: Thanks Ken and Sean for taking care of my honey!!! Give him a hug
: from me when you see him!!! I am sure you will enjoy the stories
: I have heard some great ones already!! He should be arriving
: early in the morning 4 or 5 am your time..........
: Linda

Linda, you should be careful what you ask: hugging a hairy bear can be somewhat choking. The health issues were due to pinched nerves, one in my right elbow which caused my two small fingers on the right hand to go numb, c-5 vertebrae pain (intense, so intense I had to lay forward on the deck while doing a mf'ing difficult open water crossing, sciatic nerve pain due to remaining tense due to mf'ing difficult crossing...and lingering numbness in my toes that has not disappeared even as I type this note some 4 days after getting off the lake. I have a rotated lumbar vertebrae that is causing the toe problem. CHiro booked for tomorrow: hopefully that will fix matters. That said, I am very happy with the trip. I reconnected with ancestors located at the Norway House Reserve at the north end of Lake Winnipeg. Many friends made, going back next year to paddle in a york boat race to see if I can help win the $25 000 first prize.

Ah, yah, Ken...I didn't realize until this year that paddling in the wilderness could be such work...where was the current when I needed it. The most frustrating aspect of Lake Winnipeg is that you get these 3' waves that show up with no wind. 3' waves are ok until they start breaking (very short period) or they are humping up from behind (short period is a pain). That said, the VJ handled the lake extremely well...I would never use any other kayak for such a journey. The body however, didn't seem to hold up as well. Must be a prairie boy thing, eh!

Trip report to follow with a link to images.

Robert N Pruden