Parkland Publishing is the publishing company operated by Saskatoon
Canoe Club members and past executives, Arlene and Robin Karpan.
The Karpan's have published 9 books of local interest, and several
which are of particular interest to paddlers including the beautifully
photographed Saskatchewan Scenic Secrets, Northern Sandscapes,
and their newest offering, Northern
Saskatchewan Canoe Country. Be sure to check out the book
launch on May 12th (see the events
page for details).
OK, I have two links that I think are worth shining the spotlight
on at the moment. Here's the second:
The David
Thompson Brigade, already underway, will travel 3200 km in
63 days via voyageur canoe. Follow their route at the interactive
map. Having started at Rocky Mountain House, the brigade will
complete it's journey on Lake Superior at Old Fort William on
July 12th. The brigade includes four teams from Saskatchewan.
Club Supporters:
These vendors support us by offering a discount to SCC members.
If you would like to support the SCC, please contact one of our
executive. We would
love to have you on board. (p.s. If you don't see your logo here
& want to, contact the webmaster)
Maps:
SCC Map Library - The
Saskatoon Canoe Club has a library of topographic maps which is
available for loan to club members. (Note that these maps are intended
for trip planning purposes and must not be taken out on a trip.)
GeoGratis - New & Very Handy!
- Access topographic maps in high resolution, as well as a ton of other
data sets, including data of use to those of you who employ GPS or
mapping software. The most valuable item for the
canoeist is that there is a database containing a full-size, high
resolution, scanned version of every topographic map in Canada!
Download the file to your computer for use in trip planning. If you
have access to a large printer you can print them out or have them
printed for you at a print shop.
Toporama
- New
& Vastly Improved! Now part of Natural Resources Canada's The
Atlas of Canada website, Toporama is a collection of all of
the topographic maps for the entire country matched with a fairly
decent user interface. Very useful for trip planning, it includes
an index of all the topographic maps and allows users to zoom
in to 1:40,000 scale (which is actually information from the 1:50k
map series). The level of detail is decent and maps can be saved
to file for piecing together later using software such as photoshop
or printed. With many more features than I've listed here, you
will love this site if you love to pore over maps dreaming of
trips.
Google Maps - Google has a map
site which gives you the choice of viewing an area as a typical road
map, as satellite photos, or a combination. Not sufficient detail to
plan your route, but it might help give an overview of the area and is
useful for finding your way to and from the put-in.
Google Earth - A pretty incredible
bit of software that lets you soar over the earth and zoom in on your
favourite paddling route using satellite imagery. Some areas are
lacking in detail but some areas are incredible. Use it to scout your
route or create an overview of the trip. Be forewarned though, it's
addictive.
Weather, Fire, Water:
Environment
Canada - Probably the most relevant weather forecast source
for Northern Saskatchewan.
Weathernetwork - Another decent
forecast site; goes out on a limb to provide 14 day forecasts (which
should be treated with suspect but are interesting nonetheless).
Forest Fire Information - Sask
Environment & Resource Management's reports on the current
forest fire situation in the province
Saskatchewan Watershed Authority -
Saskatchewan water level information & hydrological data. Very
useful information for trip planning.
Environment
Canada Water Survey - Another mandatory source of information
for planning river trips. This site provides a wealth of information
including stream flows, water levels, historic water flow data, water
temperatures and more.
Canoe Kayak
Saskatchewan - The provincial body which oversees paddling
clubs in Saskatchewan, publishes Stern
Words, and provides insurance for our club and members.
Toon
Town Whitewater Club - A group of local whitewater paddlers
dedicated to the promotion of whitewater paddling in Saskatchewan.
TTWWC is advancing the cause of the whitewater park initiative
to modify the existing weir in Saskatoon.
Paddle Canada/Pagayer Canada
(formerly Canadian Recreational
Canoe Association) - Publishers of Kanawa magazine. It's mission is "to
promote all forms of recreational paddling to Canadians of diverse
abilities, culture or age, to advocate for a healthy natural
environment, and to develop an appreciation for the canoe and the kayak
in our Canadian heritage."
Canoe Kayak Canada -
Home of the Canadian Canoe Association, the overseeing body for
competitive paddling in Canada.
Wilderness Canoe Association
- "A non-profit organization of individuals interested in wilderness
travel, mainly by canoe, kayak, and backpacking and, in
winter, by skis and snowshoes." Publishers of the quarterly paddling
journal, Nastawgan,
and owners of the Canadian
Canoe Routes web site.
Regina Marathon
Canoe Club - a group of canoe enthusiasts located in the Regina,
Lumsden and Craven areas.
Other Paddling and Outdoors Web Sites:
Canoe
Saskatchewan - One stop shopping for a wealth of Saskatchewan
paddling information, including a searchable database of all the
SERM trip descriptions, links to outfitters, geology, archaeology,
northern cultures, and much more.
Canadian Canoe
Routes - A great and active paddling forum (also a decent
winter camping forum), as well as numerous other resources including
trip reports, gear reviews, recipes and much more. Recently acquired
by the Wilderness Canoe Association,
the CCR web site is in a state of re-building and they could use
your help. You can help by submitting trip reports for Saskatchewan
trips, long or short, particularly those that are not available
through the documented
canoe routes found on the Canoe
Saskatchewan web site.
Nastawgan
- Already mentioned under the listing for it's publisher, the
Wilderness
Canoe Association, the journal itself is worthy of it's own
link. Search the archives for trip reports from all over Canada,
including some Saskatchewan trips. Or subscribe for delivery of
a useful resource.
Outdoor
Adventure Canada - An active forum for hikers & paddlers
as well as many articles and reviews.
Pawistik.net
- The out of date web page of your webmaster. Contains links
to my trip reports which may be of interest.
Saskatoon Snowshoe
Club - Our newest outdoor recreation club, for when the water
is too hard to paddle. Learn to love winter via a mode of transportation
that can go almost anywhere, is light, non-polluting and healthy
- snowshoes! The Saskatoon Snowshoe Club was started in 2008 by
canoe club president Mark Lafontaine. Join them on a trip through
the Nesbitt forest or get fit on other local outings.
Whitewater
Greenhorn Page - Walter Bushman's web site with good Saskatchewan
paddling-related reading.
WildernessCooking.com
- A website about something I truly love - good food in the bush.
Of course this site focuses on the cooking rather than the eating
but you can't really have one without the other. Through this
web site you can also take an online course on back-country cooking
geared towards the paddler or backpacker. The creator of wildernesscooking.com,
Laurie March, is also the author of the newly released book A
Fork In The Trail.
Wildpaddler.com
-
New! - The personal web page of our president, Mark Lafontaine.
Read about and see photos from some of Mark's past trips,
including his 2006 1000km solo journey down the Churchill River.
Plus, read about his even bigger upcoming expedition planned for
2008. See also Mark's blog at wildpaddler.blogspot.com.
Yukon
River Quest - Whitehorse to Dawson city. At 742 km long, the
YRQ is the longest canoe & kayak race in the world. The former
record time for completing the race in a voyageur canoe was held
by the team of SCC member, Martin
Bernardin. Martin bested his 2006 time by a long shot in 2007
but came second in the race.
Bryan's
Kayak Building Blog - Hey, if I'm going to be the webmaster,
I can give myself the first link right?
Kisseynew
Canoe Company - Local builder of cedarstrip canoes &
voyageur racing canoes. Founded by the captain of team Kisseynew in the
Saskatchewan Centennial Canoe Quest and team Kisseynew-Dalutheh which
smashed the voyageur canoe record in the 2006 Yukon River Quest (and
designs on setting new records in 2007!)
Bear Mountain Boats - supplier of
canoe & kayak plans, authors of boatbuilding books, and host to
an excellent boatbuilding forum.
Waters Dancing - A company from Edmonton that produces "stitch & glue" kayak and canoe kits.
Guillemot Kayaks - Kayak plans, a kayak building book,and another excellent boatbuilding forum.
Environment & Heritage:
Canadian River Heritage System - Canada's national river conservation
program. It promotes, protects and enhances Canada's river heritage, and ensures
that Canada's leading rivers are managed in a sustainable manner.
Partners FOR the Saskatchewan River Basin
- Promotes stewardship and sustainability of the Saskatchewan River
Basin. Some interesting information and maps for our rivers closest to
home as well as good educational information for young & old.
Larocque Lake Pictographs - An interesting read by Walter Bushman about a journey to find the pictographs up the Weaver River.
The Atlas of Canada
- The Natural Resources Canada web site with a wealth of information.
Includes historical information, the impressive Toporama section,
geology, climate, hydrology, and much more.
