Kanu’s Canoe Fundraising Challenge! June 2026
Last-minute decisions were made according to weather reports regarding the start of
the challenge this past week and based on transportation to the lake. I arrived at
Canoe Lake at 7:32 PM the night before leaving. By the time I set up camp and talked
with my friend, who let me stay on his land, I went to my tent to repack.
It was 11 PM. I set my alarm for 3 AM and woke up to finalize my preparations. I
portaged the canoe and pack to the lake by 5 AM to hit the water.
The lake was very misty, making it hard to see more than 100 meters ahead. I was
familiar with the area, but by 10 AM, the wind had picked up behind me, making it a
struggle to keep the canoe in a straight line. I had to try to stop turning sideways into
the waves, which slowed me down considerably. The water levels were three feet
higher than I had ever experienced before, causing portage entrances to be flooded,
wet, and muddy with streams running down the trails.
I continued on with the wind at my back, heading down the Otter Slide River, which
had five portages. Moving downstream was difficult; many portage spots were
flooded with blow downs (downed trees), making things slower than usual. I
encountered wildlife such as moose, eagles, hawks, weasels and huge frogs.
However, I was most troubled by clouds of mosquitoes and black flies; despite
wearing a mosquito jacket, I still ended up with hundreds of bites.
At one point, I slipped and fell on a muddy slope while carrying a full pack and canoe
on my shoulders, injuring my wrist and ankle, discovering later that I had many
bruises included a 6 inch one on my stomach. I shook it off and kept going, but by
7:30 PM at Trout Lake, I had to reevaluate my situation. With two and a half hours
before at sunset and the conditions worsening—no moon and increasing winds—I
decided it wasn't possible to reach my goal.
That night, I assessed my injuries: my arm was swollen from my wrist almost to my
elbow. I had to improvise a brace. Early the next morning the wind and waves were
very high trapping me on the island until 4:30 PM. Then I made my way from Trout to
Otter Slide Lake to set up camp just at dusk. The wind was relentless and continued
the next day, creating headwinds that made my return almost impossible.
I had to take a double carry over the portages due to my wrist, arm, and ankle issues,
effectively tripling the length of the portages (700-meter portage to 2,100 meters).
The headwinds were so strong that at one point, I made no forward movement for an
hour and a half while navigating a bend in the lake. As the winds increased, I
managed to get to a shelter spot to decide what to do while I watched the waves
increase.
I couldn't get out that day, so I planned to start again the next morning. I kept in touch
with Dece with my in-reach transponder to update and change my arrival time. I
paddled for seven and a half hours on Sunday. Finally, I pulled up at the top of Canoe
Lake, where I had cell service to make a call.
I ran out of food on Saturday night and did not have much to eat on Sunday. My water
filter wasn’t working efficiently because the waves stirred up the water and clogged
the filter for the whole trip. Paddling on the windy lakes, I usually glide a complete
length of the canoe with each effort, but I was only making it a meter or less each
stroke. I couldn't stop anywhere on the lake since the wind would tip me over.
As I was pulling into Canoe Lake at the end, Gord arrived at the exact same time with
food—protein smoothies and peanut butter sandwiches.
For pictures see Trinity’s FaceBook page.
