Blog on a Log
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Manitoba Whitewater Club Shindiggg
Join Wilderness Supply, WavPaddling, and other paddle enthusiasts from Manitoba and beyond at the Manitoba Whitewater Club's annual Shindiggg, June 3-5 at Cooks Falls in Elma, Manitoba. Get ready for a weekend of paddling, games, fireworks, and more!
This year's schedule features:
• Clinics by WavPaddling instructors Saturday morning
• Saturday afternoon river run
• Sunday play spots: Sturgeon Falls, Whitemud
• White water prizes
• Catered dinner by Lee River B & B Saturday night
• Vegetarian meal available
• Tunes by B Mac, Shenannigans, Fireworks, Sat Night
• Sunday morning breakfast courtesy of WavPaddling
• Camping included on Saturday night.
Cost is $60 (plus $12 camping for Friday night) for MWC members who register before May 15th, and $75 (plus $12 camping) after May 15th. Non-members add $15 for Manitoba Whtiewater Club membership.
To register for this year's Shindiggg, fill out a registration form and return to:
Bradley Swartz
1136 McMillan Ave
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3M 0W1
bradleyswartz@shaw.ca
See you there!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Woodland Caribou Provincial Park Maps
Paddle season is upon us! As you plan out this year's adventures, consider a visit to Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, located in Ontario on the Manitoba border - just a car ride away from either Wilderness Supply store. Woodland Caribou is a wilderness park, offering great backcountry paddling opportunities. Check out the following access maps, paddle route maps and portage route maps to get your plans in motion!
Portage route maps - map 1 map 2
Friday, March 18, 2011
Wild Adventures: Overnighter On Lake Winnipeg
Here at Wilderness Supply we love outfitting people with the gear to tackle their adventures--and we love hearing about those adventures afterward! Ken Stojak recently sent us a great email about an overnight trip on Lake Winnipeg in his new The North Face Mountain 35 tent, complete with photos! Reprinted here with permission.
Our original plan was to ski across the lake from Gimli to Grand Beach but we were unsuccessful in locating a shuttle to pick us up so we decided to ski out half way, camp and ski back the next day to where we left the car.
The weather was quite bad leaving Gimli at 14:00 Saturday. Strong winds from the NNW. We set out and at approx 6 km from shore we came along a huge ice ridge which we thought would provide ideal coverage against the elements. We decided to look for an ideal spot to set up the North Face Mountain 35 tent I recently purchased from you.
While I pitched the tent, Tony began carving out sections of hard packed snow to build more of a wind break. The tent set up easily - even in the strong winds (30km). We cooked/made tea in the front vestibule and vented thru the front and roof to ensure the condensation would leave. We got to bed early and would occasionally be woken with the ice shifting/cracking which actually sounded like thunder. Little did I know that Tony came across slush on the opposite side of the ice ridge!!!
The wind eventually died down somewhere around 22:00 and stayed that way until 08:00. We slept about 14 hours comfortably in the -31c wind chilled temperature. WHAT A GREAT TENT!!!!!!!
Have a story about your wild adventures? We'd love to hear it! Drop us a line at info@wildernesssupply.ca or visit us on Facebook or Twitter.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Solving the Packer's Problem: how to compress your clothes and organize them too
Clothes are the bane of most packers' existence. Next to perhaps shoes, nothing seems to take up more dead space in your bag. You’re eyeing your small pile of clothes, thinking you’ve done a good job paring down the necessities, but when it comes time to pack up your bag before you know it you’re out of room. Not only that, but your bag is full of a mish-mash of random clothing with no rhyme nor reason – finding what you want is a frustrating process, and there’s no room for that first aid kit or travel towel.
We've done a video on packing here at Wilderness Supply, and I stand by what I said within it: when packing clothes, stuff sacks are the way to go for organization, and compression sacks are the way to go to save space. But what if you want the best of both worlds? For those who want to have their cake and wear it too, a combination of both methods is the sure-fire way to pack the most in the least amount of space without skimping on organization.
The trick to this method is to find lightweight stuff sacks - the less bulk they add the better. If you're crafty you can even make them yourself. A bit of light fabric and a drawstring, and you've got yourself a passable bag.
Make one bag for each type of clothing item. For example, your trip might include:
- 1 bag for tops
- 1 bag for bottoms
- 1 bag for underwear and socks
- 1 bag for a sleep sheet
- 1 bag to store dirty clothes waiting for a wash
Buy or make bags of different colours, if possible, to make the contents easy to identify without opening. There’s no need for extra bulk, but don't stress about making the bags too tight a fit; the space saving will not come from the stuff sacks themselves, but from a compression sack.
So your clothes are all stuffed up, and probably still taking up way more space than you'd like. The next step is to buy a compression sack large enough to fit all your stuff bags. A 16L does for me, but you'll have to test it out yourself for your own gear. Place your stuff sacks inside and TIGHTEN things down until you've compressed your clothing as much as possible.
Success! You have just managed to get the best of both worlds. Your clothes are compressed for maximum packing space, but there's no need to root through every piece of clothing you own when you want something. Simply open your compression sack, pull out your stuff sacks, and open the sack holding the particular item you want. Re-packing is a breeze, and everything stays organized.
I can vouch for the method - I'm currently writing from New Zealand, where I've been carting around 6 months worth of clothing organized into a 16L stuff sack. The whole collection fits in to the small bottom section of my pack, leaving the entire top section open for other trip essentials. If that’s not practicing what I preach, I don’t know what is.
My stuff sack, compression sack combination
Friday, December 31, 2010
5 Resolutions You'll Actually Want to Keep
Once a year we sit back, get serious and bombard ourselves with plans and goals for the coming 12 months. Lose 15 pounds; work out 5 times a week; win the Nobel peace prize. Most resolutions won't survive the first two weeks, let alone the first two months. It's just hard to maintain an activity you're not particularly invested in.
Resolutions are great, but having a good time is even greater. With that in mind on this last day of 2010 I've come up with some resolutions you might actually enjoy keeping applicable to pretty much any outdoor activity. Use them well, and use them often - imagine how good you'd feel actually completing a resolution this year!
1. Learn a New Skill
It's tempting once we reach a certain level to become complacent. If you're looking to make your adventures more interesting--and improve while you're at it--challenge yourself to learn a new skill this year. Paddlers could take a course on water rescue, perfect a new stroke or trick, or master a fluid roll. Climbers could work on their route reading, abseiling or leading. No mater your competency level, there are always new skills and techniques to try in any sport - make it your goal to extend your repertoire this year.
2. Try New Gear
Just as we can get used to the same skill set, we can also get used to using the same gear. There's nothing wrong with loyalty to tried-and-tested products, but sometimes changing up the gear we use can lend fresh insight and interest to an activity. Hiker? See how a few ultralight changes can decrease your pack weight and increase your distance. Skier? Pick up a few new waxes and decide for sure which one gives the best glide. Gear research and development is ongoing; if it's been a while since you changed things up it's time to see what's new out there. Decide you're going to be the local expert on one kind of gear - not only will you know you're using the best out there, you'll also become the go-to-person for family and friends!
3. Try a New Location
It can be hard to get to new locations regularly, especially if you've exhausted your local options. Make plans to try some new venues, even if it mean increasing your travel time. An unexplored locale can make your whole sport feel new, so find a new river, trail, campground or wall and commit to getting there in the coming year. Better yet, set aside one day or weekend a month to visit a location you've never been to. By year's end you'll have 12 new venues under your belt--maybe you'll even have found a new favourite!
4. Introduce Someone New to Your Activity
One of the greatest things about an activity is sharing it with others. You could resolve to find a local hiking buddy or climbing partner this year, but it might be even better to introduce your sport to someone completely new. Help a friend scale their first wall, take your nephews on a hike, or suggest a camping trip as a company bonding activity. Sharing your passion with others is a great way to see through fresh eyes and create unique shared memories. Who knows - your friend who's never sat in a boat before just might become the perfect paddling buddy!
5. Make More Time
If there's one thing all our lives could use, it's more time doing the things we love. Of all the resolutions you could make, this has to be the most enjoyable to keep: commit yourself to spending more time on your activity of choice. Log a certain number of kilometers on trail each month, visit the climbing wall once a week, or paddle a certain number of hours per season. Increased time doing the things we love is good for the body and the mind... and you'll be having fun too! Talk about a resolution that does it all.
Photo via Sally M on Flickr