The view from the top!
It’s snowing in Sudbury like crazy, and we’re heading out to one of our favourite places in Ontario: Ishpatina Ridge! Â It looks like Old Man Winter will keep us on our toes this trip with lots of snow over the next couple of days and plummeting temperatures beyond that, but we’re all outfitted and raring to go!
You can follow our progress via SPOT satellite messenger starting Jan 19th.
Hendrix cozy in our quinzhee
We’re back from a fantastic 8 days up on the Pontax River in Northern Quebec. Â The river and surrounding Spruce Bogs threw a lot of obstacles at us, but that all served to make this year’s staff training all the more meaningful. Â We can’t wait to head back in the future and see what other travel secrets the river might reveal.
It’s all fun and games until somebody gets wet! Hopefully the Pontax will be more solidly frozen than this March, 2010 waterway!
Northward Ho! Â We are heading up to the Pontax River in northern Quebec for the best staff training a couple could ask for! Â We will walk the lower section of the Pontax River, and a short section of Arctic Ocean ice to the town of Waskaganish, QC. Â We think this 100+ KM, 11-day journey could be a fantastic public Lure offering in years to come – so stayed tuned for photos and video!
If you are unfamiliar with the Pontax River, you can find a map of its location here.
You can also follow our nightly progress via our public SPOT page here. Â We will send a satellite message each night updating our position on the river.
We are heading on the road to visit family for the holiday season. Â We will return to the office on Dec 27th, but then will be out on trip over New Years. Â Responses may be a bit slower over the next couple of weeks. Â Thanks for your patience and Merry Christmas!
Our 2013 incarnation of the Explorer’s Club was our longest, most remote, and most northern guided expedition to date!  10 days, rail-to-rail, exploring the headwaters of the mighty and historic Missinaibi River. This trip was made particularly special by the inclusion of the legendary Garrett Conover on this trip!
Members (alphabetical): Garrett Conover, Katie Halls, Dave Hartman, Dave Marrone, Kielyn Marrone, Mat Masin, Collin Pollard, Stephen Ritchie, Vanessa Rizzotto
This now-classic trip continues to be offered from year-to-year. To see if its offered this winter or to register, check out the Missinaibi Expedition page.
To commemorate the event, Laurentian University produced a documentary-length video of the expedition which you can find below:
Garrett Conover in his element – we can’t wait!
We are pleased as punch to be welcoming the Legendary Maine Guide, co-author of “Snow Walker’s Companion“, and one of our personal role models, Garrett Conover on trip with us this year!  For over three decades Garrett and Alexandra Conover ran North Woods Ways, offering traditional guided canoe and snowshoe trips in Maine, Quebec and Labrador.  Their writing, expeditions and way of life have been an inspiration to Kielyn and I.  I can say without any sense of exaggeration, that we would not be doing what we are doing today if we had not come across the teachings of Garrett and Alexandra.  Garrett will be joining us on our Explorer’s Club Expedition this year: Missinaibi Headwaters (10d).  This should prove to be a very special treat for ourselves and all of this year’s Explorers!
Check out our “Featured Products” page for a highlight of some of our best selections this holiday season.
Deerskin and Canvas Moccasins with Raccoon Trim
New products are hitting the store almost daily over the next week! Recent additions include our classic deerskin and canvas moccasins, as well as our new-fangled deerskin and boarskin moccasins. Â We’ve loaded up our crafts page with deer hide, moose hide, mountains of wool, and coming soon DIY moc kits, toboggan kits and snowshoe kits!
Sample Gift Certificate
Ask and you shall receive. Â Lure gift certificates are finally live! Â Head on over to the Gift Card section of the store to fill all of your holiday shopping and learn some fun gift card facts too!
This trip was our first Explorer’s Club expedition with many adventurous decisions made by the group including portaging all 7 toboggans into Nellie lake with over 80 metres of elevation gain! The scenery was beautiful and the route was tough! We had an adventurous group that helped pave the way for a more consistent terrain choice for years to come.
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!
