MID-LIFE CANOE CLUB-Preparation

Paddling the North Knife A journal of The Mid Life Canoe Club August 1999	Preparation
Links to Sites to help plan and prepare for your trip Click on underlined to go  to sites In any successful endeavor, you must start beforethe beginning. These links will give you a head start. Remember, as Abe Lincoln once said: "If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I would spend five of them sharpening my axe."
Weather
The weather in Churchill Manitoba Celsius  Fahrenheit Convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit and Vice Versa	You must realize that the weather in  these parts turns cold quickly and with a vengeance. Thus the trip you plan must  be in July and August. Any later, and you will freeze your butt off. Any  earlier, and it could still be winter.
Canoeing Outfitters and Relevant Sites
Old Town Canoe Camp Kooch-i-ching	Old Town were the canoes we used. Having never done a similar trip, I cannot vouch for others. Camp Kooch-i-ching in Minnesota is where this started with Dexter going there 50 years ago and Randy following on in the 60s. I never went, but whatever spirit this camp instills in its alumni, I want more of that...
Plane Flight
LaRonge Aviation Service            Charter Service/Float Planes  Box 940, Lynn Lake  Tel: 1 204 356 2457  Contact:   Nancy Clark	Flights from Lynn Lake on Dehavilland Twin Otters. The folks at LaRonge will drop you and your canoes off at a lake at the head of the river. The plane is big enough for 3 canoes inside  it. The rest is up to you.
Doug Webber BushPilot, Entrepreneur and Adventurer Dymond Lake Air Services Ltd. Box 304, Churchill, MB R0B 0E0 Based at: Churchill tel: (204) 675-8875.	Doug has a Beaver Float Plane. He will take up to two canoes per trip, strapped onto the floats. He is very  experienced, and can pick up people at the bay at the end of the Seal, Caribou,or North Knife Rivers and fly you back to Churchill
Town Guides
LynnLake	The End of the road...literally. If you are driving up from Winnipeg, this is as far as you'll get. It is from Lynn Lake that you will get a charter flight up to one of the lakes or the rivers(Caribou, Seal, or North Knife)
Churchill	The Polar Bear Capital of the World  and the terminus for all Hudson Bay canoe trips
Lodging
Dymond Lake Lodge Webber's Lodges  Main Address :  Box 304  Churchill , MBR0B 0E0  Canada  Phone : (204) 675-8875  Fax : (204) 675-2386	Five star service, five star food, five star lodging, and adventure to boot. Doug Webber has enough stories to let you dine out on your own adventure for months, and knows everything about the area.
Mapping
1.Natural Resources Canada Topographical Maps 2.Map of the North Knife River	Maps are indispensable. The Natural Resources maps of Canada, in particular,  not only show your river and the surrounding area, they show elevations and all  manners of natural and man made objects They can be used to plot each day's activity and plan accordingly
Outfitting
REI Lands End AmericanEagle SealLine by Cascade Designs®  (They also make the Therma-Rest sleeping pads)	All of these links will give you a variety  of gear via the net. You are, of course, probably better off just dropping by Walmart, taking your list of supplies, and meandering up and down the aisles with a shopping cart. Less intrepid, but cheaper. Don't skimp on the dry bags though.
National Outdoor  Leadership Schools
NOLS website

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