A Canadian in California giving you the skills to get outside. Sign up for gear, trip reports, how-to guides and all things canoeing, kayaking, backpacking and outdoor adventure travel!
🏕 Monthly Round Up: December 2023
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 December at home in the San Francisco Bay Area (my partner came to visit me), I got my wisdom teeth removed and then had some work travel later in the month. Fun fact: airplanes + wisdom teeth removal is not recommended.
While we were in SF, I bought an insane amount of Ghirardelli chocolate to bring back to friends and family for Christmas (the first photo is from Ghirardelli Square, which is super touristy but a dream for a chocolate lover like me).
Ontario for Christmas
I spent the first part of the holidays in Ontario. All of my family and most of my friends live in Ontario, so I tried to squeeze in visiting as many people as possible (and still managed to not see some of my favourite people). I went London > Toronto > Ottawa > Oakville > London in ten days (with many hours spent on Via Rail trains).
I also managed to pick up a year's worth of maple syrup to bring back with me. The US does a lot of things right, but maple syrup is just not one of them.
Baja California
The second part of the holidays was spent in Baja California Sur, Mexico. My partner and I went to Cabo San Lucas (at the very southern point of the Baja peninsula), and used it as a home base while we explored the surrounding towns. We managed to do a LOT of stuff and still spend a little time relaxing on the beach, and yet I left with an even longer list of things to do if I'm able to go again.
Here are some of my favourite photos from the trip. Would it be helpful/interesting for me to do a blog post about what we did / where we went? It's a little outside my normal genre of topics).
Want to Chat?
I've been planning out the resources I want to develop in 2024, and to inform that, I'd love to chat with the people who use the resources. In the next week or so, I'll be sending out an email with more information on this. If you'd be interested in a video chat with me and answering some questions, please sign up for a time slot!
Announcements
FREE Backcountry Camping Course
Every January I host an online backcountry camping course to help others get prepared for the upcoming season. It covers things like route planning, gear, meal planning, leave no trace and more. If you haven't gone through it yet, you can sign up for it using the link below.
Where Can I Get to in X Hours?
There's a new feature on the Route Planner! You can now see what campsites are reachable in a specified amount of time (based on your speed specifications).
So let's say you only want to paddle for 4 hours on the first day of your trip. Now you can see how far you can go in that amount of time. (And remember you can change your speed settings by clicking on the little gear icon in the top right corner).
Earn $$$ by Referring Friends
I'll send a separate email with more information on this, but if you like Trip Reports and want to recommend it to other people, you can now earn a referral commission! For each person you refer, you'll earn 25% of their membership fee (the other 75% goes to compensating writers and getting the Route Planner developed).
Coming Soon: A Mobile Experience That Doesn't Suck!
To the 37% of you who use the Route Planner on mobile, I'm sorry - I know it's super clunky and annoying to use. BUT the good news is that it's going to be improved very, very soon. I was able to hire a developer to help me fix it and we're working on it right now. Improvements will be released on an ongoing basis, so each time you check back it should be a little better than it was the last time!
Calling All Outfitters and Guides!!
If you're an outfitter or wilderness guide in Ontario, please reply to this email. I'm working on a side project that I think will be of interest to you. Cryptic, I know (but I don't want to give too much away too early).
Latest Blog Posts
No new blog posts OR trip reports this month (sorry friends). I'm going to blame this on Christmas!
Happy New Year!
Anyways, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and 2024 is your best year yet. If you have any questions or comments, please respond to this email!
Happy adventuring,
Mikaela
Mikaela | Voyageur Tripper
A Canadian in California giving you the skills to get outside. Sign up for gear, trip reports, how-to guides and all things canoeing, kayaking, backpacking and outdoor adventure travel!
Hello Reader, I hope you're having a great day so far! Apologies for being two days late delivering my weekly email to you - I was travelling for work this week and it was much busier than I expected! I've often written that Killarney Provincial Park is one of my favourite places in Ontario (and one of the most beautiful as well). And it's no secret that securing a reservation here, especially in one of the more popular destinations, can feel like trying to snag tickets to a Taylor Swift...
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...
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,...