Merchant

Trillium: yes, my twig stove nests inside the Titan kettle, although the bushbuddy is slightly taller so the lid won't go on. That doesn't matter to me as they're both inside a bag anyway, but an elastic band does the job too. I'm happy with the titan, but I do wish the handles were removable instead of fixed. There are times when I have to throw a sock on my hand because the handles got a little warmer than is comfortable. I'd say it's great for a fuel stove, good for a twig stove, and not so good to put on a grill over a campfire unless you've got a pot holder. 

This was my ice-out trip in 2014. Heavy on photos, light on video. I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.kayakcamper.com/canoe---mcintosh---shah.html

@token: Thanks!

@Trillium: I'm no photographer so I'm sure there are much better gear recommendations than mine. What I take fluctuates trip to trip. I have a GoPro with a suction cup mount that comes on some trips, which means a pelican case with a dozen (literally) extra batteries. The GoPro gets some fun on the water videos I couldn't take otherwise. 

The camera I take on most trips is a Canon 60D. It has great video and image quality, but here's the thing: I'm now down to only ever taking one lens - a good quality wide-angle lens mind you, but only one lens. And it probably makes little sense to take an SLR if you're not going to take advantage of the fact that you can use multiple lenses. I bought my wife a really, really nice point and shoot for Christmas last year (Sony DSC RX-100M3, if you're wondering) that she's barely using, so I'm thinking maybe I'm going to give it a try instead for this season . It weighs a fraction as much. I take a little Gorillapod tripod for filming videos and long exposure shots. They live in a rugged dry bag (which is still pushing it, but no way I'm taking a massive SLR camera case) that is often in the cockpit with me when I'm paddling rivers or other areas there might be nice shots to take. 

@Martin: Jump jump jump jump! No, I can't roll my kayak. I keep meaning to take lessons but just never quite get around to it. I have what I think is a pretty good paddle stroke simply due to many years' worth of paddling, and I spend time every year practicing self-rescues, but practicing rolls is tiring, dumping out / pumping out after every attempt. I've looked at dry suits a time or three as it would extend my paddling season even in Toronto (my kayak lives on the harbourfront), but so far haven't been able to justify the expense. 

@RCShevalier: Thanks. I filmed none of these videos with the thought of ever sharing them - they were filmed by me, for me. I've found they really help keep the memories of each trip alive though. Every once in a while in the winter, I'll sit down in front of my computer and re-live a camping trip through them. 
 

I managed to make opening day last Spring (May 1st) and took advantage of the emptiness to stay on lakes I'm usually paddling through enroute to elsewhere: Joe and Burnt Island. It's a short read with a few photos, and a video of me diving into Burnt Island Lake - twice. It was such a beautiful day I'm sure the water looks like it was also beautiful, but the ice had only cleared a few days prior. It was painfully cold. But I can't pass up a good diving rock in Algonquin!

http://www.kayakcamper.com/canoe---joe---burnt-island.html

Martin: 50 pound kayak and 30-35 pounds of gear. And no, not really in that great of shape. I booked this route on short notice after Lavielle got closed due to blue-green algae, but then my original trip was also portage heavy. I don't shy away from portages any more. Between the yoke I use and the way I pack my gear, I really don't find portage-heavy routes that big of a deal. But that being said I'd still prefer one 5k portage over ten 500 meter ones. The packing and unpacking does add a bit of time. 

But I do end up booking some very long travel days - ones there's no possible way I could do solo in a canoe. On the last day of this trip I went from Catfish to Kiosk, which is pushing 50 kilometers. On the whole I'd say the kayak gives me far more mobility and freedom, especially on solo trips, than I'd ever have in a canoe. 

I've added another trip report to my site, which is of my most recent camping trip in July of last year. It's my wife's fault camping season ended so early for me - apparently 'expecting a baby' was a reason I shouldn't go camping. It was meant to be a 9-day trip but it didn't quite turn out that way; I think I was feeling guilty being away from my pregnant wife. In any case it was an absolutely fantastic trip, and I hope you enjoy the read. Lots of photos and videos.

http://www.kayakcamper.com/kiosk---erables---catfish---cedar.html

Or rather, an entire website posted - but it has trip logs!

Today I launched http://www.kayakcamper.com . For those who don't already know, I do almost all of my Algonquin camping in a kayak, and I've put quite a bit of time, thought and hard work into making that as easy as possible. 

So far I've written trip logs for the very first kayak trip I ever did in the park (2010), and a loop from Opeongo to Catfish from the summer of 2015. Both have lots of photos, and the latter also has some videos. I have many more trip logs to write, but it's a start!

The direct URL to the trip logs is http://www.kayakcamper.com/trip-logs.html