Blog on a Log
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Win Free Gear at our New Location Opening!
Who doesn't like a little free gear now and then!? Our 2nd Winnipeg location opens Saturday, and to celebrate we're giving away four huge prize packages valued between $150 and $350! You can enter at our grand opening, where we'll be drawing for the prizes at 4:00pm.
Want to increase your chances? With prizes like these, who could blame you! Lucky for you, we're letting you collect up to three extra entries per prize on our Facebook page! It's easy - just 'like' Wilderness Supply on facebook, then share, like and comment on each prize photo for a total of three entries.
This has been going on all last week on our Facebook site. In response to how much you guys like free gear (a lot, obviously) I'm giving you a chance for even more goodies! If we reach 650 facebook fans before the weekend, we'll draw for these awesome Patagonia t-shirts too!
So get sharing! Click on the photos below to be taken to our Facebook page and earn three entries. Then join us Saturday, April 14 at 42 Speers Road, Winnipeg to enter one last time and watch the prize drawings at 4:00. You must be present at the prize drawings to claim your prize!
SmartWool prize basket - $150 value
5 assorted pairs of socks
1 kleen kanteen water bottle
6 cliff shot energy gel packets
Let's Hear it For the Boys - $170 value
Deuter Pace 30 Pack
Salomon T-shirt
Black Diamond Equipment Ltd Cap
Girl's Best Friend - $275 value
Mountain Hardwear Barisian Jacket
Mountain Hardwear Wicked Lite T-shirt
Deuter Escape pack
Thule Crossover 38 Liter Rolling Carry-On - $345 value
Monday, April 9, 2012
Socializing Speers
Renovations are wrapping up at our new second Winnipeg location at 42 Speers Road! Last week we held a small party for store staff and friends to celebrate. Stop by this Saturday, April 14th from 10-5 for your own chance to win great prizes, get great gear on sale and check out the fancy new digs!
Come check it out for yourself at our grand opening, Saturday April 14th!
Photos by Caroline Jane Wintoniw
Monday, April 2, 2012
Wild Adventurer of the Month - "First Trip Foibles"
Every month, Wilderness Supply features one of our customers who's had a wild adventure, and passes on some free gear to help them through their next undertaking. Whether on the road, trail, or water, the most difficult experiences always make the best stories...and the most enjoyable vicarious living! April's story "First Trip Foibles" comes to us from Kelvin from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
I had finally decided to join some friends on one of their frequent long weekend canoe trips. It was May long, and they were heading to Elton Lake, up in Nopoming Provincial Park. This required two portages of our gear to get to the desired camping spot. Some in our group were able to head out during the day on the Friday, where I was in the group that had to work and left Winnipeg about 7pm. We arrived at the parking lot in the park around 830pm and began to unload our gear...in snow. There was about 2 inches on the ground before we even had a paddle in the water, and it was still coming down. What an adventure we were embarking on!
We had 4 canoes with 8 people in this group. That became 3 canoes with 6 people after one pair decided this wasn't an adventure they were willing to take on. So, on we went. There was still light when we started paddling, and made it to our first portage with relative ease. The second lake we entered (I believe it was Elton Lake) was almost under moonlight alone. With the lead canoe having a flashing red LED light on it's rear, we followed in convoy. My canoe was the last in the convoy, and I swear we followed the exact same path in the water as the 2 canoes before us. But we managed to find 3 separate locations with shallow rocks that got us caught up, once to the point where we had to have the others come back and assist us in getting free. We came to the conclusion that our canoe was equipped with a 'rock magnet'.
I'll now remind you of the weather we had when we started this adventure. Snow. Well, it hadn't stopped yet. Our hands were frozen, gloves solidly in the position of gripping the paddle. Icicles were forming on eyelids. One paddler had begun to stop shivering. It was time to stop and continue our trek in the morning. Since I was the only non-experienced canoe tripper, I had a large 6 man tent (the only tent I own). It came in handy that night as we split our efforts into half of us setting up the tent and the others making a fire. We all slept in this tent like sardines to take advantage of body heat that night. We woke in the morning to a light amount of not yet melted snow on the ground. It was quite beautiful, actually.
In the safety and comfort of daylight, we continued our trip and found the early departed group with ease. We shared our experience with them, and all agreed that it was something that we will never forget. I'm happy to have pushed through the adventure in the weather we encountered, as every trip I have taken since then has seemed easy in comparison.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Wild Adventure of the Month - "Mexican Mishap"
Every month, Wilderness Supply features one of our customers who's had a wild adventure, and passes on some free gear to help them through their next undertaking. Whether on the road, trail, or water, the most difficult experiences always make the best stories...and the most enjoyable vicarious living!
March is all about St Patty, and the luck of the Irish. We asked for your stories about when luck saw you through a particularly sticky outdoor situation. Our favourite entry came from Penny of Manitoba, whose first adventure into Mexican mountain biking was nearly her last!
It went down like this...literally.
My husband Paul and I have been outdoorsy people for many years and Paul thought it would be fun to race mountain bikes so (if you can't beat him join him) I entered into my first race and never looked back. As we began this new sport together it became clear that it will be something that will keep us on the trails for a lifetime.
2012 was to be our 25th wedding anniversary. I began my search in the early months of 2011 to find the perfect guided mountain bike trip in the hot sun to celebrate. After many internet searches and a lot of hum-hawing about what trip would best suit us I decided on Mexico. We had never taken a Mexico trip and those all inclusive resorts just don't look appealing to Paul and me.
The trip was decided and I booked an 8 day all inclusive mountain bike guided trip in Mexico. I was quite excited but also nervous about what was to be expected on this journey of ours. We had a very good start to our trip and had engaged in some great bonding with 8 other cyclist from around the world. The weather was spectacular and the scenery of jungle and ocean was incredible--though I never thought that riding a bike through the jungles of Mexico we would have encountered some similarities to Manitoba (wood ticks and noseeums!).
On the 6th day the plan was to mountain bike to a 17th century Mexican Hacienda and cycle into silver mine caves. As it got late into the afternoon the group decided to head back to town. As we headed up the mountain bike trail we had come up a pretty steep elevation, and there were rock faces to the right of me and jungle to the left. I was unaware that behind that jungle to the left was a 30ft ravine.
Can I let you in on a secret? I'm not the best at staying clipped in my pedals and am known to have had a few spills into some pretty prickly Manitoba escarpment. As I unclipped my pedals from my bike to walk over some rocks that day I noticed my feet break through the underlying trail and I began to free fall down...down...down. I was in panic mode and managed a few choice words as my body smashed against large rocks and jungle growth. It had to be Luck for sure, sitting down at the bottom of this ravine with only a few scratches and one badly bruised rib. All 9 people and two guides said "You are so lucky to be alive!".
No doubt about it - January 1st 2012 has to have been the luckiest day of my life!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Wild Adventure of the Month - "Paddling Together"
Every month, Wilderness Supply features one of our customers who's had a wild adventure, and passes on some free gear to help them through their next undertaking. Whether on the road, trail, or water, the most difficult experiences always make the best stories...and the most enjoyable vicarious living!
February is the month of love, and so this installment tells us how paddling--just like a relationship--is all about working together, tackling challenges, and maintaining a healthy sense of humour about your own mistakes. "Paddling Together" comes to us from Bryan from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
My wife and I both had some experience in canoes and like most novices, we thought we knew what we were doing. With her in the bow and me in the stern, we hopped into our rented canoe, loaded with gear for the weekend, and set off paddling up the meandering Kingsmere River in Prince Albert National Park.
This slow meandering stream proved to be the first challenge of our paddling life together. With me in the stern not knowing how to do a decent J-stroke, stern pry or a draw, and my wife in the bow thinking she knew it all, we bounced from one bank to the other through the gentle curves of the small river. A kilometer of paddling, plus one portage, and a whole lot of frustration later, we were out onto the open expanse of Kingsmere Lake.
The lake proved much more forgiving of our zig-zagging path. The rest of the trip, and our paddling skills, went uphill from there. Over the years we have taken a variety of lessons and have continued to develop both our skills and our relationship. Things went well enough that trip that despite that first couple of hours, we returned to the canoe shop after the weekend and purchased a canoe of our own, a canoe that still holds a special place in our hearts, despite the others over the years that have been added to the fleet.