Go Outside

If you’re ever in the Peterborough area the Canadian Canoe Museum is definitely a little hidden gem!

I had the chance to visit the museum
to help with another live video for the Paddle in the Park Contest.

I’m not really a history buff myself, but I have to admit, it was really, really cool to see how canoes were made in the past. I knew that the voyagers used to make canoes out of birch bark, but something that I had never seen before were the canoes that were made out of hollowed out trees. That seems like such an innovative idea! It’s really too bad that we don’t have trees that are big enough to do that anymore. Although I’m not really sure that I’d want to carry one of those over a portage.

Just look at how thick that wood is! No padded yoke either!

It was really neat to see the old paddles and the boats that the voyagers used. And even to see the way that they packed their bags. Really makes me think I need to hit the gym! We have it so easy with our lightweight canoes and lightweight backpacks.

From what I understand these birch bark canoes were much easier to carry.

Imagine sleeping under there?

What about in there?

I don’t even want to think about how much this weighs.

No. Just no.

I just bought a new portage pack from MEC and I’m excited to try it because I’ve outgrown my old one. I’m going to have to remember on my next trip what it must have been like for the voyageurs carrying two of those huge blocks, when I feel like I want to complain about the weight of my bag!

You can check out the video here… it’s a quick little tour of the place! Definitely check that out. There’s a bunch of good things in there.

I can’t forget about the gift shop at the end. It was filled with all sorts of neat little trinkets. Then of course their paddle collection wasn’t complete without a badger paddle!

And yes of course I took a picture of the bathroom sign.

So what’s the heaviest thing that you’ve ever carried over a portage on a trip just for fun?