July 31- Aug 4.....CC 2008 is a done deal!

After speaking with Gerry about changing our route for this years trip it is now official...Gerry and I are going to Ishpatina Ridge for CC2008!

I plan to do a time line for the trip this afternoon, but until then here are some things I've been working on for the trip....

• I bought a used GPS for the trip off a guy on Craigslist and have loaded it with Garmins topo maps of the area. It also came with Garmins North America maps for driving directions and it works awesome. This combined with the Spot will give me peace of mind on our most adventurous trip to date.
  

• Chris Lawson has has been great! Not only did he answer all my questions, but he even forwarded me the way points from when he did the trip. Thanks dude!

• I found a listing for hotels/motels in New Liskeard and have decided on the "Wheel Inn Motel". This is where we will spend the night after making the 6 hour drive from Newcastle on July 31. Why the motel and not just start the trip? We won't be able to leave Newcastle until early afternoon, so this way we will be able to get the long drive out of the way and have our canoe in the water first thing Friday morning. I still have to call and make reservations.
  

• I have mapped out the trip from Newcastle to the Motel (assuming we are able to stay at The Wheel Inn) and from the Motel too the put in located where Beauty Road crosses the Montreal River. NOTE: On the Google map it lists Beauty road as "Unknown Road" for some reason, but it's the right spot.
  

• I ordered the 3 maps we will need for the trip from World of Maps.1) 041P07 Smoothwater Lake 2) 041P10 Gowganda 3)Temagami Regional Canoe Planning Map. Thanks again to Chris Lawson for pointing me in the right direction.
  

• I ordered Hap Wilsons book Canoeing, Kayaking And Hiking Temagami. Everyone I have spoken too has considered this book to be "the bible" of Temagami trips, so $16.00 is a small price to pay for such a potential wealth of information.

• This is a link to Markus Wendel's account of his trip to the ridge. Very informative and includes, narrative, maps, pictures, routes and site descriptions. An excellent resource.

• I was surprised to discover that unlike Algonquin, you don't need to make reservations for Temagami. It's because it's considered a Wilderness Reserve and not a provincial park. You do still need to pick up permits and you can do so at one of the Outfitters in the area. I still have to call Parks Ontario to find out specifically where.