Our adventure was conceived on a rocky point as we sat looking over one of our favourite lakes in the Gogama area. "Isn't it nice how we feel so connected when it's just the two of us on trips like this" Kathy said. "It's too bad that in a couple of days it'll be over. It would be really nice to spend an extended amount of time on a trip like this."

We'd had a few chats like this before but now retirement for me was just a couple of years away. "Why don't we plan an extensive trip for the year in which I retire?" I said. "We've been doing ten to fifteen day trips in some pretty remote areas. We're comfortable in the wilderness; we've got our tripping rhythm down and our meals are a far cry from the chicken and rice, noodles and sauce days." "We know we can do two weeks and therefore a month doesn't seem like much." "Do you think we could do two months?"
"Think about all the food" she said, "and the amount of time it would take to get ready"

"Time is on our side", I said. "We've got two years to plan and prepare."

And so the lists began.

We're Kathy and Scott Warner - We've been canoeing together since 1985. Almost always just the two of us. Not that we're not gregarious – just that we really enjoy each other's company and the closeness that individual tripping inspires.

A lot of time has been spent in the Gogama area where the old routes have been lost over time.

When I first encountered this area in the mid-seventies the routes were open and advertised by the ministry; portages were clear, campsites were marked and the fishing was great. But there were almost no canoers. People would approach us on Opeepeesway or Rush lake and inquire as to how to get to Rice lake. "We hear that the fishing on Rice is out of this world. How do we get there from here?"
Now the portages are gone for the most part; there are no canoers; and the fly-in fishermen invariably say, "How in @#%% did you get here?"
That's background to give you a sense that we do not require marked and cleared portages, prepared campsites and maps that include the location of either.

It took us two years to prepare for "Kathy and Scott's Great Adventure".

We began by considering the types of tripping we'd like to do and then piecing together a list of the equipment we'd need. We'd begun to acquire some of the major items we'd need while I was still working. You know – shift those capital expenditures into my working years. There was the year of canoe trials – it seemed that long until we selected a Dagger Venture. Then there was the tent and tarp. New Thermarests, Woods Thinsulite sleeping bags ... bent shaft paddles completed our major purchases.

We had previously acquired an Ostrum Wabakimi pack and several Voyageur barrel harnesses. Now we had to test the gear and our ability to move it. It took two years, one in Gogama and one on Kipawa Lake to convince us that we'd chosen well. We were ready for that next big step.

We were regular posters on Canadian Canoe Routes (CCR) so we thought that we might involve thatcommunity in our planning and prepartions ... and so it began.
With the group from CCR looking over our shoulders and offering advice, we planed and executed a sixty-day trip in Woodland Caribou Park.
They watched the menu preparation – and tried a few of our recipes – as the Warner test kitchen kicked into high gear.
They were part of the day-to-day trip planning and offered some advice if they were familiar with any part of our itinerary.