Well, Ken admires my solid recognition of Guinness Stout as a meal-in-a-can and has offered to follow me to hell and back for that reason. 
Our trip on Lake Winnipeg was dreamy and very enjoyable, especially after I helped Ken improve his seat. The tour we did around Black Island ended all too soon but the experience has stayed with me as something to relive as often as possible. We're planning another round for this summer, that is, once I learn where I will be working.
After my spill over those rapids a few years ago, I have taken to heart the experiences expressed here at this site and become more focused on what I can do, am willing to do, and what I probably shouldn't do but do anyway.
That said, I do a lot of checking these days to make sure I can keep paddling and building for another day. I have also learned that you can't entirely trust that you have all the information you find and call it definite. When I researched my trip that ended in disaster, I thought I learned all that I could learn about teh North Saskatchewan River. Unfortunately, my info was short-sighted because certain rapids did not show up anywhere within the range of info that I searched. I should have contacted Parks Canada to ask for more info. Hindsight is beautiful, especially if it can be used at a later date. I'm lucky I still get to do that.
Robert N Pruden
In case you do not know what I am talking about, go read my story at the link below:
http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Trips/index.cgi/read/2522
I tried again the next year and succeeded:
http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Trips/index.cgi/read/4128
And ended up doing this afterwards:
http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Trips/index.cgi/read/4101
I headed out again in 2004 but the trip was aborted due to bad weather:
http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Trips/index.cgi/read/6178
Finally, I do plan on heading out again, probably not this year but that depends on how my hunt for a new job goes. If I can land a good job and get enough time between jobs, well then I am thinking of paddling another 1600 kms until I get to Winnipeg, where Ken will lavish me with Guinness and hear my stories about the trip. I will start this leg of my big river trip at Borden, Saskatchewan and can actually paddle to within a half-mile of Ken's house or end at his cabin at the south end of Lake Winnipeg. If I do go, I'm sure Ken will meet me part way. If he doesn't, well...I get all the Guinness to myself. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway - I love Guinness!
Hey, Guinness guys, didja hear that? What about some sponsorship?
Robert N Pruden
