BaffinPaddler - http://baffinpaddler.blogspot.com

Freakin' cold! Minus 12 degrees Celsius, but spared by good gear and the trees in Gatineau Park from light wind. Cold temps makes for slow classic skiing in groomed tracks - like skiing on sandpaper, even with glide wax, but the skate skiers are always happy. They move faster and don't get face slapped by low-hanging snow-laden trees and debris that falls on the sidelines into our groomed tracks. Especially around Lac Philippe. The ungroomed trails look like this . . . an interesting change.  Maybe better to snowshoe in some parts - and stay off closed trails. Then, off to Renaud day cabin to heat up a grilled cheese on the wood stove and sip on a thermos of hot chai tea with honey, and throw another log on the fire. A setting sun on the way back is pretty sweet in the Gatineau Hills, as we passed by several happy overnight campers in the park's cabins and yurts around Lac Philippe enjoying a very white holiday season. There's a lot more snow on the wa

Just in time for Christmas. It will be white. We have our first big snowstorm in the National Capital Region of Canada bringing us 30 centimeters of snow today. It's time to snowshoe before anyone else gets out on the trails and packs them down. We can cross-country ski a bit on a few trails in Gatineau Park, Quebec, Canada. But for now, I love my snowshoes! These are great conditions for snowshoeing, but not for driving and traveling until the storm is over. Enjoy your own backyard for hours! Happy trails! The BaffinPaddler

Even if you understand how fast a knot is, you don't know how many knots a boat is traveling. Especially a big tanker. They move faster than you may think. See the big tanker in the distance in the shipping channel of the St. Lawrence Seaway? It has crossed under the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge that connects New York State in the U.S. to Ontario, Canada and is traveling west in my direction. Question: How many minutes from the distance you see in the image above will it take that tanker to overtake me in my kayak if I'm in its way? Not sure? Me neither. I sat in the safety of the sidelines closer to shore and watched this massive tanker approach in the shipping channel and kept time with my watch. Answer: It was passing me 10 minutes later. How far away was it when I turned around and saw it? I'm not sure. How fast was it going? I don't know. Maybe 10 to 12 knots. Could I hear tankers approaching from behind in the shipping channel

I think this is an awesome candidate and location for a really cool geocache. I found the candidate. A big, beautiful, fishing lure that I almost stepped on at the rocky, wild beach just below the Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site in Prescott, Ontario on a recent November paddle on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The site has a small, wild, tangled woods surrounding it. Perfect for hiding a cache. You can reach this destination by car or by kayak.  This site is easy to find and a pretty cool place to spend some time, learn a little history, and watch the big tankers go by in the shipping channel. Just Google: Battle of the Windmill, Prescott, Ontario, Canada. Where to find the lure I placed the blue and silver fishing lure on top of a large, brown, round rock not far from where my kayak is beached in the image above. Then, I secured it by placing a smaller, but heavy, pale grey, triangle shaped rock on top of it, and left it there for someone else to find, and n

I know what you're thinking, Ahhh, look at this great spot! This island is all mine . . . It's the perfect place to read, take a nap, catch come sun, and do a little yoga. Maybe not? Such a cute little guy. You don't want to share the island? Or do you just want some of my lunch? Ok, I get it. It belongs to you. All of it! Except my kayak. You can keep the yoga mat! Happy trails! The BaffinPaddler