Wendy's Corner on Backcountry Gear

When you think of backcountry camping trips, 
            what technical gear do you think of? 





Oh, probably - a good four season tent, down mummy bag, self inflating sleeping mattress, ultra-light kevlar canoe, and a waterproof lighter. Yeah, that was me too - before. 

Now I think - completely collapsible dishes; folding frying pan that perfectly distributes heat; 3L widemouth canteen; and a skirt you can throw on for many of your backwoods survival needs... that’s right I said skirt. 








I will introduce you to some of my favourite gear that is often overlooked by most, or completely ignored altogether, but on my last sopping wet, bone chilling trip to Algonquin Park backwater, this stuff made all the difference. Each in their own way, these items made this portaging trip actually very pleasurable.

Click to read more about great gear! on Wendy's Corner.

by Wendy Boucher, Canadian Destinations Mag

Killarney Provincial Park - Visit the Wilderness

3:15 am

“What was that? A bear is getting into our food bag!” 

We had strung it hours ago from a tree, about 2 metres out from the trunk, 4 metres off the ground, and 40 metres downwind from our tent, which is close to the recommendations set out by Ontario Parks.

Did the park staff plant a seed in my head that grew into a towering Jack Pine during my first night's slumber in our tiny tent? Or was a bear really in our food tree? 

I was awake, and my heart was racing after the overwhelming sound of a massive branch breaking metres from where we lay sleeping. Thankfully, I had some equipment with me specifically designed for this very instance. 

“Cover your ears.” I whisper to my partner Chris as he mumbles, “Wha…?”

I hit the air horn. Then, silence. 

We made it to Killarney backcountry.

click to ....(Read More) about our adventure in

Killarney Provincial Park!

Moto Your Safe Commute - by Wendy Boucher

We see people riding their motorcycles around every day wearing T-shirts, shorts, and occasionally flip-flops. I cringe when I see that.  I have a friend who's a nurse. She refers to motorcycle riders as organ donors. I decided that I want to be the poster girl for riding safe, riding geared up, and of course being stylish while I'm at it.

One complaint people have is that it takes too long to put on all the gear. And a majority of accidents are people that say, "Oh, I'm just going for five minutes; I don't need all that stuff on." So I set out to debunk the inconvenience myth.

I've got my full face helmet, Alpinestars high boots and armoured gloves, armoured leather pants and jacket, and my Motochic backpack all in the front closet. I figure if I treat it all like daily wear then I will wear it daily.

I used to adventure race. Paddle, bike, hike, in the bush. As a team of three, we were constantly transitioning from bike to canoe, from canoe to hike, from hike back to bike, from bike to canoe then to the finish line all in under 8 hours. We weren't the fastest girls in the back country, but we rocked the transition areas. I have six gold medals. I use this experience to motivate me to practice transitioning from shorts, T-shirt, and flip-flops to full leather armoured gear.

How fast can I do it? How good can I get at it? It's all about rocking the transitions areas, and that's all about practice.

I spent an afternoon putting on my gear, taking off my gear, putting on my gear, taking off my gear… To the point where I was sweating and breathing like a weight lifter.


First-round putting it on - three minutes 40 seconds

First-round taking it off - three minutes 51 seconds

Second-round putting on - two minutes 59 seconds

Second-round taking off - three minutes 15 seconds

Third - on - two minutes 41 seconds

Third - off - two minutes 25 seconds

You get the point…

Finally I got it down to one minute 59 seconds putting it on, and one minute 45 seconds taking off. And that includes stuffing it all in a big blue tote bag to carry with me to work, to school, or wherever I'm headed.

Just to put it in perspective, when I put on what I need for a winter hike it takes me one minute 25 seconds on, and one minute 11 seconds off. At the other end of the spectrum, when Diana Prince wants to change into Wonder Woman she spins around and it takes her about eight seconds - would love to know her secret.

So I challenge you to take the transition speed test.

How fast can you get your gear on?

If you practice, how much can you cut down your time?

Well, until we figure out Diana's secret, I think the important thing to remember is that road rash ain't sexy - safe is cool - yesterday's bikini is today's full leathers - and keeping all my skin intact is worth an extra four minutes.

And you know what? Wearing full armoured leathers is probably the closest I will ever get to looking like a super hero. And I like it.

NOTE:  All images taken in 'selfie' format by the writer, Wendy Boucher. I apologize for the crudity of the pics but.. hey, every cameraman deserves a day off I guess.

Moto Your Safe Commute - by Wendy Boucher

We see people riding their motorcycles around every day wearing T-shirts, shorts, and occasionally flip-flops. I cringe when I see that.  I have a friend who's a nurse. She refers to motorcycle riders as organ donors. I decided that I want to be the poster girl for riding safe, riding geared up, and of course being stylish while I'm at it.

One complaint people have is that it takes too long to put on all the gear. And a majority of accidents are people that say, "Oh, I'm just going for five minutes; I don't need all that stuff on." So I set out to debunk the inconvenience myth.

I've got my full face helmet, Alpinestars high boots and armoured gloves, armoured leather pants and jacket, and my Motochic backpack all in the front closet. I figure if I treat it all like daily wear then I will wear it daily.

I used to adventure race. Paddle, bike, hike, in the bush. As a team of three, we were constantly transitioning from bike to canoe, from canoe to hike, from hike back to bike, from bike to canoe then to the finish line all in under 8 hours. We weren't the fastest girls in the back country, but we rocked the transition areas. I have six gold medals. I use this experience to motivate me to practice transitioning from shorts, T-shirt, and flip-flops to full leather armoured gear.

How fast can I do it? How good can I get at it? It's all about rocking the transitions areas, and that's all about practice.

I spent an afternoon putting on my gear, taking off my gear, putting on my gear, taking off my gear… To the point where I was sweating and breathing like a weight lifter.


First-round putting it on - three minutes 40 seconds

First-round taking it off - three minutes 51 seconds

Second-round putting on - two minutes 59 seconds

Second-round taking off - three minutes 15 seconds

Third - on - two minutes 41 seconds

Third - off - two minutes 25 seconds

You get the point…

Finally I got it down to one minute 59 seconds putting it on, and one minute 45 seconds taking off. And that includes stuffing it all in a big blue tote bag to carry with me to work, to school, or wherever I'm headed.

Just to put it in perspective, when I put on what I need for a winter hike it takes me one minute 25 seconds on, and one minute 11 seconds off. At the other end of the spectrum, when Diana Prince wants to change into Wonder Woman she spins around and it takes her about eight seconds - would love to know her secret.

So I challenge you to take the transition speed test.

How fast can you get your gear on?

If you practice, how much can you cut down your time?

Well, until we figure out Diana's secret, I think the important thing to remember is that road rash ain't sexy - safe is cool - yesterday's bikini is today's full leathers - and keeping all my skin intact is worth an extra four minutes.

And you know what? Wearing full armoured leathers is probably the closest I will ever get to looking like a super hero. And I like it.

NOTE:  All images taken in 'selfie' format by the writer, Wendy Boucher. I apologize for the crudity of the pics but.. hey, every cameraman deserves a day off I guess.

I never thought I'd fall in love with a backpack! MotoChic Lauren Bag hello! by Wendy Boucher

Did you even know this existed? I didn't until I saw it on-line and ordered it. Once it arrived I was floored by the quality and simple beauty of it.  

MotoChic : The Lauren Bag 

Once this cool bag arrived, I opened it up and started probing. 




The backpack straps tuck neatly into a zippered compartment. The tote strap pulls out from the top custom compartment to convert to a tote bag as seen in the pic below. There is a rain fly that pops out in case of a flash rain that you got caught in because you forgot to check the weather channel today.  Ooooh, I love riding in the rain.

The Lauren bag is surprisingly large inside (think of the clown car mini that twenty colourful dudes pour out of) and has little side closures to keep it small and reduce wind resistance. It is ultra organized on the inside too with smartly designed pockets perfect for fitting chapstick, wallet, iPhone, laptop, and my Swiss Army knife. Two outside pockets fit my flip flops and my water bottle. And here is the part that appeals to the safety girl inside of me - huge reflective panels on the back (and a reflective logo on the rain cover) so everyone behind you can see you - you insanely cool biker girl riding in the rain!



MotoChic says...

Our most popular MotoChic Gear bag is now available in cool white. Whether you’re commuting to the office, getting away for the weekend, or taking a Sunday afternoon motorcycle ride on curvy back roads, you’re good to go with the Lauren bag. Inspired by motorcyclist and style icon Lauren Hutton, this versatile bag can be worn as a backpack or a tote and combines classic styling with practical details that will stand the test of time.

So I quit looking at it, I pull out the backpack straps, and I ride!

See more at https://www.motochicgear.com.

Thanks Sea To Summit for saving my life

Sea to Summit X-Series Collapsible Dinnerware

My old potset and dishes took up about a small breadbox worth of size in my pack. Due to the awkward shape and size of pots, cups, and bowls, I have always wrestled with them in my pack. Not any more! Sea To Summit has a collapsible 3L pot, two bowls, and two cups that fit like a sweet simple jigsaw puzzle right into their frying pan home. Thats right, one big pot, one frying pan, two bowls, and two cups in a Frisbee amount of space. A Frisbee!

Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Compression Sack

Quite apparent when my photographer Chris was packing his

sleeping bag in it’s standard container - my compression sack was a little bit of gold. This is one of those times when smaller is better. 

His sleeping bag was about the size of two motorcycle helmets. Mine - stuffed into the small compression sack, was smaller than a standard camping cook pot. Have you been to Sea to Summit's website? It's gear heaven on-line. Sea to Summit has a plethora of compression sacks, packing cells, dry sacks, mesh sacks, and even a sleeping mattress pump, which doubles as a stuff sack! They have enough colour and variety to make sense of your entire camping pack. Thanks Sea to Summit for keeping us organized and compressed. 

Sea to Summit Silk liner

I think I can say I may have died without this. Hypothermia is a reality when in the backwater, in the rain, in -2 degrees Celsius. I have a down sleeping bag rated for -7 but I find it’s good to about 0 for me.

When it got to -2 at bedtime, and I was wet, tired, and frustrated, I

poured myself into my bag and I was no warmer. Lightbulb. Wrap

yourself in the silk liner. It just seemed intuitive. I was instantly caressed by the soothing feeling of silk, and warmed up as though it was firing my body heat right back at me. It’s probably designed to do just that, but all I knew that night was that I was very thankful I had it. I later learned from Sea to Summit that this liner is made from super strong, ripstop silk and has stretch panels which allow the liner to move with you when you turn. Brilliant design and a life saver. 

Visit on-line gear heaven...
http://www.seatosummit.com

Revisiting Algonquin Park!

"Back country camping?”, I gasped. It had been a decade since I camped last, and I recalled it being a jam packed, smokey, noisy family campground. I had only been camping in the “real woods” once, and that was literally decades ago - four of them. And now, Wendy, who is a self-proclaimed Queen-of-the wilderness, introduced a weekend in the interior of Algonquin Park as one of our - Canadian Destinations. Really?!? 


Admittedly, I pretended that I didn’t hear her the first time she said it. I almost cowered as I envisioned myself being dirty, tired, wet, and cold as I tried to start a fire without the aid of a nearby store (where I could run out and pick up a fire-starting log or a gallon of petrol). My kids will testify that sometimes even that didn’t help my fire starter abilities. We often gave up on the idea of smokey smores and opted for peanut butter and jam sandwiches by the luminescence of my flashlight. Well, no matter my apprehension, the challenge was issued and, well, I am not one to back down! Bring on the back forty! 

This new back country concept got me recollecting my past experience in Algonquin Park when I was nine. Yes, I was single digits; I went with my father, uncle, and big brother Mike. 

It was a fun and exciting experience, other than the fact that I was terrified to meet up with a bear (I still kind of am - don’t tell the Queen, please). I remember portaging to some cool lake, having fun at the campsite, and exploring the area with Mike, both armed with wee Swiss Army knives. Kindly, it was suggested by my travel partner, “I will take you to the exact same place you went when you were a kid!”. That sweetened the deal. Dad passed away two years ago, so this was my chance to visit a far off land that he and I shared so many hundreds of moons ago. 

Wendy and I got right on-line and perused the Ontario Parks website (www.ontarioparks.com) to explore. We found it - Joe Lake. 20 minutes later we were grinning like kids - having effortlessly cruised the site, found our lake, registered our trip, paid, and started our packing list. Looking further into the website, I was very impressed at the vastness of Algonquin - its interior of maple hills, rocky ridges, and thousands of lakes, and the only way to explore the interior of this park is by canoe or on foot. ....

READ the rest of the story HERE