View topic - Gull River (Northwestern Ontario) June 17, 2011

It took me a while to put this together, however, we thoroughly enjoyed a short 5 day journey through Gull River Provincial Park in Northwestern Ontario.

This river route boasted challenging whitewater, numerous wildlife sightings, including moose, bear, eagles, turkey vultures and the normal and omnipresent contingent of Northern Ontario black flies, mosquitoes and sand flies. Campsites were virtually non-existent in the upper portions river, and portages were difficult, if not impossible to find.

This trip report contains photos and video, so broadband internet connections are required to view. It is also a little bit lengthy, so grab a beverage and sit back and enjoy the show.

http://kokanie.ca/gull-river-canoe-route

Ken Kokanie
Check out some of our other Canoe Trips in Northwestern Ontario

Hello Ken,

I liked your slideshow and soundtrack,

One of these mornings
You're gonna rise, rise up singing,

I think Janis enjoyed the ride.

And this little gem is just north of town!

Thanks

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Each hour should be lived as though it were an express creation in precious material wrested from death and oblivion.

Thanks for the comments Kingfisher. Glad you enjoyed the show.

I've had my eye on the Gull River for a number of years, and I have to say, this river route is a lot of fun, easy to get to from Thunder Bay, and from what I could tell, remarkably under-utilized.

I highly recommend it, and we'll likely be looking to run it again in the years to come, only the next time around we'll plan to start from the Hwy 811 crossing of the Mooseland River.

Best Regards,

Ken Kokanie
http://kokanie.ca/trip-reports

Excellent TR! Thanks for the link to your website. I look forward to reading the other TR's. How do you do that Google Earth slide wizardry?

HOOP, glad you enjoyed it.

As for the Google Earth "trickery", there are two ways it can be done. One is to purchase Google Earth Pro, which will permit one to create a "tour" and record it to output to movie format (.avi).

The 2nd way, and the way I achieved it, was to install the latest version of Google Earth for Mac, and create a "tour". Using another software suite I was able to in essence, capture in HD the tour playing on my screen, and then compiled to a movie format (in this case it was .mov). Finally, in order to make it web friendly (in file size and bit rate), I re-encoded the multitude of .mov's to H264 compliant format using yet another software suite.

It took some trial and error to figure out how to do it, and quite a few steps, but it was remarkably quick. Spent maybe an hour in total getting the 10 videos, after spending about an hour figuring out the steps.

Best Regards,

Ken

Well done Ken. You have set a new standard for trip reports.

wow... thanks Mac, and I'm glad you enjoyed the show.

A "new standard" wasn't what I was going for, but the compliment is most appreciated. The effort I put into these things is primarily for my own pleasure and to share with whomever can bear the show. An underlying reason for putting these reports together is that should others wish to paddle down these pristine river routes, they can be "armed" with the information that will make planning that much easier, and their experience that much more enjoyable. Based on your comment, I'm guessing that the mission is accomplished.

Best Regards,

Ken Kokanie
http://kokanie.ca/canoe-trip-reports

Hello turtl: Great report! Beautiful scenery. It was a real pleasure to view. Great music; especially the Janis Joplin and the Zep. Sounds like you guys ate really well. Good job on the fishing. I look forward to reading more of your reports.

Take care,
Cousin Pete

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"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around." - G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 1908

Good trip report.
But where in the Sam Hill did you get that awesome blues music. Love it. Who are they? Feel like going through the trip report again just to listen to the music. Particularily the first song.
Thx

Mishomis, Cousin Pete,

Glad you enjoyed the show, and the music.

Soundtrack is made up of a bunch of stuff, but I've been on a big Yardbirds kick as of late, and many of the tracks (including the first one) are their fine work from the late 60's.

Best Regards,

Ken Kokanie
http://www.kokanie.ca/canoe-trip-reports

turtl,
Great report and wonderful technical work.
Thanks,
Ralph

Best, in many senses, trip report I've ever read (except perhaps for some of your earlier efforts).
Putting that amount of quality effort into serving the paddling community gets my grateful thanks.

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If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all. (AJ)

Allan,

Thank-you for the kind words. I'm sure many others would agree, that your efforts into compiling trip report postings into organized, easy-to-use and even easier to search library of threads in these discussion forums, garners equal gratitude.

All the best in 2012 to all, and I look forward to exploring and documenting another northern river route this summer.

Ken Kokanie

Ken, your trip report will certainly convince others to take on this historically and culturally significant canoe route. You are to be congratulated on this fine production!

I wish you well in whatever new venture you choose to take on in 2012. Good Luck!