text: This past weekend I received a newsletter stating that the MEC Burlington's Paddlefest is going to be held at Kelso Conservation Area on June 24. I have never been to one of these events, filled with workshops and seminars out on the water. They showcase all forms of water activities, canoeing, Kayaking, and paddleboarding just to name a few. As well they're showing some films and land focused seminars (orienteering etc.). They are also offering a "Gear Swap", where one can rent a table to unload some of your extra gear. That's where I come in. Seeing as Kelso is a 3 min drive from my house I will be loading up the car and hopefully putting some new life into the gear that I don't use anymore. Here is the site with details, There is also Paddlefests related to all the MEC's across Canada. If you come to Kelso on the 24th stop by and say "Hi".
  With canoeing season here, please be safe and do not try to canoe down any moving water without prior experience and/or instruction. A damaged canoe look so bloody unhappy, and is such a waste of a beautiful thing!
  We are going to touch base again on commercially available wood camp stoves. Last time we took a look at the Emberlit, and this week we are going to look at a stove made by Littlbug Enterprises; The Littlbug Junior. Made in the Bemidji, MN, and invented and designed by Kent Hering. Kent is an avid outdoors-men himself with a great sense of sustainability. The Littlbug is made out of stainless steel, is designed to burn wood as well as be part of a alcohol burner set up. The Littlbug clocks in at around 5 oz as the basic stove. When disassembled it retains a slightly concave form, At first I was perplexed how how to store it in your pack flat with out damage, but it fits around a sleeping pad perfectly making it a very compact stove. The basic stove consists of 4 parts. Two halves of the outer wind shield and two parts of the inner "grate/stand". There are no moving parts, and no latches or snaps. It comes together in about 20 seconds to a very stable surface.