Earlier this week as my brother and I were paddling down the Old Voyageurs’ Channel in the French River delta we approached a canoe coming upriver. We were struck by their paddling technique – they were switching sides every four strokes or so. My initial thought was that they were rank amateurs! That hasty judgment came crashing down when I asked them where they were coming from. “Rocky Mountain House, Alberta” was the response!
Mike and Cass Wild are English doctors working in Scotland. Two years of planning went into this epic and inspirational canoe trip. Their Wordpress website can be accessed here –
https://thedoctorswild.com
They had started their trans-Canada journey in May and here they were on the French River! Along the way they had been gifted a couple of carbon bent shaft paddles and some professional instruction on how to paddle without making use of the J-stroke! We had a long chat and then headed in opposite directions – they were off to drop in on friends living near North Bay on the east side of Lake Nipissing.
You can see their route – and their current location – thanks to their Garmin inReach Explorer+
https://share.garmin.com/MichaelWild2
If you are on their route you might want to cheer on these voyageurs as they do the home stretch down the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers to Montreal!
