I was thinking the other day about the potential for goodness that the Interwebs possess. Canoetripping.net has been a source of beautiful trip reports, tons of information, lively discussions that have had me snorting coffee out my nose at 6:00 AM, but mostly a place to meet new canoeing friends.
It’s also been a source of lots of goodies!!!!!!! You might wonder what I mean by that, so I will take you on the booty run that Canoetripping has been for me.
Those of you who have been around for a while will remember Oldie Moldie. He did an excellent tutorial on axe sheath making, and then sent the finished product to me.
I love that axe sheath, it is a thing of beauty. Shortly after that, he sent me a beautiful, sturdy reflector oven for my school club. We use it every year, it’s a great way to burn off a rest day.
Robin had a set of cedar strip plans for a chum that he didn’t think he would ever use, so he sent them to me. Here’s what they ended up looking like.
You’ll notice the paddle in my hand, that’s a Black Bart that Alan Gage sent me. I sent him a bunch of junk in exchange, including a crappy knife that Glenn convinced me to buy. Speaking of things that people convinced me to buy, here’s an axe that I parted a C note for after I got all excited about axes.
Then, of course, there was the whole “Ripster” contest. I ended up with so many things in the mail for me, I thought I had won the lottery. For new people, our very own Rippy did a tutorial on building a knife, and then it was auctioned off to support the site. Somehow, I won (it had nothing to do with the number of tickets I bought). Here’s the Ripster….
And me using it…
Several side prizes arrived from the contest as well. Somehow, Mike found “The Plaid Prancer” for me from my days as a male stripper on Gottigen Street in Halifax. He must have scoured every pawn shop in the greater Halifax region.
Then the Spam started rolling in! Such an epic thread, with an epic ending! Mihun, Iskweo and Rippy sent me the worlds most varied collection of Spam. This was in the box.
I received another package, I think this one was from Odyssey, maybe the others were involved too. It was an epic major award!
That whole thread made my winter very enjoyable, lots of laughs! A big thanks to everyone involved!
A couple of years back, Pbutkovich and his son came up to do the Marshall lake loop. They hit a moose outside of Longlac and their car was totalled. They still went ahead and did their trip, but left behind a folded canoe. After removing the gunwales and replacing all the trim, it turned into a very nice paddler. It’s the green one in the pic.
Not only has Alan Gage sent me a paddle, but he also designed a solo for me that I might build this year. He also pranked me pretty good by sending me a canoe sock, the kind people put over their very expensive paddles.
Then of course, there are the people I have actually met from Canoetripping.
This year, I was lucky enough to meet DanOver from this site while he was up doing some bird hunting and fishing. He gave me another knife, a very cool filleting knife that he had made.
We caught many splake, some of them actually bigger than bait fish, lol.
A couple of years ago, Robin, Odyssey and his wife, Iskweo and Mihun came up for a canoe trip
Mihun made us these very nice weather vanes.
While on that trip, I went for an unexpected swim and lost my favourite hat, one that had been signed by Fred Eaglesmith, one of my favourite musicians. Some time later, I got a package in the mail. Odyssey had been at a music festival in Kemptville, and had got a very similar hat and had it signed by Fred. That was a very nice and thoughtful gift!
I’m sure there have been other things too, and if I have missed some people, please accept my apologies and remind me as well.
So, early Merry Christmas Canoetripping! You are all a great bunch of people, and my life has been made better by meeting everyone!
It’s also been a source of lots of goodies!!!!!!! You might wonder what I mean by that, so I will take you on the booty run that Canoetripping has been for me.
Those of you who have been around for a while will remember Oldie Moldie. He did an excellent tutorial on axe sheath making, and then sent the finished product to me.
I love that axe sheath, it is a thing of beauty. Shortly after that, he sent me a beautiful, sturdy reflector oven for my school club. We use it every year, it’s a great way to burn off a rest day.
Robin had a set of cedar strip plans for a chum that he didn’t think he would ever use, so he sent them to me. Here’s what they ended up looking like.
You’ll notice the paddle in my hand, that’s a Black Bart that Alan Gage sent me. I sent him a bunch of junk in exchange, including a crappy knife that Glenn convinced me to buy. Speaking of things that people convinced me to buy, here’s an axe that I parted a C note for after I got all excited about axes.
Then, of course, there was the whole “Ripster” contest. I ended up with so many things in the mail for me, I thought I had won the lottery. For new people, our very own Rippy did a tutorial on building a knife, and then it was auctioned off to support the site. Somehow, I won (it had nothing to do with the number of tickets I bought). Here’s the Ripster….
And me using it…
Several side prizes arrived from the contest as well. Somehow, Mike found “The Plaid Prancer” for me from my days as a male stripper on Gottigen Street in Halifax. He must have scoured every pawn shop in the greater Halifax region.
Then the Spam started rolling in! Such an epic thread, with an epic ending! Mihun, Iskweo and Rippy sent me the worlds most varied collection of Spam. This was in the box.
I received another package, I think this one was from Odyssey, maybe the others were involved too. It was an epic major award!
That whole thread made my winter very enjoyable, lots of laughs! A big thanks to everyone involved!
A couple of years back, Pbutkovich and his son came up to do the Marshall lake loop. They hit a moose outside of Longlac and their car was totalled. They still went ahead and did their trip, but left behind a folded canoe. After removing the gunwales and replacing all the trim, it turned into a very nice paddler. It’s the green one in the pic.
Not only has Alan Gage sent me a paddle, but he also designed a solo for me that I might build this year. He also pranked me pretty good by sending me a canoe sock, the kind people put over their very expensive paddles.
Then of course, there are the people I have actually met from Canoetripping.
This year, I was lucky enough to meet DanOver from this site while he was up doing some bird hunting and fishing. He gave me another knife, a very cool filleting knife that he had made.
We caught many splake, some of them actually bigger than bait fish, lol.
A couple of years ago, Robin, Odyssey and his wife, Iskweo and Mihun came up for a canoe trip
Mihun made us these very nice weather vanes.
While on that trip, I went for an unexpected swim and lost my favourite hat, one that had been signed by Fred Eaglesmith, one of my favourite musicians. Some time later, I got a package in the mail. Odyssey had been at a music festival in Kemptville, and had got a very similar hat and had it signed by Fred. That was a very nice and thoughtful gift!
I’m sure there have been other things too, and if I have missed some people, please accept my apologies and remind me as well.
So, early Merry Christmas Canoetripping! You are all a great bunch of people, and my life has been made better by meeting everyone!
Last edited:
( just kidding). I now have three wc Old Townes and they have added greatly to my enjoyment of paddling and to my life in general, and I didn't even have to learn a secret handshake.
