Graeme in kayak at rock paintings below Stanley Mission
I’ve been canoeing for over 40 years in Northern Saskatchewan, keeping a journal for almost every trip, but never publishing any of it. One reason is that there isn’t any Internet access (well, there could be if one carried a satellite phone, but I’ve never even thought about doing that) over most of the area, except around the small settlements, so it didn’t seem too practical. I’d have to wait until I returned to “civilization” in order to publish anything.
Graeme (my son) has accompanied me every year of his life somewhere on a canoeing adventure, starting when he was less than a year old. Occasionally the trips have been little more than a day on the water, but generally we go on a somewhat longer trip than that. Of course the ultimate trip we did was in 2003 when we took six weeks to cross the province on the Churchill and Sturgeon Weir rivers, including a hike across the Methye Portage.
This year we only had a long weekend which Graeme was able to extend by an additional day of holidays, so we decided to travel downstream from Stanley Mission into Drinking Lake, and then return. We didn’t really have a destination in mind, but rather planned to go as far as the weather would allow, and then return. With those plans, Enid, Graeme and I set off on August 3, with Graeme in a kayak, and Enid and I in the canoe.
Now that we’re back, I think I will publish my journal for this trip, so if you read this, let me know!