In case you hadn't heard...

I'm guessing that Hawksley Workman is currently spending time thinking about...
Some of the great things about Algonquin Park

The votes were counted and, lo and behold, Hawksley Workman and Algonquin Park will soon be forever intertwined in song. If any of my faithful readers helped with a vote, good for you!

Listen to your local CBC Radio 2 station on November 23, as that is the day the songs will be be released. If you miss it on the radio, you will be able to listen on-line at the Song Quest website. Check the site now for more info on all the Great Canadian Song Quest winners.

Vote for Algonquin Park! Vote for Hawksley Workman!

On my scenic commute to and from Algonquin Outfitters, I listen to great music played on CBC Radio 2. If you haven't experienced Radio 2 yet, check it out at 106.9 FM in the Huntsville area, listen on-line or find your local station here.

Currently, Radio 2 is featuring the Great Canadian Song Quest, which has exposed listeners to both new and established Canadian singer-songwriters and many interesting places across our wonderful country. The description from the CBC web site sums it up best:

CBC Radio 2, Canada's national music network, brings Canadians the chance to share their passion, and nominate their favourite locations in the country to be celebrated in song through THE GREAT CANADIAN SONG QUEST. Whether it's a secret meeting place, a sensational signpost or a breathtaking wonder of nature, CBC Radio 2 wants to know! Canadians get the deciding vote on who writes and performs the songs from among Canada's finest musical icons and emerging stars. The end result is an incredible cross-country playlist, with 13 brand-new, original songs for Canada's playbook. Each artist will compose and record an original song, inspired by the locations chosen by Canadians from each province and territory.

So here is where fans of Algonquin Park come in. Algonquin Park has been nominated for Ontario and is in the top five. Only three days are left to vote, so get going and vote for Algonquin Park. If you want to get really carried away, you can upload photos, create a blog and support Algonquin Park in other ways.

While you're at it, I recommend voting for Huntsville native Hawksley Workman to be the Ontario songwriter. No disrespect to the other talented artists in the running but I'm a big fan of Hawksley's music and his songwriting skills would be up to the challenge. Hawksley's annual appearance at the Algonquin Theatre, as part of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, has been regularly sponsored by Algonquin Outfitters. Assuming that he performs in town next summer, what could be better than a successful musician from Huntsville singing his song about Algonquin Park, on stage at the Algonquin Theatre, at a show sponsored by Algonquin Outfitters!

Fan mail from happy customers

17 day canoe trip + no razor = new hairstyle

Patrick and Hannah from the UK contacted us back in March about making plans for a fall canoe trip. After many emails back and forth, they boarded a plane, flew to Toronto, hopped on a bus to Huntsville and took a taxi to our store in Oxtongue Lake. After a night in our tent cabins, and some last minute shopping and packing, we drove them to Canoe Lake the next day. Seventeen days later, they returned, tired, grizzled (or at least Patrick was) and totally enamoured with Algonquin Park. Patrick reported that at one point in their trip, they did not see another human being for four straight days. This experience, he said was "very cool but a bit wierd."

Patrick and Hannah rented a Swift Winisk, the ideal canoe for a two-week trip

After returning to England and getting back to their regular lives, Patrick took the time to write us this nice e-mail, and at my request, send some pictures of their trip. All photos in this post are courtesy of Patrick Bird.

Moose on a mission, somewhere in Algonquin Park

Dear Gordon/All the staff at Algonquin Outfitters - Oxtongue Lake

First of all I just wanted to say thanks for a great experience. All your team's help and advice was invaluable in making our trip as great as it was. Hannah and I just wanted to let you know we had an incredible experience on our recent visit to the Park and the team at the Oxtongue Lake store really added greatly to that. Their advice and great customer service helped smooth our nerves when we arrived and fueled our enthusiasm at the same time.

Small fish, big smile. That's an enthusiastic angler!

Our 17 day paddle through the park turned out to be more of an endurance test than we had ever imagined but we came out the other end with smiles on our faces and a desire to do more paddling. Can't ask for much more than that. I especially wanted to thank you, Gordon, for your advice by e-mail and in person prior to our trip and the young guy from Maine who gave us a lift back to the Oxtongue Lake store. He was a credit to your company, easy going and informative, he answered all our lame questions very patiently. Who knew anyone would know so much about Moose! Not forgetting the rest of the team at the store who were all really helpful.

All in all you're running a great outfitters we wouldn't hesitate to use again, let's hope we get the chance. I've attached a picture of us on the water so you've got an idea who we were.

All the best for the future.


Patrick & Hannah

There aren't many mosquitoes in Algonquin Park in September but Patrick and Hannah managed to find some. Good thing I didn't advise them to leave the bug hats behind!

It doesn't get much better than this. A lovely campsite on Catfish Lake, late afternoon sun, a fine rock to cast from and a tired paddler hoping for a brook trout.

They don't show these pictures in the tourist brochures. Patrick's caption "wet and tired in a tent" sums it up completely. Hannah is still smiling, I think.

This just in. You can see more pictures from Patrick and Hannah's Algonquin Park adventure on the Team Pickle blog. Simply click here.

Fog, fall colours and the right formula

You have to get up early to see these fall colours!
Photo by Rob Stimpson

The fall colours are really starting to show in Algonquin Park. Right now, the best colours can be seen between the West Gate and Cache Lake, along Highway 60. I really like this stage of the colour season, when the emerging reds, oranges and yellow burst out against the backdrop of rich summer green.

One of the other natural highlights of early fall is predictable morning mist, caused by cool air moving over relatively warm lake water. With the clear, cool weather we have been enjoying lately, early mornings have been a photographer's and paddler's dream come true. I had the to fortune to attend a meeting recently at Bartlett Lodge, located on Cache Lake. Also at the meeting were photographer Rob Stimpson, paddler, author (and executive director of the Canadian Canoe Museum) James Raffan and outdoor educator Val Bishop. Combine skilled paddlers, morning mist, talented photographers, a perfect morning, Algonquin Park scenery and what do you get? A beautiful way to start the day and become part of some great images.

Your faithful blogger checks out a photogenic cedar tree.
Photo by James Raffan

Your faithful blogger heads out into the fog.
Photo by James Raffan

Gord, James and Val enjoying a morning paddle.
Photo by Rob Stimpson

One of our big canoes goes on a long trip

Expedition Champlain 2009 is retracing a section of Samuel de Champlain's 1615 route from Huronia to Montreal and, for most of route, is using one of Algonquin Outfitters' four 26' North Canoes.

Michael Arvisais and his brigade of Voyageurs left Penetanguishine on Monday, July 20, and are expected to cross infamous La Vase Portages this week. After paddling along the coast of Georgian Bay and up the French River, crossing Lake Nipissing, they are currently camped for the night at Champlain Park at the mouth of La Vase River, just outside of North Bay. The La Vase portages are the link between the watersheds of the Mattawa and French river systems, famous in Voyageur lore for bugs and mud. Modern day canoeists still have those issues, not to mention Hwy 11 and encroaching development.