Last May, Al arrived in Norman Wells with a construction team to erect the first storey of a new log building necessary for gear and food packing, trip planning and added accommodation and washrooms. The footings, subfloor and log walls went up in record time as the days got longer and the guys worked twelve hour days, only stopping to cook up some burgers on the barbecue and catch Stanley Cup playoff action! This year, Al is heading up in April and the plan is to complete the second floor and have the building fully operational by July 1, 2019.  Tucked in between our lodge and the NWA Cabin, the highlight of the new building will be a built-in bar on the front porch and a spectacular amphitheatre Party Deck, perfect for final night dinners, mini-concerts and sharing a cold beer while telling tall tales of grand adventures!

Al Pace and Lin Ward were thrilled to present and coach at the British Canoe Symposium, Nov 10 – 12 held at Lake Windermere in the beloved Lake District of northern England. The Brits arrived in droves, fully geared up in dry-suits with solo and tandem canoes, SUP boards and canoe-sailing rigs. Al presented a multi-media show on Friday & Saturday evening to a packed house hungry to experience the wilds of northern Canada through stunning photos and hair-raising stories of lore about wild rivers that run free for hundreds of miles!
On the water, Lin and Al hosted skills clinics with small groups of rookie paddlers who were super-keen to acquire knowledge “from the Colonies” and fine-tune their j-strokes and bow draws. “Everyone here is just over-the-top keen to develop their canoeing skills –we could hardly get them off the water at the end of our 2 hour clinic!” says Lin. In true British style, the evening pub nights presented a fabulous opportunity to try out local craft beers and share stories of adventure, latest gear trends and paddle techniques – oh, and bloody football of course!
Al and Lin were treated like canoeing Rock Stars and were grateful for the opportunity to travel abroad, explore the backroads and highlands of Scotland and hurl themselves into the crazy vortex of English canoeing. Thanks to hosts Tom and Anna Sibbald for taking such great care of Al & Lin and for convening such an enthusiastic group of coaches and participants.

Join Canoe North Adventures owners and river guides Lin Ward and Al Pace on an amazing Adventure Canada cruise from Sondre Stromfjord in Greenland all the way to St. John’s, NL!

Learn more about this amazing opportunity!

Caledon journalist Nicola Ross joined us this past summer on the Keele River. Follow the link to read about her ‘Adventure-of-a-lifetime’! Nikki is the author of the ‘Loops and Lattes’ series of hiking books.

Nikki’s Blog Post