Hi all, I picked up a used kevlar canoe from Portage Outfitters last fall. It has some cracked ribs I need to repair. Although I understand the basics of doing this I am wondering about aesthetics. In a perfect world when I'm paddling an empty canoe I would likely prefer not to see the cracks in the ribs that I have patched. Does anyone have experience with this?  Is fiberglass or kevlar going to be a better cover from a viewing standpoint (I appreciate kevlar is stronger); should I consider a double layer? Anyone other than www.rayplex.ca that I should consider for materials?
 

Great write up Drew!  It isn't every day that bloggers get to drop "exsanguinate" - well played : )  I love that you guys took a bucket of beach toys (group shot on Cedar). Who says grown men can't be kids? Certainly not the rope swing.   

 

Thank you for the heads up Barry.

Good read and great pictures as always Cody, looking forward to the next installment!

Good article Drew! You tell a great story, hopefully there will be more articles in the future.

Hey Drew, I don't think I've ever read a post from you and thought "wow, too long". On the other hand there are likely times where I've skipped a paragraph or two. Mid winter with a fresh coffee and I tend to read through happily. Summer releases tend to get more of a skim view with the thought that I'll read again when I'm not camping. I would suggest that editing is always a good thing and I'd keep to one release per trip. Multiple releases suggests maybe some stuff could have been cut out and also, I like to get to the end of a story in one go. Counter argument is that any TR is better than no TR. 

Used my Aerial in Killarney a few weeks ago BTW. Perched on a cliff. Enjoyed the experience but a little small maybe. My wife really enjoyed it (or maybe just getting away from me and the family in the  ground tent : )

Bob, ironically, it was your site and before that Tom Thompson that provided me with the information that brought me to the east side of the park. The West Wind among others let me know there was a side of APP that appealed to me - rock, pine trees, sand, water. Somewhere along the way I'm sure I would have also seen a photo of the Barron Canyon. And from that start I decided I wanted to bring my family over to experience the area. As I am not as resilient as Marko in terms of what I could manage with 3 small children, I researched. Your Bush Log and Notes became my winter reading and also the posts on Tom and the older maps. Your pictures of High Falls sold me on an excursion there and the spot remains a highlight on trips through Sand Lake Gate over a decade later. You're right about the crowds but try visiting at sunrise or sunset in September, you will still have things to yourself : )  

While not specifically a PCI, your resources, and arguably Tom's paintings, are a source of information - just on a spectrum in terms of detail. Maybe the locals used to complain that Tom's art work was bringing too many people to Smoke and Canoe lakes back in the day. At what point in the spectrum does the information go from being a good thing to a bad thing? I am speaking here specifically in the context of of sharing park, wilderness, and camping information of course and really don't want to steer this conversation elsewhere.

Jdbonney wrote:

Interestingly the address they are setting up at is the location of algonquin bound. I guess they have come to some kind of merger agreement.

While I can't confirm any merger information, I was interested in booking the suite at Algonquin Bound for some of my older relatives and the rentals are off the board - or at least off Airbnb, for this year. 

Thanks Barry for sharing the new link. 
 

Thanks for the last couple of TRs Cody. Nice to be able to see the unfrozen water as I'm making bookings for the summer. Your trip with Elo reminded me of something I was going to mention to dog owners. Last summer our dog caught kennel cough and vet felt it was most likely tied to an access point we used in Killarney. We don't come into contact with many dogs around our home in the country and those we knew did not have a cough. Our vet who is also a camper was telling us this was fairly common and since we couldn't really think of any other exposure we figure the access point may be the cause. Nothing too serious to worry about, it can be treated and it was mostly just surprising to hear our dog with a whooping cough. I think in cities vets also recommend a preventative shot. 

Barry, to head back to your original question: "For those who have recently camped backcountry in both Algonquin Park and those parks with new fee structures .. how do the actual campsites compare?" I was planning to let you know that nothing changed at all so far in Killarney and I didn't see much change in Kawartha Highlands (though I gave up camping there when the ATVs and chainsaws were more common than the loons). But as I started to post I realized that in those cases the fee structure didn't change really. So, I have nothing to say but now I've had to read 4 pages on another subject  

I am in the "apply site specific to the access lakes" camp.  Various reasons but I'll save those for when you ask.