My name is Dave and I'm a wilderness canoeist. I love to camp and canoe in the remote parts of Ontario taking only enough things along with me to make my trip enjoyable.

Wilderness canoeing is not so much a sport as it is a lifestyle. It allows you to visit some of the most geographically rugged and beautiful places nature has to offer. But there is a price.

When you consider you have to pack, paddle and carry your own gear, you soon learn the difference between what you need to take with you as opposed to what you want to take. I mean really, you can only fit so much stuff in your pack or canoe right?

No TV's, MP3 players and no radios. A simple one burner stove so you can cook and eat well, a small tent and sleep pad so you can sleep comfotably and a trusty canoe to get you from camp site to camp site is all one needs. Sure, I bring a camera. If I didn't, you'd never see what a beautiful place the wilderness is.

Have a look around my site. If you've never paddled a canoe in the wilderness before you might find some things of interest.

If you'd like to learn more about wilderness canoeing, you can visit my Wildeness Canoeing and Camping Forum to read and learn more about wilderness canoeing from the perspective of other wilderness canoe trippers.

I chose the WaterWalker name for my web site because of Bill Mason. His love for the outdoors, his paintings and his many films resonated with me. So I thought that by using the name as a canoeing relate web site it would in some small way honour the man I admired.

Bill Mason, an icon in the canoeing community, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1929, and displayed exceptional artistic talent by age of two.

He graduated from the University of Manitoba School of Art in 1951 and went on to a creative career, as a commercial artist, animator, filmmaker, author and painter.

Bill's idea of success was to be able to communicate through his films, books and paintings the intense feelings he had for his surroundings, and to somehow imbue others into sharing and adopting these thoughts and concerns. He did this so successfully and touched so many people because he was passionate in his beliefs and spoke from his heart. This coupled with his unwavering pursuit of excellence and the attention he gave to every detail allowed him to inadvertently become a well known public figure. But although he was "famous" he was always happiest away from the crowds, off somewhere roaming the wilderness in his canoe.