For many years I made my living selling canoes & kayaks, guiding paddling trips, taking paddling trips during my time off, going on paddling expeditions and then documenting my experiences in magazine articles or as video documentaries. I was deeply ensconced in a gig-economy lifestyle before that was even a word in the lexicon.
It has been many, many years since I created a video to tell the story of a canoe or kayak trip. I am proud to announce that I have joined the modern era of video production and sharing with our first video posted to the new Umingmaq Paddle Touring Center Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmxOhoc5ZS-WMeJo4RAR8ew
Our first video is a teaser trailer for The Beyond the Delta Canoe Expedition, which will take place from June through the first week of September of 2023:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24XZ3P85vAs
The Beyond the Delta Expedition will take our family down the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories of Canada. We will begin our 1100 mile canoe expedition from the town of Hay River on the shores of Great Slave Lake. We will continue down the length of the Deh Cho (Great River) passing through about 9 Native villages. We will then paddle through the massive Mackenzie River Delta, which is larger in area than the US state of Connecticut. The trip will take us out of the Delta, onto the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean and end in Tuktoyaktuk.
After the canoe trip is over, the adventure will continue as our Landcruiser will be barged up to Tuktoyaktuk and we will then drive 3600 miles home to Wisconsin with over 1000 miles of overland travel on gravel roadways. The drive home will take us through the Northwest Territories, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota and home.
We have preparing our twins to attempt such a trip since they were two years old, so now that they’ll be 9 next summer, it is the perfect time for a 55 day paddle to the Arctic!
More videos about our preparations for the big expedition will be coming shortly. Please follow us if you’d like.
We have some cool brand announcements coming as well!
Paddle well everyone,
~Umingmaq