7 Days On The Spanish Part 3 - Late fall canoe trip down the Spanish River
Vložit
- čas přidán 6. 03. 2019
- Part three of this wild canoe journey on the Spanish River in October 2018.
Cold temperatures and high water keep Jason Irwin and Jordan Walmsley on their toes, as they solo two big river canoes down this ancient waterway.
#camp #camping #paddle #paddling #canoeing #ontario #carbon #tripping #adventure #swift #hammockcamping #hammocklife #hammock #fall #fallcolors #astrophotography #mistymorning #time #timeandspace #timelapse #october #moose #bullmoose #loons #arewethereyet #arewecampingyet #spanishriver #river #rivertravel
I'd go see your films in a theatre Jason. Love the narration, editing, music - everything. Thanks for sharing.
Larry Hyett you are spot on with your statement
Professionally edited. Called up nostalgia. Too bad you didn't get a peek of Graveyard Rapids. Puts fear of river in perspective.
What a cracking adventure, watched the 3 episodes now and it made a nice diversion from the reality of this cursed lockdown that is forced upon us. Inspired me to get out in my canoe once this is over. Greetings from England, UK.
It was wild... and cold! Good times.
Excellent conclusion to a great series. You guys did very well in less than ideal conditions. Really making us want to get on the water again sooo bad. Great to hear you talk about watching bill mason videos. We do the same thing. Thanks for the great series.
Thanks a lot!
Beautiful series, so well edited & narration. Your videos really could be in theatres. So enjoyable, thank you.
Thanks!
The best compliment I can give you is that I felt like I was in the boat..Mercy, I saw that hole that almost flipped you and I kept thinking "get left, get left!" Hats off to you for paddling a tandem boat against that wind...been there, done that...
:-) With some more skill I probably could have avoided it... time for a WW course I think.
Some watch Christmas Classics during the Holiday Break.... I made it a tradition of watching this great trip of yours.
Wow, really enjoyed this series. Superb and very much in the spirit of Bill Mason. A CZcams treasure. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
We also stayed at the zig zag and got out at the elbow because of weather conditions and hiked to fox lake outfitters. You and your videos remind me so much of Bill Mason. We caught a couple of walleye at the elbow for a fish fry. I’ve enjoyed this series immensely. Thank you
Coming up on another boating season and suffering from Covid-19 lockdown this series of videos was a much needed inspiration. Thank you for the great quality video. I'm impressed that you can juggle being the videographer and the paddler at the same time. Great job and keep up the good work.
Thanks Roger!
Loved this video Jason I'd only seen the Spanish River in Espanola. This was a revelation. Thanks.
A back ferry is your biggest friend on a river trip. Wonderful video.
Bravo, Great footage, better late spring/early summer, including rest of summer, except as your trip showed, depends on how heavy the rain fall is and run off, its an amazing Watershed, Lived around her my whole life, great Outdoors, camping, fishing, hunting, or scenery photography, plus thousand of miles of logging bush roads and trails, The Boreal Forest ROCKS
THanks!
Great trip Jason. In my opinion you and Jordon are Rock Stars. Well done.
In our own minds!
Watched every single second of this amazing adventure... Thanks for sharing... Well done
Thanks Jim!
Great series. Nothing like this in southern California. Really enjoyed the music. Narration and editing great too!
Thanks! I had the pleasure of spending a week in Sequoia and Kings Canyon many years back... looking forward to seeing more of Cali in the future.
Just watched all three episodes, fantastic viewing. Thank you.
Thank you.
It's unbelievable to me that (at present) only 115 people have liked this video. I've had my share of experience in Nova Craft prospectors in wind and they are a bit tall for sure. On flatwater solo, backwards in the bow seat, I almost always have 40 lbs of rocks and my gear far forward... because 95% of flatwater paddling is into the wind :)
Up to 118 now! I need a baseball bat to keep all these sponsors away.
Those boats were a bit much but not too bad... going into that last hole with my little cedar boat may have ended differently :-)
We paddled this route from Duke to Agnew Lake in 1994. We did it then in late July and the weather was a lot more temperate. The water levels then were a lot lower than you experienced as well, and it made for some boney paddling at the top and middle sections of the route and maybe more defined rapids. You guys missed out on the Royal Ride at the end for the last 40 kilometres or so down into Agnew Lake. It is a beautiful route for sure. Wish I could have gotten back there again to do it once more. Thanks for the great videos - they brought back a lot of great memories. Cheers and Happy Paddling!
Thanks Tim. I really wish we could have made the last section... maybe next time.
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome One thing you probably did not experience (given the cold water when you guys did the trip) but we did it in the summer and it was hot almost every day. We would all go for a swim in the evening to wash off / cool down. Holy crap, the amount of little leeches in the water, almost the whole way down. At first it was freaking my wife out a bit when she got out of the water to find the little leeches stuck to her skin everywhere. I had a job to get her to stop squirming so I could pull them off of her, but by the end of the week, she was quite calming picking them off after a swim. My dad used to say frogs and leeches are good indicator species of clean unpolluted water - if that is true then this water must surely be very clean! We had a few highlights on the trip - one was the paddling we had below the old town site and the road where you guys took out. We were just going along with the flow with our two canoes tied together. There were no more rapids to worry about at that point so we just drifted right along until we came around a bend and here was a big mama bear with her two cubs out in the water near the shoreline. We just drifted right along no more than twenty feet away from her. She was not bothered in the least just looked at us curiously and went about whatever she was looking for in the water. We had no time time to really alter the course much to get further away in any case - thankfully she was a nice calm bear.
This river used to be our playground back in the 70's and 80's and the Elbow was our usual take out. Man, this video makes me miss northern Ontario. I live in northern Norway now and we had planned a trip to Ontario this fall. Well it will happen, just not this year.
You must have some pretty awesome paddling options in northern Norway!
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome I worked as rafting guide for a few years and paddled kayak for many years but now its sailing. Up here it's sea kayaking that gives the best paddling experiences. Considering that.
Awesome series Jason! Sorry to hear you didn't make the whole trip, but glad it all worked out and you guys stayed open side up. I'm pretty sure our video on the Spanish didn't help at all with your water levels! :-D Thanks for sharing!
Thanks man!
My brother and I did this river back about 10 or more years ago. Nice video! :)
Thanks Jason!
Lovely. I prefer trips that are slower. I like relaxing and looking at the world instead of looking for boulders in the river. It was very enjoyable to watch though.
Me too! I like river trips but enjoy the pace and quiet of lake paddling :-)
great job, excellent series,, enjoyed it, made me think of adding it to the bucket list. Jordan is the kind of guy you want with you, likes food prep, and is a pee walker to collect firewood,, lol thank you very much for sharing... Are we camping yet? , Bob
Thanks Bob. Yeah Jordan is a solid dude.
I just jumped in my 15' 10" canoe on a pond and could hardly keep the thing in a straight line so kudos to you guys for getting down that river!
Excellent series..where to next campers? I didn’t know walking through your pee was a thing. A guy thing.
Thanks Barb! You mean to tell me women don't walk through their pee? :-)
Great trip thanks 🇨🇦👍 Next try the White River you’ll love it. North of Superior is special. Thanks again.
Yeah that region... It's definitely on the list! Thanks!
Beautiful series. The river looked moody with all that extra water. Would love to check it out sometime
thank you! Moody indeed. I kept thinking about how great it would be to do this river in the summer... take a few extra days for swimming and repeated runs down some of the rapids!
One of the best canoe trip videos I’ve watched. Keep it up.
thanks bud!
Great series, really enjoyed it! I love the scenic shots.
Thank you!
Amazing! Well crafted! I've always loved your cinematography Jason. Excellent series and an equally excellent adventure. I've gotta get out on this river!
Thanks Brad! You'll be right at home on the Spanish.
Lots of lesser travelled routes in the area too from what I gathered in my Googling.
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome sweet ya! One of my favourite routes is in that area, just a few km to the west! Gorgeous with all the old growth red and white pine!
Absolutely great. With this stuff, one can go canoeing without sitting in a canoe.
Thanks a lot Tim. Glad these little films put you out there.
Jamie i cant thank you enough for your amazing videos , i love the humor you add, the vison you have for shots is fantastic , im new to the scene and you have shown alot of great trips and im happy to say your vids have made my desicion to solo in Algonquin easy ill be going mid August thinking of start at Amadle du Fond as i will be coming down from Sudbury
Another excellent set of films.I could feel the cold and the wind.Thank you Jason very enjoyable.
Wow what a trip! Thanks for sharing. Your content is amazing!! Jordan seems like an awesome travelling companion, I hope to see him in your videos again.
Awesome, a canoe / camping trip with snow and a river at high water. Impressive! Great job in the video as well!
Thank you!
Loved this series, my wife and I just finished part 3 this evening. Glad you guys retrieved the grouse and cooked it up. Cannot wait for the next video, cheers!
Thanks Joe! Always glad to hear about family viewing. That bird was the best I've eaten of any kind!
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome excellent to hear! Best wishes and we will catch you on the next video...
A great series. Thank you!
Wow again! That does it. After at least 12 years I’m dragging my canoe out of the shed. I’ve been kayaking and ignoring the canoe. It’s a 15 foot Coleman, so it’s a barge compared to what you’re paddling, but it’s a canoe. I gotta say watching this on the 60” had my adrenaline flowing. You’re also reminding me to go back and watch Bill Mason. Thanks for the great trip.
Thanks for the kind words Richard! Bill Mason films never get old thats for sure. Glad to hear the ol Coleman is going to see some action!
Great series. That river really cooks! Nice job.
Awesome series and great quality content. Can't wait to see what you get up to next!
I like, alot ;-)
Awesome series. Really enjoyed watching it.
Glad you mentioned and quoted Bill Mason. What a guy...!
Wonderful series. Many thanks!
Thanks!
Wow! Yet another fantastic series Jason! Well done sir. Great job!!!
Thanks!
Beautifully filmed and edited. Thanks for taking us along.
Thank you. glad you enjoyed the ride!
wow, what an exciting trip! Looks very different from the peaceful lakes & streams of Algonquin...
Thanks for taking us along with these expertly made and narrated videos! Cheers from Germany
I know that feeling you had going over that unseen rapid, this video series has been extremely entertaining! Very well produced 💯👍
We had some luck there for sure! With more skill we probably could have avoided that spot. A whitewater course would totally be worth it I'm thinking.
Really enjoyed this series Jason. Thanks for your efforts to share this great trip, Bill would appreciate it too.
Thanks Jamie. Interesting to think of what Bill would be doing in this tech era... he was so ahead of his time.
Great trip, enjoyed it all well done and narrated. Cheers!
Thank you Steve!
As spring approaches and ambitions are high I plan longer more challenging trips for this season. Watching this series reminds me of past plan which were revised mid trip due to factors like weather and perhaps being overly ambitious. Lucky to be able to snag some signal for an escape. I’m envious of that forest chicken score at the end, glad you were able to capitalize on that opportunity. Thanks for sharing with us. Sit tight, lakes will thaw soon
Thanks! We really didn't factor our time and distance well when planning... would have been a tough slog if we'd needed to go that last 50km.
Loved this adventure, glad everything worked out in the end, smart decisions.
Thanks Derek, glad you enjoyed it. Jordan and I are throwing around the idea of exploring Biscotasing Lake as a trip... its at the head of the Spanish.
Incredible series! What a trip! And I just have to say that you did an incredible job of documenting the trip and putting together this series. Well done!
Thank you! Put the Spanish on your list... its a blast.
Excellent series. Filming and narration was on point! Beautiful footage. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks David!
Great series, really enjoyed it and made me itch to get back out there. If the damn ice could just melt...
The struggle is real. :-)
Thank you for posting this beautiful series on my favorite river, in Ontario. I run the Spanish once a year. You'll have to come back and run elbow to Agnew. It's arguably the funnest part of the river. The Royal ride never disappoints. Cheers
No problem! Glad you enjoyed it. I really wish we could have made that last section... all the more reason to return.
Great stuff, man - footage, editing, narration - all of it. I trip and it's all I can do to keep my basic gear organized and to slow myself down enough to cast a line once in awhile. You guys that film the whole mess get all of my respect.
Thanks bud! Things are generally much more disorganized than what you see in the vids :-)
Fantastic series brother. Thoroughly enjoyed you bringing us along and sharing your story. Keep it up. Looking forward to your next creative endeavor. Cheers.
Thanks Mike. Glad you enjoyed the series.
There was a lot of work putting that series together...nice work Jason! You have helped put the Spanish on my list...but when it's a little warmer. Many, many years ago I paddled the Mississagi in September and it was gorgeous...your footage reminded me of that trip.
Thanks Doug... agreed, it would be more pleasant in Sept!
Love the Bill Mason reference. Waterwalker by Bill Mason is my favourite canoe movie of all time and available for free on the National Film Boards CZcams channel as well as Bill's other films. Great series Jason can't wait for spring 2019. Paddle season approaches.
Thanks Ryan. Bill's films just never get old eh? Timeless.
nice job ¡ thanks for share Jason¡
Excellent series Jason, your narration and editing skills are top notch.
Thank you!
Honestly just love the presentation, the quality of video, the content - I would happily sit through more of this and it would make great content one year at the Ontario Canoe Symposium? Thank you for posting and sharing Mr Irwin (and Mr Walmsley). Niagara
Thanks Brian! I do agonize / spend a lot of time in the edit :-) but I really am trying to make stuff the can be watched and rewatched.
It's nice to receive good feedback about the production part... its where most of the time is spent. That would be cool to show some stuff at the Symposium.
Awesome Run guys 🤙👍🇺🇸
The Vermonter
Thank you!
It seems as though you've been gone for a while. It's nice to see you back again.
thank you..
Simply wonderful!
Thanks a lot for all the kind words brother.
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome You do a great job! Thanks for sharing your skills with us.
really appreciate your sharing this trip. It's a beautiful film. Thank you.
So you're just sitting in the bow seat turned around? That location is excellent?
Meaning one wouldn't prefer to be a bit further forward?
Thanks Steve. Good question about the positioning. Flipping around the boat and "paddling from the front" is pretty typical for soloing in a tandem if the boat is symmetrical. This is particularly true and even somewhat advantageous if tripping with a heavy pack put forward to balance / trim. I found myself having to open my big pack and divide the load a bit when I went on my first trip with the new Swift solo boat is past fall. With me basically in the middle, the trim was way off with my pack forward or aft. I ended up putting food and camera gear far forward and the rest of the gear just aft... bit of a pain on a multi-portage day but not a big deal. On that Spanish trip we had expected that we had access to 15' tandem boats which would have been better than those big 17's. In hindsight it probably would have been better to just tandem one of them... we would have had no problem going the distance. Soloing is a blast though, particularly in white water so I can't say I'm unhappy that we did it that way :-) If I was doing flat water solo with one of those boats, I'm sure I would be kneeling up closer the middle (on and off as much as knees could handle anyway). I love doing that in my little cedar strip tandem boat.
Walking through pee is a good way to throw off any potential observers... "maybe he wasn't actually peeing(?)" hahaha
Ha Ha. Marking territory I think.
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Joel! Glad you liked it.
That sneaky hole. I have to wonder what the river is like in low water, good for poling and snubbing I bet. Quite a flow going in the fall.
It would be more work in low water but fun I imagine. "Technical rock garden" is often used to describe many areas on the map info section.
Great video. 🛶🤠🛶
Thanks 👍
Excellent series Jason. Thanks for sharing and for the inspiration. I will be honest, I'm a bit disappointed its over... lol. Whats next!? I had pondered the idea of trying this trip this spring but wonder if the high water levels will make it more, or possibly too challenging. It was this or another river trip that needed higher water levels to save a lot of portaging. Decisions..., Decisions....
Jason... Great video series and documentary of a trip I have done 3 times... It never gets old but I must say I have never had high water like that. our trips have always been done in mid August. I am new to your channel and look forward to watching more of your content. One questions for you... I Could not tell if you had an under quilt on your Hennessey Hamock... if you did, what kind was it or what kind of under pad did you use to stay warm on the bottom in the frigid temps?
Dennis, AKA... Canoehound
Hi there, thanks for tuning in!
The 3 season under quilt is a unit I got on Amazon. Onetigris is the name of the company. I had a read a few people say it fit the Hennessy Hammocks pretty well. It was good down to about freezing. Anything below freezing was a challenge. The last night got down to -5 + a breeze and I was NOT warm.... toes suffered for sure. Other than that it's been great. I did a few mods to get it to hang snug... sewed on a few clips that attach to the hammock tie outs on the sides etc. Good bang for the buck... was only $80 ish if I remember correctly.
Great job as usual Jason, thanks for your efforts filming and sharing your experience, it inspired us book our spring trip to algonquin already, cheers matt and jenn
Everything you make is gold man! I've watched everything you've put on film I think. Have you considered Temagami? An incredible place.
Thanks Sean. Yes I've been to Temagami a couple of times but would love to go back... its on the list!
I did a big loop there as a "bachelor party" alternative... great memories and some nice stills... camped a night up on Maple Mountain etc.
Good times.
Bang on guys 🇨🇦👍
Thanks Tom!
That was a fantatastically done trip Jason, you guys made great paddle mates. Question: why 17' canoes for solo paddlers, that was a lot to handle but you guys did great. Don't think I would have missed that rock you guys went over either. Just crept up on ya.
Thanks man. Yeah Jordan is a great dude... we did a four day to the French River in fall of 2019 and hoping to do more trips with him in the future.
Great question about the 17's. When I contacted the outfitter / lodge, they said they had 15 footers as well but when we arrived all they had where the 17's. Boo.
We thought about going tandem in one boat (which ultimately would have been wiser all things considered), but we opted for soloing with the thinking that if one of us dumped in that near freezing water, at least one of us would still be dry and able to help the other one out.
Hindsight?... Maybe we should have just gone with one boat.
We would have made it all the way and had an easier time on the portages etc. It also would have been cheaper. One less boat rental and no extra charge for the early pick up shuttle... our original route would have ended right at the outfitters lodge.
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome circumstances and hindsight lol. At least both of you got a full course in running rapids 👍👊 Have you seen the epic 35 day Labrador paddle from the Boreal to the Barrens on Northern Scavengers YT channel. You have GOT to see that one!!
@@canesser1 Yeah I've see it and plan to watch it again. Check out their interview on CanoeHounds Adventure Show on CZcams if you haven't seen it. They talk about that trip a fair bit in the interview, I came on and asked them few questions near the end. Beer delivered by chopper no less!
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome Will do. Oh yeah, that was one surreal day that they will never forget. They need you to narrate and philosophize that trip Bro, would be a dynamite combo lol!
Great series Jason! Enjoyed all of it! Question, what is the typical water level during this time of year on the Spanish? Beautiful river. Great job once again! Look forward to your next trip.
Thanks David! The water levels are all over the map really, with the exception of spring being typically high. The water level is more dependent on dams / power needs than anything else from what I understand. It was a dry August and Sept with really low water on the river but a week of solid rain just prior to our trip got things going again.
Mitey fine series Sir - weather is what u make of it -- may i ask what PFD that is u were wearin - seemed to give good range of movement - take care
What a series Jason! Wow!! I was watching this for a third time from a research angle this time. You have inspired me to run the Spanish!
Quite experienced on flatwater, and done a few holy shit, gunnel grabbing rapid runs in my days of backcountry tripping.
Decided to get right into it. Picked up an Esquif Prospecteur Sport and I'm outfitting it for white water. Plan to hit the Spanish first week of July. Travelling tandem with my brother. I know you guys pulled out early but I'm curious if you think it could be done from Duke Lake, down the Spanish ending on Agnew Lake in 7 nights?
Normally it would be possible but it can really depend on conditions... we had those two big boats and the wind really slowed us. I've seen anything from 5 to 12 days to do the long stretch. (from other peoples trip logs)
Hopefully things will be open in July! The bugs will be there but you'll have a blast with warmer water / swimming etc. 2 guys in one boat, you should be fine to do that stretch in 7 days.
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome I found similar time frames in my research.
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome 🤞🤞
@@JasonIrwinTumblehome Thanks again my friend. Looking forward to watching whatever you've got coming down the pipeline!
Stay safe.
Wonderful movies. Do you think it would be do-able in a sea kayak?
might be tough in a sea kayak... high water would be ok maybe but typically its much lower and rock strewn
Late Oct. is a sketchy time to take on trips like this. One night of heavy wet snow, often 1 foot or more will dramatically degrade ones ability to travel, sleep, get dry. Tricky portages become extremely high risk with invisible hazards and highly slippery conditions. Sleeping accommodations especially the like of amok hammocks are entirely dysfunctional as wide body tarps are unusable under the weight of snow. Common exit strategies that often involve seasonal forestry roads become unusable, most unfortunate if your vehicle is waiting for you many KM's from maintained roads.
You guys went into this just barely prepared for the weather conditions you got which is really fair weather conditions for late October. Yes you did fine and it seems it was a decent trip but consider how it's different if winter actually decides to give you it's first blast. A message more for those viewers that may need a reminder to keep the overconfidence in check when the wanderlust starts becoming an insatiable itch to be scratched.
Late fall is absolutely not the time to be overconfident in ones backcountry abilities. Camping in January is way safer than late fall as you enter fully prepared for winter.
Yes yes and yes. Good advice all around. We were not not really prepared, particularly from a skills point of view. Thanks for watching and taking the time to weigh in.
Should we expect a new video soon?
When will the next video be out....
I'm your sons friend!
You may not get this comment in timely fashion but how was that Prospector 17 to paddle?...compared to the 'speedster' you ride presently.
It's great when you have the river pushing you along :-). It was cumbersome on flatwater or paddling into the wind. Overall not too bad though.
What Sound Recorder are you using?
I have a little Tascam unit with dual mic. I actually don't use it as much as I should. The GoPro audio is much better these days... almost passable. I my have never used the Tascam on the Spanish trip.
We need more videos, please.
working on it :-) ... my time is limited with a full time job and two busy young kids!
Awesome, my family looks forward to them. its family TV time and you've inspired us to start backcountry camping. We have visited the park 4 times this year and did your Big Trout loop at the end of July. Thanks for the memories.
@@jonpig1 Thats great! I just finished doing that loop about 10 days ago and had a much better time than the last (hands didn't look like marshmellows!)
Any more videos coming soon?
I haven't been in the bush yet this season!... but I'm working on it :). It may be a while before another vid... xmas?
Oh, and yes, the hunter training course (which includes a practical and written exams) strongly emphasizes ethics and social responsibility, and the law does in fact require that if you kill an animal you must eat it. Ethically, you must make maximum use of the carcass, even harvesting the fur or pelt for good use. It is illegal to kill an animal and allow the meat to go to waste. That hunter was indeed unethical, and is an embarrassment to the legions of hunters who are responsible and care very deeply about our natural resources. Sorry to sound preachy...
No man, all good. You are right to be vocal about it... so important.