This 16 hour course concentrates on the basics of packaging and transporting patients, and managing life and limb threats in remote environments. It includes prevention and treatment of common environmental problems like hypothermia and heat exhaustion and stroke.
The Wilderness First Aid programs are designed for the recreational outdoor enthusiast, trip leader, and the professional guide. These courses are based on the principals of wilderness care and first aid.

To know the full details (and cost) of this course you need to log in and read the entirety of this outing on the WCA website, and the CWMT website. The CWMT is a certified education centre for the Emergency Care and Safety Institute and an Authorized Provider for the Canadian Red Cross.

** The WCA highly recommends that people organizing back country canoe trips take this course, especially for multiple day trips where 911 help isn't accessible. Also, it doesn't hurt to have multiple people trained on any trip.

Note: This is a repeat of the same course given in March 2023.

Greenmantle River, a Wabakimi Gem

This wild little river may lack girth and length but it is long on adventure and isolation.  Hidden in the far northwest corner of Wabakimi Provincial Park, the Greenmantle River provides access to a huge swath of protected wilderness.  Perceived as too small to navigate, the paddler is challenged by long, twisting technical rapids, log jams, down trees, shallow wetlands and one demanding portage.  The reward is an opportunity to explore a remote boreal forest and possibly catch an elusive brook trout. 

Our presentor, Vern Fish is the former Executive Director of the Black Hawk County Conservation Board in Waterloo, Iowa.  He serves on the board of directors of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Board and the Conservation Corps of Iowa/Minnesota.  He is currently the president of the Friends of Wabakimi.  An advocate for clean water, he serves as an elected commissioner on the Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District.  A passionate paddler he has run wild rivers from South America to the Mexican border and north to the Arctic Circle with stops at Hudson Bay.

Join Zoom Meeting at 7 pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87084912035

Meeting ID: 870 8491 2035

There should and always will be risk to canoe travel. Thank goodness, we are taking a reprieve from driving on highways for a spell. 

Risk on canoe trips is too messy/wiggly to be determined from a  pre trip document. Risk must, most wisely, be assessed in the field based a myriad of factors and measured against the joy factor of experiences. We set a very low bar when a successful canoe trip is considered only a safe canoe trip. This is a call for more wisdom and more JOY. 

Bob Henderson long time WCA Member bio;

Bob has been guiding canoe trips since summer camp days 1973.  Early travels in Algonquin, Temagami and Quetico eventually lead to Arctic travels.  Bob taught Outdoor education at McMaster University 1980 - 2009. He writes mainly about outdoor heritage travel and conceptualizing outdoor education.  Recently he is co-editor of Paddling Pathways: Reflections from a Changing Landscape: winner of Best Anthology 2023 with New Generation Indie Book Awards and Finalist for Best Non-Fiction with Whistler Book Awards. 

Zoom Meeting Link; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81895561223 Meeting ID: 818 9556 1223

Dwayne Wohlgemuth and his spouse Leanne Robinson live in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and have spent many summers and many months paddling and hiking together throughout the NWT. Their two boys, aged 8 and 5, have been on many of these months-long adventures. Their most recent long trip was a 90-day voyage in 2022 from Behchoko, NT, to the tundra along the Coppermine River. Paddling from spring through autumn with two children in tow is a story of how paddling has transformed into our preferred way of life in the summers. 

Tune in to a Zoom Presentation to hear there adventure.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85882234397

Meeting ID: 858 8223 4397

Have you ever thought about starting to take up winter camping? Not sure where to start? Do you have questions about gear, logistics, food preparation and wilderness safety/risk management? Or, are you a seasoned veteran looking to improve your set up and learn something new? Then this is the course for you!

We will discuss the foundations of winter camping using a hot tent in conjunction with a portable wood burning stove, gear requirements, tent set-ups, food planning and wilderness safety/risk management.

This 1-hour, in person educational workshop hosted at MEC’s North York location, presented by WCA members Luigi Salerno and Doug Ashton, will answer all the questions you have about winter camping. There is something for every skill level.

Bob Henderson has been a WCA member since 1986, will present the topic of water.

“The Water of [Big Trout Lake] Hasn’t Changed: We Have. To Filter or not to Filter: It Depends. Water Water Everywhere but Nary A Drop to Drink……Without Human Intervention.”

Read article here Nastawgan Spring 2023, Page 12..  

/sites/default/files/storage/Nastawgan/2023-1.pdf

Bob's Bio

After serving for over 20 years as a coordinator of the editorial board, he is now working as a resource editor for Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education. Additionally, he has been resource editor for Nastawgan: The Quarterly Journal of the Wilderness Canoe Association since 2008. Bob's primary role as resource editor, is to generate submissions for the publications.

After retiring from McMaster University in 2010, he has been doing field-based course work with universities across the country including, The University of Alberta (Augustana Campus), Laurentian University, Brock University, and McMaster University.  He is also co-guide of a ski tour in Norway in partnership with the University of Edinburgh, Masters of Education program.

He recently published with co editor Sean Blenkinsop, Paddling Pathways:Reflections from a Changing Landscape. YNWP: Regina 2022

Join the Zoom Presentation on May 17, 2023 at 7 pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85650281453

Meeting ID: 856 5028 1453

Can't make the Zoom presentation, no problem.  The presentation will be recorded and loaded on to our WCA YouTube Channel.

This will be a trip report of a group of friends on the Bloodvein River from late July/early August, 2022.

The Bloodvein River is a rugged Canadian Heritage River over 300 kms from its headwaters in northwestern Ontario to its mouth on Lake Winnipeg in central Manitoba. Beginning at Artery Lake in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, slipping into Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park, gave us the opportunity to travel 230 kms through Canadian Shield topography encountering 80 sets of rapids. We will share our logistics, costs, shuttles and why you should paddle this river!

Cindy and Ed have spent most summers paddling for pleasure and guiding on many rivers in Ontario, Quebec, Yukon and as far away as Tennessee and North Carolina. Ed is a Paddle Canada whitewater instructor for Madawaska Kanu Camp and the Ottawa RA Canoe Camping Club. Winter months are spent alpine skiing wherever there is snow and Cindy is a Canadian Ski Instructor working with adults, youth and elementary schools teaching downhill skiing.

Join us to hear first hand about Cindy's and Ed's adventure on the Bloodvein.

Join Zoom Meeting June 13, 2023, at 7 pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83587390097

Meeting ID: 835 8739 0097

Please join us for a presentation on the Metrolinx GO Don Valley facility new direction  given by Thomas Connell - WCA conservation committee chairman.  Bill King will provide some historical context to start the presentation off.  Bill joined the club in 1977, and was our club secretary for many years.

"This is a huge win for those who love the Don River valley as a valuable green oasis in the heart of Toronto."  Bill Ness

Join Zoom Meeting March 28, 2023 at 7PM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89550015583

Meeting ID: 895 5001 5583

The recent Toronto Star article, dated March 1, 2023.

Metrolinx does an about-face on a GO facility planned for the Don Valley 

A GO train layover planned for the Don Valley will now be built in a ‘light industrial’ area near Leslie and York Mills.

Online story by Lex Harvey Transportation Reporter

Wed., March 1, 2023

Metrolinx will no longer build a GO layover facility in the Don Valley, the provincial transit agency said Wednesday, in a rare about-face that’s come after three years of opposition from local politicians, residents and conservationists.

“Metrolinx has been working with ONxpress to optimize GO service expansion levels and a new location for the layover facility has been identified in that process,” Metrolinx wrote in a statement Wednesday.

“This means that Metrolinx will no longer pursue planning and design work for the layover facility originally planned for the Don Valley.”

The move is a rare win for opponents of Metrolinx’s plans. The agency has come under fire for its transit plans across the city, many of which cause significant disruption to communities, businesses and the environment.

Tom Connell, lead volunteer for Build the Park, an advocacy group that’s been pushing for Metrolinx to move the location of the GO facility for years, said he was “gratified” to hear his calls had been answered.

The Don Valley “is part of Toronto’s identity,” Connell said.

“Ravines are a central part of our city from the Humber to the Rouge. We have these marvellous ravines and they really should be treasured.”

The new proposed spot for the layover facility will be on the Richmond Hill GO Line, near York Mills Road and Leslie Street, Metrolinx said.

“The proposed location is in a light industrial area, within the required proximity to Union Station to accommodate train movements, and has available space for the facility and minimizes service impacts on GO operations,” the agency said in a statement. “The location is outside of TRCA-regulated flood plains and has less community and environmental impacts.”

The facility, which will store GO trains, among other things, is part of the multibillion-dollar GO expansion project.

Metrolinx did not respond to a question from the Star asking why the location changed.

For years, conservationists have warned Metrolinx’s plans for the Don, which the transit agency claimed were necessary to ease railway traffic at Union Station, would undermine efforts to restore green space in the ravine, hurting the environment, wildlife and local enjoyment of the area along the way.

A June 2022 open letter to Metrolinx’s board of directors signed by dozens of activists and community members called the proposed layover facility “completely unacceptable, reversing fifty years of progress restoring the Don Valley,” and said Metrolinx’s plan was “directly in conflict with successive visions and strategies recognizing the potential of the Don Valley as both an important ecological resource and an iconic park showcasing Toronto’s unique natural landscape.”

Floyd Ruskin, founder of A Park for All and signatory to the letter, said on Wednesday that he was “elated” to hear Metrolinx had changed course, nearly three years to the date when he said he first wrote to the agency, warning of the damage a layover facility could do to the Don.

Since then, he said, Metrolinx has been adamant that there was no alternative. In 2020, Metrolinx told the Star it understood the potential negative impacts of the project, but that it would do everything it could to mitigate them. At that point, the agency said it had already revised its original proposal and relocated the layover to another part of the valley in response to environmental concerns.

“It gives us hope,” Ruskin said of the change of plans. “It doesn’t stop the struggle with Metrolinx and their high-handed way of doing things.”

Metrolinx, which is meant to be an arm’s-length agency of the province, has been criticized for its perceived lack of transparency, and infrequent communication with the public and the media about upcoming projects.

“The Don Valley is not the only green space or ravine that’s under threat by Metrolinx,” Ruskin said, referencing emails obtained by the Star that showed Doug Ford’s government had instructed Metrolinx to leave two Toronto New Democratic MPPs off a notice sent to city and federal politicians about tree removals in their jurisdictions.

Coun. Paula Fletcher (Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth), said she’s thrilled that Metrolinx has found a less intrusive spot for its facility.

“It’s a great move and I think everybody is very relieved that (Metrolinx) did their due diligence, they looked for another spot, and they found something very suitable for their operational needs.”

While the new layover facility is being constructed, Metrolinx said it will temporarily stage trains at the Rosedale Siding, located between Bayview Avenue and the Don Valley Parkway, for a few hours during morning and afternoon peak periods.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place by Zoom this year.

Agenda:

1. Welcome by the Chairman
2. Approval of 2022 AGM minutes (2022 Annual General Meeting | Wilderness Canoe Association)
3. Committee Reports:
   • Membership
   • Nastawgan
   • Treasurer 
   • Outings
   • Communications
   • Website 
   • Conservation 
4. Election of Directors, Volunteers welcome
5. Other Business
6. Presentation by Thomas Connell, Don Valley MetroLinx GO Facility  

If you are interested in joining the board or sitting on a committee we can always use your help.   Send us an email at  chair@wildernesscanoe.ca

In 2014 on a whim, I signed up to compete in my first marathon canoe race, The Muskoka River X. The first half of this presentation will outline my introduction to the sport, a discussion of racing equipment, Paddling technique and training , and I'll share some details of some very interesting races from within Canada, the US and Belize.

In the second part of the presentation, I'll focus on providing a discussion of two Algonquin Park adventure routes: The Meanest Link and The Brent Run. Join me for a fun evening focusing on going fast in a canoe!

Join Zoom Meeting Wednesday,Feb 22, 2023 at 7 pm 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86704666350

Meeting ID: 867 0466 6350