As far as equipment went, I was 100% thrilled with Homer the wonder solo canoe (Bell Magic). I loved my new stove, an MSR superfly (I brought 2 8oz fuels, and 1 4oz fuel, and didn't even tap the 8 ouncers). I used my Mom's new 10x10 nylon fly, which rocked. It is very light and easy to put up, and a nice center panel with ties for a center rod (or stick, which is what I used). I had a new Gander Mountain GSX rain jacket that was great…not warm and clammy, and it had zip out arm pit vents, which worked great. I also had a new Gander Mountain GSX Crescent two person tent. Amy had purchased a Eureka Isis solo for me, but one of the tie backs got pulled out of a seam, and it leaked like crazy when we tested it out. She had purchased it at Gander, so we took it back there and I opted to carry a little more weight on this trip so that we could have a two person tent instead of a solo. It turned out to be very nice…easy to set up, warm and big enough to fit all my stuff inside when there were mice in the vestibule. I also used my daughter's new Gander GSX (yes Gander Mountain got a lot of my money, as did REI) sleeping bag, rated to 25 degrees. It was plenty warm and comfy, and had lots of nice snug ties to keep the heat in. To go with it, I used a thermarest sleeping pad in the short length ultralite model, which packed down to about the size of 2 pop cans, and kept me comfy and insulated from the cold ground. As I mentioned, I also had Bending Branches bent shaft and kayak paddles. I used the kayak paddle a total of not more than half an hour. The single paddle was drier and seemed just as fast. I would not carry the kayak paddle in the future. I would just carry an additional single blade spare. The dehydrated food was fine, but when we cooked a couple meals for the kids at home after I got back, it seemed inedible! And of course, my parent's good old Duluth Pack (in the #3 size) was perfect for all my stuff and fit in the canoe like it was meant to go there.

Amy has promised that she'll do the rest of the border route with me some time, so I'm looking forward to that. Maybe some time in the future she and I can make the whole trip, too. Although I've also discovered I'd much rather paddle through a winding river or a bunch of small lakes than across the big lakes. I've found a lot of new places I want to take her, which was also another part of making the trip.

Anyway, thanks for reading this and I hope you got some enjoyment out of it! I look forward to seeing you out on the water.

Greg