Isle Royale Forums

Its that time of year for paddlers and hikers, Canoecopia in Madison, WI.
It takes place on March 11-13 th.
Isle Royale will have a booth again this year, we will be in the hallway. Stop by and say hi!!
Greg Blust from the NPS and I will be doing a presentation on IR Saturday at 10:30 in the Algonquin room and on Sunday at 2:30 in the Superior room.

Captain Don will have a booth also with info about the Voyaguer's and the yet unamed new boat schedule in the main hall. Stop by and say hi to Captain Don.

http://www.canoecopia.com/canoecopia/page.asp?pgid=1001

John,

We're planning on being there this year and won't be working the P/H booth, so we'll have time to play around. Maybe we can finally hook up this year! We are staying at the Hyatt downtown.

See you then...

Looks interesting. I'm only 3 hours away. I think I will plan on making the trip.

~Ed

Planning to drive 1000 miles to be there .
Well, it coincides with a trip to see family anyway .
Will plan to catch the Sun. 2:30 I.R. talk assuming I get up there in time.
John I.

Don't forget to hit the party Sat night at the High Noon Saloon. Always a good time to hang with everyone there.

I plan on being there Friday night and Saturday. There are so many presentations that look interesting. Does anyone have any recommendations of one or two sessions that should not be missed (other than John's IR session of course ) ?

Guess it would depend on your interests, especially if you paddle. Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme put on incredible sea kayak presentations.

David Wells eco tour of Lake Superior seems like it would be well worth it. I've been to Davids place (Naturally Superior Adventures) a couple times while paddling Pukaskwa and Lake Superior Provincial Park. He runs a very cool lodge and paddling school.

Damon...

I guess I am best described as a former paddler. I look for and enjoy presentations that offer excellence and passion regardless the subject. Sometimes it's excellent material other times a very passionate presenter. . . hopefully both.

Good to see you at Canoecopia, John. My wife and I enjoyed your presentation on Saturday and we really appreciated the suggestions for our trip to IR this summer when we talked at the booth. Let the planning begin!

Jackfish,
It was great to see you again and to meet Mrs. Jackfish.
Sometime we will sit and enjoy a beer!
Hope the trip this summer goes well!!

John

Canoecopia was great. We spoke to lots of folks about IR, heard some good questions/stories.
The Presentations went well. Saturday's presentation had about 400 attendees and Sunday's presentation had about 270 attendees. Thanks to Damon for your help on Saturday and Ingo on Sunday.
The booth was bigger this year, 2x the size of last years booth. The NPS had a new backdrop which was nice.
It was nice to meet Midwest Ed, enjoyed talking to you!

Jim Dufresne was at Capt. Don's booth with his new 4th edition of his IR Guidebook. He will be doing presentations in MI and said he would either post here or let me know when and where.

John

John,

It was finally nice to meet you after all the years of trying to hook up there.

It was amazing how many people flooded into the room on Sat. After you introduced us, we had quite a few people coming up to us with questions about paddling IR. Already can't wait to go this summer.

Hope to talk to you soon!

Glad Canoecopia went well! One day, I'm going to make it down to that to see what all the hub-bub is about. Good job, John!

JohnH and Ranger Greg do a very nice presentation. Not enough time though, probably could have used a couple of hours with all the questions afterwards.

Also got to talk with Jim Dufresne (now have new signed edition of book) and Capt Don a bit. Sounds like buying a new boat is all kinds of fun But it should also be a great ride out to Windigo Otherwise just a great place to check out gear and talk with lots of interesting folk, even if you're not buying (and some good deals if you are).

I thoroughly enjoyed myself, talking to John and Captain Don. I sat right behind Damon but could not get to say hello afterward because the crowd was so heavy.

I'm glad I had to leave on Saturday afternoon before I found myself buying a boat. My interest in canoeing some more has now piqued.

On a side note. I did not see a single boat on display that had a keel. I can understand this for sporty and maneuverable kayaks but my memory of canoeing in strong cross winds with and without a keel is that it made a very big difference.

~Ed