...down the Canadian YouTuber's wormhole. I can't get away from watching these trips videos. I'll admit I'm totally jealous of all of them. Amazing stuff to say the least! I'm sure I'm late to the party again but I made it.

Question: Why, when bushwacking, don't they use pruning shears and or cut in the portage rather than literally dragging stuff through? Is it illegal?

It's fascinating, giving me unlimited trip idea once the border opens.

examples?? names or video titles?

cyclones30: "examples?? names or video titles?"

The channels I've been glued to are the following. Countless trips. I think I'm
just scratching the surface because there's certainly more.

Explore the Backcountry
Joe Robinet
Jim Baird-Adventurer
Backcountry Angling Ontario
Doug Linker

Lots of good stuff, but don't miss out on Northern Scavenger and Justin Barbour!

boonie: "Lots of good stuff, but don't miss out on Northern Scavenger and Justin Barbour!"

Oh man, more. Awesome!! Thanks
Gives me something to do while riding the bike indoors.

Those who find home is in the north woods are so fortunate. Someday I can hope.

Also check out Alexis Outdoors. A Canadian woman with a great sense of adventure in paddling the north woods.

She already has over 100,000 subscribers. Here's one of her videos I just watched:
Alexis Outdoors - Searching Crown Lands Lake Access

Don't miss out on Tumblehome either :)

Tumblehome

Hey, finally, a thread that's in my wheelhouse. Whaddaya wanna know?

Here's an article I wrote that might pre-answer some of your questions.

You can't forget about the Happy camper

missmolly: "Hey, finally, a thread that's in my wheelhouse. Whaddaya wanna know?


Here's an article I wrote that might pre-answer some of your questions. "

Thanks, I enjoyed your article. It's obvious I need to live further north.
10 hours to BWCA and 16 to say Red Lake makes it tricky to do the things I enjoy.

missmolly: ",,,Whaddaya wanna know?
"

Question: Why, when bushwacking, don't they use pruning shears and or cut in the portage rather than literally dragging stuff through? Is it illegal?

You can carry and use whatever you want. It's the weight and size and awkwardness of the pruning shears that discourages them. i simply break branches with my hands and tape trees with biodegradable tape.

Cool, that's what I was thinking. I've got a pair of small/sharp hand shears that can cut up to inch diameter. To me it makes more sense to establish some sort of a path before fighting my gear and canoe across. I think it's thoughtful for the next group to help clear trail some anyway. Good there's no rule that way.

martian: "Cool, that's what I was thinking. I've got a pair of small/sharp hand shears that can cut up to inch diameter. To me it makes more sense to establish some sort of a path before fighting my gear and canoe across. I think it's thoughtful for the next group to help clear trail some anyway. Good there's no rule that way."

Cut and clip away! It'll make somebody's day, for sure.

Miss Molly,
I have enjoyed the last couple of articles that you have provided links to recently. I'd be interested in reading more of your stuff.
Can you occasionally post more links to your writing, especially as winter is coming and we need good reading.
Thanks
DAVE

redbeardcanoeworks: "Miss Molly,
I have enjoyed the last couple of articles that you have provided links to recently. I'd be interested in reading more of your stuff.
Can you occasionally post more links to your writing, especially as winter is coming and we need good reading.
Thanks
DAVE"

Here's something completely different: Love, blood, and slapstick!

And here's something sad and goofy.

That'll keep ya busy!

Here are some paddling pieces:

This is a good one.

Here's a Boundary Water-specific story.

I did scores of these.

Here's another in that series.

And another.

I also did dozens of columns about traveling with pooches and I was Canoe & Kayak's main paddling destination writer too.

Lastly, here's an article about my planting project in the Maine woods.

I've really enjoyed Jim Baird-Adventurer and Northern Scavanger videos. I believe they've done a couple trips together even. The Baird brothers (Alone season 4 winners) just posted a 4+ hour trip video a couple days ago. Looking forward to carving out some time for that.

I know this is a Canadian YouTube thread..but I'd like to plug my favorite BWCA YouTube accounts:
-Nibimocs
-MNMostly
-Gopher Adventure
- Matthew Wennerstrom

I love watching these sort of videos for trip planning and general enjoyment.

Chris Prouse is one of my favorites.

Some of the older classics are still among the best e.g.
Bill Mason - Song of the Paddle
Bill Mason - Water Walker
Kevin Callan - Happy Camper’s Wilderness Quest

Thanks Miss Molly!

Until you are able to call it home, you might find solace in WTIP radio:
WTIP

I remember coming off a trip once on the Echo Trail and turning on the radio (WELY, not WTIP, but...): they were announcing that someone's emu had gotten loose. Gotta love those stations.

I can’t seem to get enough of Backcountry Angling Ontario, that guy puts out so much content and it’s almost all good stuff. He did a pretty entertaining Quetico video series this year. If only I could catch fish like that...

Tony

Great post!

Great articles MissMolly!

Red and Yellow, here are some of the bwca.com gang: If you read the John Stookey RIDES, you might remember that he's my Thames paddling leader.

Wow! So much additional content. Thank you, it's amazing.
And yes, if I had any comparable fishing skills I'd be thrilled.
From Algonquin to Woodland Caribou all on my bucket list to
visit before I box up. Cheers all!!

Not sure what the question was anymore. Bushwhacking in Canada is not a debutante sourie. There are miles of black spruce, crowded tight, the bottom twenty feet of each tree dead and entangled with its neighboring spruce. I grew up on the edge of St. Paul, cows in the garden, barb wire fence almost everywhere. Treacherous crap. We were always bleeding. Canada is like that. You flipped up your canoe and started walking. You were a bull moose with a canoe on your head. And hell yeah you’d be bleeding.






This was wabakimi. Typical Canada crap. Just after this photo I caught a very large northern in the ogoki river. Way too much blood to photo. Good lord those teeth!

I have never considered pruning brush in the Canadian bush. Who does that?

jwartman59: "Not sure what the question was anymore. Bushwhacking in Canada is not a debutante sourie. There are miles of black spruce, crowded tight, the bottom twenty feet of each tree dead and entangled with its neighboring spruce. I grew up on the edge of St. Paul, cows in the garden, barb wire fence almost everywhere. Treacherous crap. We were always bleeding. Canada is like that. You flipped up your canoe and started walking. You were a bull moose with a canoe on your head. And hell yeah you’d be bleeding.







This was wabakimi. Typical Canada crap. Just after this photo I caught a very large northern in the ogoki river. Way too much blood to photo. Good lord those teeth!

I have never considered pruning brush in the Canadian bush. Who does that?





"

Machete? Brush hook? Not so much pruning but clearing a path.

I suggest a folding saw.

missmolly: "I suggest a folding saw. "

It's all hypothetical. Chances of me getting up there off known routes is highly unlikely. With covid who knows when I get a chance. As a former land surveyor I always orient first and recon my path. If I need to do some trimming/cutting my boreal 21 or GB axe does the work. Cut a lot of line back in the day. Not going to stumble, fall and break stuff just for the fun of it if it can be avoided. Help is a long way away.

And one I tumbled to a few months back... The Pursuit of Passion