracks are apparently quite commonly seen, although never in the winter. Leon seems to think they hibernate like a bear. When I asked have you ever taken a picture of the tracks he just shrugged. "Don't own a camera, and I don't need a picture, I know what they look like" There were more stories, many more, and after hearing them, and especially considering what I'd heard in the past, it's VERY hard not to believe.

Roy, you almost brought a tear to my eye. I truly appreciate the kind words, it means a lot.