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3600 Kilometres; 200 Voyageurs; 63 Days - An Adventure 200 Years in the MakingAt 11:00 a.m. on Saturday May 10, the 2008 David Thompson Brigade will launch sixteen 25’ North Canoes from Rocky Mountain House and, along with ground support crews, travel 63 daysand 3600 km to Fort William (Thunder Bay), arriving on July 12 at the historic site on the northwest shore of Lake Superior.The Brigade is honoured to have guest paddler Preston Manning joining us for the first day of the journey, from Rocky Mountain House to the confluence of the Baptiste River.Over the next 63 days 200 paddlers, dressed in the spirit of the voyageurs, will bring to life the characters who lived and died on the rivers. Teams originating from Edmonton, Calgary, FortMcMurray, Fort Saskatchewan, Rocky Mountain House, Victoria, Vernon, Amisk Lake and Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, to name few, will make the journey through four provinces toreach Fort William on July 12, just in time for the annual Rendezvous that celebrates the spirit of the Canadian fur trade!Participants from the 1967 Centennial Canoe Race and paddlers from all walks of life, including history enthusiasts, cartographers and surveyors and will be coming from the four corners of theworld to be a part of this historic commemoration. Paddlers from the USA, England, New Zealand and Australia are coming to honour David Thompson, and follow in his footsteps.Retracing Thompson's pathways from his many journeys to Fort William, ten-person crews will paddle through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Western Ontario and visit communities along the way, where events are being planned to celebrate the brigade and David Thompson, the greatest land geographer of his time.As the biggest event of the 2008 David Thompson Bicentennial celebrations, the brigade hopes to re-kindle interest in our rich history, and the importance of the rivers that link Canadians allacross the country.Through the magic of GPS tracking, you can follow the brigade's daily progress from the web site: www.2008thompsonbrigade.com ------My big brother, Steve Flawith, is a member of one of the teams. It's very exciting!!

That's so cool!! I'm guessin' they'll have to portage sometimes? Jes like a great adventure!

Michel gauthier, Steve Flawith and Chris Kissinger

Hey! Thanks for posting that!! I just got some pictures in and was going to post them.Here's what the weather looked like in Alberta the day before the launch (9May)!!!(My bro is the fellow at the back)And they're off (10May)! Gettin in and out of the boat must be cold... brrrrr.This is SO cool!!!

Neat!! I hope all y'all can post pics as they go, this is a great way to share history and tradition.

Hi Hummingbird,I used to kayak almost every day, very nice!Yeah - I know, not the same as canooing, but close, isn't it?Having moved away from the kayak-area so-to-speak, the kayaking is one thing I miss.One day I say a flying kayak there, and - obviously I couldn't believe my eyes!!! It was flying low over the water in a very high speed!Turned out it was the prototype to the 'Flyak - the flying kayak'!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQRtgEIs ... elatedHere a single man out-runs a 4-person kayak! - until next timefrodops: thanks for the nice alvish!!!

Funny looking boat, Frodo!For those who are interested in more about the Douglas Thomspon Brigade and their epic once-in-a-lifetime journey... there is a blog on this, with pictures and links to print and video news storieshttp://www.donmcmurtry.blogspot.com:80/

Just a little update - there's a new article on my brother....http://impowerage.com:80/2009/09/in-the ... -thompson/