Hello Reader, I hope you're having a great day so far! This isn't a new report (written about a trip from 2020, it's actually one of the oldest reports on the website) - but it happens to be one of my favourites. I absolutely love Temagami. It was the destination for my first real canoe trip, and I've loved revisiting it each time I've gone over the last 15 years. Temagami: Maple Mountain & The Old Growth Quick Facts 🛶 143 km over 14 days 🥾 13 portages (6.2 km total) + 6 km Maple Mountain...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, Welcome to the first day of May! Now that paddling season is upon us, I'm resuming my weekly newsletter showcasing lesser-known destinations - and lesser-known routes in popular destinations - for backcountry camping. We'll start this series with the Nipissing River. Although it stretches some ~100 km through Algonquin Park, the Nipissing River contains some of the park's least frequently travelled sections. So if you want Algonquin, but want to avoid the craziness of Hwy 60,...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I hope your week is off to a great start! You may have seen on Instagram that I ran a survey about backcountry camping earlier this month. To my surprise, hundreds of people responded to it and the results have been quite interesting so far! If you didn't get the memo about the survey, it's still open - click here to complete the survey and you'll receive a free copy of The Voyageur's Backcountry Cookbook as a thank you 😊 I wrote this digital cookbook early in the pandemic to...
9 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Happy long weekend and welcome to September! You don't need me to say autumn is coming up - I'm sure your social media feeds are already getting bombarded by influencers' photos of larch trees and pumpkin lattes (at least mine sure is). But September 1st is not autumn and we still have a few more weeks of the non-winter camping season, so hopefully you can make the most out of it before it's gone! And without further ado, here is the August Round Up! Mikaela Updates It's been...
10 months ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, It's hard to believe that we're halfway through summer! Hopefully, you've been able to get out for a camping trip (or a few!) thus far. If you're looking at the rest of August and September with more free time than you'd like, but don't want to try finding last-minute permits / reservations, I've put together a list of some canoeing and backpacking trips in Ontario that don't require permits. Trip Report Database You can also find no-permit routes in Ontario by visiting my Trip...
11 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader! I hope you're having a great day thus far. Somehow we're already halfway through summer (boo!). Have you been able to get out for any good backcountry adventures so far? Anyways, let's cut to the chase. In my last email, I said I had a big update coming and here it is: I QUIT MY JOB! 🎉🎉 Wooh! Friday was my last day of work! I don't typically talk about my "day job" online so a lot of people assume I work in the outdoors full-time, either as a blogger, guide or outdoor educator....
11 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader! LONG TIME NO SEE! After multiple years of consistently sending out Monthly Round Ups, I really fell off the wagon this year and haven't shared anything in months. My drafts folder is a graveyard of half-written round ups, filled with the occasional announcement and hello, but lacking any real substance. At least, nothing that seemed worth "rounding up" and putting in your inbox. Part of it is that I've just been working a lot. Story of my life (and most of our lives, right?)....
about 1 year ago • 3 min read
Hapyy New Year Reader! Yes, I realize this round up is a week late - I fully intended to send this out while I was on vacation, but then I didn't open my laptop for TEN DAYS! As a classic workaholic, I've only gone this long without working while I've been deep in the backcountry, so this was a first for me. I hope you were also able to find some relaxation over the holidays, and your new year is off to a great start. So what's going on with me and the website? Mikaela Updates I kicked off...
over 1 year ago • 3 min read
Hello hello Reader! Originally I was going to start this email off with "Hey, long time no speak!". But then this morning, as I was testing out a new "Welcome to Trip Reports" email draft, I accidentally sent it to half of my newsletter subscribers and about 200 other people instead of myself. Oops 🥲 So if you got that random email this morning, very sorry about that! ANYWAYS, I'm overdue for a Monthly Round Up. Let's dive in. What's New With Me? Very little actually, but I did spend a week...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
