Two months and counting

Even though there is wind chill of 17° this morning, it is April 1st, no fooling, and it is spring! Time to get working on the next leg of our canoe trip to Hudson Bay. This year’s planning will be more extensive than in the past because we will be paddling in areas where there are no towns, no cell coverage, no resupply stops, no roads. We will be paddling on a lake that is nearly the length of Lake Michigan. For our purposes, it is an inland sea. None of us have experience paddling in big water like that, so we will be staying close to shore. Unfortunately, we will be paddling up the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg as the prevailing winds come from the northwest. Pulling off the lake because of big waves and rough water is a likely occurrence. We also may have to do some night paddling, as winds tends to go down in the evening. On our list of things to research before our June 9th embarkation are:

What must we do to be able to drink the water from Lake Winnipeg, one of the most polluted lakes in North America?

Is it realistic to attempt to paddle 260 windswept lake miles? 

Is there really a bus connection from the north end of Lake Winnipeg back to civilization?

Where will we store our canoe until the summer of 2024?

Will our 70-year-old bodies still enjoy paddling as much as we think they will?

Stay tuned for the answers to these pressing questions. We have 2 months to figure it out!