There was a guy just down the road from Arrowhead PP who had local firewood for a good price!
 

Lenny wrote:

Not too sure but it would be a better option than the terrible park wood that they don't dry. 

Curious how you plan on being there so early. Don't you need to go to permit office to print the permits and vehicle pass? 

Pretty sure this is no longer required. Since COVID.  I have not been to a permit office in the last few years for anything . It's been great. 

Also. If buying wood near Arrowhead you may as well just buy between Huntsville and the park. AO Oxtongue has wood I know. Or they use to.  As well many private guys on route. I believe the general rule of thumb is ideally within 80 kms.  

Have a great trip 

I
 

Lenny wrote:

That's amazing news thanks!! Was dreading the canoe lake park office saturday morning. Going to be very busy for sure. 

As long as you have your plate registered and no changes to make I believe you're good to go. Unless something has changed since last fall . Love it. Allows for early departure.  I usually still print and leave a copy on the dash but I don't really think that is even necessary. Should have been like this for backcountry  years ago  IMO but is what it is.  

Enjoy. 
 

this new permit  process has eliminated jobs , just like store self check outs,,  

Didn’t mean to kick a hornet nest.

I am sure that a few permit-office jobs were lost. They are still staffed but ‘would not need multiple staff since the office would be  less busy. This would only apply to the backcountry permit offices (the main gates are busier than ever).  Each job is absolutely important but it is not many… I’d guess a half dozen.
The parallel to grocery store self-checkouts is a valuable one.
(1) Clearly many businesses have figured out that getting customers to use self-checkout technology saves labour costs & increases profits.
(2) self-checkout machines do not improve my grocery shopping. At best, I might not mind using them but they certainly don’t improve our ability to gather food. (I absolutely refuse to use them for this reason).
In contrast, online permitting HAS improved my opportunities to use the backcountry.  There is the beauty of the early morning start (I have left K’Mog & gone through the Amble de Fond river three times at dawn with rising sun shining through fog, lighting up sparkles on the thousands of spiderwebs on all those scraggly spruce bog trees.
A less-than-aesthetic gain?… this spring I wanted to revisit the Tim River in search for solitude & moose.  By starting early, I was able to solo paddle from access to Sittingman Lake.  When you head this way, it’s about 4hrs to Rosebary & Longbow — that’s not gonna get me solitude.  Beyond that, the next site is about 3 hours further.  Being able to start paddling early means that I can do that 7 hours … if I have to stop at Kearney, wait for them to open, then drive to the access point…. then the best that I’ll do is Rosebary/Longbow.

Last edited by bheard (5/19/2025 9:23 am)

I love a good debate.

We agree:
I said that the comparison was "valuable"... exactly because it is faulty.  (My grade eleven high school teacher would object it is a valuable "contrast" not a "comparison"),  It's just that it is one I have heard a lot references to self-checkouts in arguments against the change.

Exactly as you say "the ability to get out on the lake before the permit office is open is invaluable".

...it makes the park better.
...self-checkout machines do nothing to make retail better.

____
I do miss the garbage bags that you get when you register the old-fashioned way. 

Last edited by bheard (5/25/2025 1:13 pm)