31 July – 3 August Exploring Georgian Bay geology I – Snake Island/McCoys

We will join members of the Georgian Bay Land Trust on the Geological walk led by Dr. Nick Eyles, professor of geology at UofT. This event is organized for and by GBLT. Dr. Eyles has kindly agreed that we could participate in the event.

We will meet at Snug Harbour on Thursday morning and paddle to the Geological walk on one of the islands. That night we will camp on Snake island. On Friday we will paddle to Green or Big McCoy island. Based on weather, on Saturday we will attempt a daytrip to Limestone islands where we will look for fossils. Expect several 6km long open crossings and daily distances around 20 km.

13 – 15 June 2014 Key & Lower French River Tour

Launch from Key River. On Day 1 we will head west out the Key River (~26 kms) to our Base Camp for 2 nights on the Vixen Island which is located in the French River Provincial Park so a camping permit is recommended. From our Base Camp on Saturday we will visit different areas in vicinity of the mouth of the French River – e.g. the Bad River Channel, perhaps the Bustards, Bass Creek, etc – depending on the group wishes and the weather, returning to the Base Camp that evening (another ~30 kms of paddling empty this time). On Sunday we plan to head back from our Base Camp to the Marina. This trip will include exposed paddling between islands in Georgian Bay and will require a minimum paddling speed of 6 kms/hr to cover the long distances that are planned. As it is still early in the season be prepared for cold water by wearing either a wet or dry suit and bring appropriate clothing for the potentially cooler weather at night.

11 – 13 July 2014 – Massassauga Park – Georgian Bay

Join me on a beginner/ intermediate weekend trip in the Massassauga park. This is a great trip should you be new to the club or new to kayaking and would like to try outback camping. One of the highlights will be a day paddle to the famous Henry’s fish restaurant on Fryingpan Island. We will also take in a shipwreck site as well as a hike on wreck island.