Our workshop season is about to commence! This means that we will be on the road for much of the fall, so please place orders sooner than later to ensure you get them in time. We bring as many retail items as possible on the road with us, but large items such as ice chisels, toboggans and snowshoes will have to stay at the Pond.
The list is building, so get your order in in time for winter! Sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience!
Negotiating one of many rapids on the Pontax River.
Surpassing even the mighty Missinaibi, the Pontax River became our longest, most northern expedition to date. After an unsuccessful personal attempt in 2013 (see video on Youtube), Kielyn and Dave recruited some able-bodied explorers to attempt the river (with success!) in 2016.
Negotiating rapids, waterfalls, and fierce arctic winds, we traveled 125km of river ice to the Arctic Ocean itself. From there, another 15km of travel on salt-ice took us to the Cree community of Waskaganish, QC.
This is certainly a trip we will return to in years to come! To find out if its on this year’s schedule, or to register, check out the Pontax River Expedition page.
Members (alphabetical): Kevin Kavanagh, Dave Marrone, Kielyn Marrone, Mat Masin, Vanessa Rizzotto
Under the Red Pines of Wolf Lake.
As a change from our typical hard-travel Explorer’s Club Expeditions, our 2014 outing to the Wolf Lake area offered an opportunity to slow down and enjoy the magic of winter! Â Winter ecologist Dr. Gerard Courtin accompanied us as our resident expert to help pull back the veil of mystery of the silent season!
Members (alphabetical): Gerard Courtin; Kevin Kavanagh; Dave Marrone; Kielyn Marrone; Stephen Ritchie; Vanessa Rizzotto; Beth Sangree; Jay Thibert.
This was a special trip dependent upon the special talents and personality of Gerard Courtin. To see if we are running a similar trip again, please check out the Wolf Lake expedition page here.
Vanessa hauling hard!
After much research, poring over maps, talking to past participants and dreaming of snowy days on the trail we’re very excited to announce our 2016 snowwalking schedule!
You can find all of our offerings in chronological order on our calendar, or head to the expedition page for full details.
Sale: Our early-bird discount is available for the month of September. Sign up and pay your deposit by September 31st for 5% off the expedition price.
Come to the world famous Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, ON and handcraft your very own traditional game bag. Using a hearty moose or bison buckskin you will hand sew a bag that will last you for decades. In this workshop you will learn a variety of transferable skills such as:
This workshop includes everything you need to complete a high quality game bag that is approximately 14″ wide and 2-3″ deep. Size may vary based on preferences. The workshop also includes admission to the museum both days and access to their wonderful gift shop which contains the work of local artisans.
Price: $260
Date: September 12 & 13 from 8:30AM – 5:30PM
Please go to The Canoe Museum’s website for registration.
For more videos in this series please see our YouTube page at:
A 10-day, 100km trek on the historic Missinaibi River in Northern Ontario.  Special thanks to Laurentian University’s Alumni Association for funding this project!
Ontario Tourism/Lure of the North from David Hartman on Vimeo.
Special thanks to Ontario Tourism and Hayfire Media for this great little promotional video.
Lampwick Bindings: Tieing and Using
Wonderfully simple, light and incredibly functional tradtional lampwick bindings.
Available in our store: Lampwick Bindings.
As much as we love the long days, loon calls, 
shaking leaves and mosquitoes, the days are starting to get shorter. And you know what that means… Winter Is Coming! That’s right folks! We are getting in gear now just like the red squirrel to gather our seeds and nuts.
But that doesn’t mean we aren’t enjoying the summer. Both Dave and Kie are out this week guiding separate groups on the pristine Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. Dave is leading a group of youth down the historic French River and along the coast back to Manitoulin Island. While Kie is heading out of Britt with a bunch of Wild Women who need to take in some deep breathes with a yoga/kayak combo.
If you plan on making orders, that is fantastic, thank you! Just know that we are out and about this week and will not be able to fill your orders until late next week (July 30th). Thank you for your patience and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.
All news, no fluff! We have only ever sent out 4 - 6 newsletters a year, and always when we have a major bit of news we want to share. You know, like one of us is going to be on a fancy TV show, or we're releasing our upcoming trip or workshop schedule. Plus we also offer the occasional newsletter-only special deal!
