Paddling the Burnt Lands | Temagami: Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Sufferfest 

Thanks! We've been paddling together for over 8 years now, feels natural.

Thanks a lot for watching!!

Thanks a lot you two! Leah and I were keen on paddling some bigger and technical rapids this year. Did a lot of whitewater day trips during the early days of COVID restrictions to practice. Has paid off!

Leah is a beast in the bow!

I was sadly wrong!

Thanks John! Was brutal. Leah and I were just wiped when we got to the lake. The paddle to our eventual campsite was an exhausted endeavor.

I'm 3hrs north and yes, the ice is not thick enough yet. I've ordered studded tires for lake rides this year! Would be a beautiful area to ride though!!

Thanks Jim!!

Thanks a bunch Josie!!!

Thanks Joe! Some good warmups for when we tripped in NW Ont later that summer

Glad you enjoy it!

You're welcome! I can look back on it with fonder memories after reliving it from the comfort of my own home.

You bet she is! Tough as nails and has a hardy adventurous spirit.

Hard work and plenty of type II Fun!!!

She really is! :D Thanks for watching!!

Thanks a lot Cephas. New adventure in a way too!

Glad you enjoyed it. Those bugs are always pesky that time of year....

Thanks Matt!

Thanks! Such a gorgeous area! Was a really hot and humid summer up here. Lot's of rain too. Made for some interesting tripping conditions. I've yet to get to Florence lake, but hear it is beautiful.

@@ExploreTheBackcountry If you ever end up going to Florence Lake, the campsite in the northern bay is a gem

Ha, got that right. A big bonus of traveling through burns! Thanks for watching!

If you don't go when it's record setting hot, you should fair a little better! Still likely a bit tricky in spots with the trees being down etc. Pretty cool spot to paddle through nonetheless and I don't think you'd be disappointed!

Thanks for the preemptive and post support Paul! Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks ✌

Hmm I know a few Rich's lol. That's a Hotcore Mantis 2. Great tent at price point. We've used them for years now.

@@ExploreTheBackcountry This Richard is last name Morrow..the Jockey. Just met him this month. Great guy! Eager to explore Temagami and area like you guys are doing!. I have film camera experience and some camping. If you ever need someone I plan to stick around!

Finding the trail was incredibly challenging... we had to stop almost every 150-300 metres to scout and try to find the trail... parks did the best job they could but all the blow downs definitely kept us on our toes

Lmao!!! The swarms we're pretty relentless. Blackflies on day 1 and then those nutty deerflies on day 2. day 3 was a mix of the two. Something was gonna get ya no matter what.

Thanks and welcome! hope you enjoy the new content coming throughout the winter months.

Thanks!!

@@leahjennings8694 I think your videos speak for themselves. But there are some tough men here who give you the nod .A good woman in the bow can't be beat.

Around Macpherson? It burnt back in 92. We pass through that area.

@@ExploreTheBackcountry Could it have been that long? Yes I guess it was, We flew in to Florence Lake and paddled out to Sucker Gut Lake where we were picked up by plane. What memories, began probably 25 years of wilderness paddling. I'll turn 67 in April, can't do the long portages anymore but am planning a trip with my two grown sons sometime this late spring or early fall.

She's tough as nails

@@ExploreTheBackcountry I second that . Rare to find a woman who will trip in June

PS, I noticed that you wussied out and portaged your luggage at 11:00

@@easternwoods4378 Thanks! Ah, for that run, taking the gear allowed us a little extra freeboard. It was a shallow lip and I didn't want to get hung up or needlessly gouge the gelcoat. We will run loaded vs unloaded depending upon the levels, flow and difficulty. Unloaded frees up weight at the cost of stability. In big pushy waters, having gear in the canoe improves stability.

Lol, yup, never surprised about bugs, especially in May-June. The deerflies only really swarm on those hot and sticky days, of which we don't tend to get a lot up here. However, this summer was especially hot and wet. It's always worth it in the end though. The bug bites fade but the memories last.

Can you tell me who makes the bug jackets you were wearing and where I can get one? Thank you.

It was more fun than we expected. I would imagine in spring it would be even more pushy to run! We're up Timmins way, so it's not too far of a drive south for us.

I always carry a compass and navigate primarily by hardcopy map. The issue is not so much sticking to a bearing here, but trying to stay on trail. We could shoot an approximate bearing that lines up with the portage and follow it, but due to all the blowdowns, we wanted to stick to the existing trail as best as possible. The portage location is generalized on the 1:50K topo, making this a tricky feat as you'd need to have accuracy below 0.5 of a degree. Handles for bearings are a little tricky in a featureless landscape. Looking for trail clues such as sawn logs, cairns, compacted soil and old blazes was a more fruitful endeavor. The bug suit works well, I just open my hood every now and then to have a better scan of the landscape and they swarm. Not a fan of deet and haven't really used it in a longggg time.

Hey Ralph, glad you enjoyed it! We love the bugsuits, they're actually quite breathable. The white absorbs less heat and there is open mesh around some of the areas more prone to trapping heat. Adding another layer will surely add a slight amount of heat, but in reality I find the suit cooler than a light long-sleeved option. If you're in conditions where the suit is necessary, you'll want to have every part of your bare skin covered! It saves you from going insane at the amount of flies. I've tried a ton of systems over the years and this one has proved to be the real winner.

Because I get heat stroke so easy, I often add Nuun tablets to my water or other electrolyte powder. I also always have electrolyte gummies on new for emergencies (you can get these in the health food section of your grocery store).

@@leahjennings8694 thanks for the info. Will look for those tablets come spring time

@@ride-paddle-repeat Hammer Perpetuem is my go to ultimate picker-up. That stuff is like rocket fuel for bonking. I drink it on the most demanding times or when racing.

Very good ideas . Have had a partner puking from heat stroke and had a bad case of it myself one trip.

This is the older VCS system. Same idea. Wouldn't trip in the spring without it!

same! Leah meant post lockdown. Camping wasnt allowed during the initial phase.

I know some of the whitewater kayakers do. I have never had a contact flush in all my dumps. I always pack 2 sets as spares and some cheaper river glasses too, just in case.

Leah has a cherry Ottertail she'll use on flatwater trips. We typically paddle mixed or more river/creek over flatwater so the whitewater paddle is a predominate go to. I also tend not to film most of our flatwater weekend outings. I do need to replace some of my flatwater blades though, some have been heavily overused and have some damage....

Lol, plenty of type II fun that's for sure.

Was a bit low and technical. Taking the gear out gives us a little more buoyancy and clearence over obstacles. We just took our gear across the short portage first and then ran it. Picked it up at the end of the trail.

Okay that sounds about right I just was wondering I noticed she didn't film the forecast though but running that rapid was pretty neat. I would love to do something like that but I would love to be flown in as far north as I could and then come down through the lakes and all that you know something like a 3-4 week trip I think that would be really cool but unfortunately with biden's price hikes on everything can not do it. Can't wait to see your next canoe trip God Bless