Spruce Routes Beginnings

Hello all!

Thank you for following along on our adventures. We launched our lifestyle project “Spruce Routes” in mid-February, and thought it was about time we did a proper introduction. As you may know, we absolutely love our dog, Naili Cho and he is a prominent part of Spruce Routes, and our lives. Naili joined us in 2013 and has provided us with constant smiles and laughs ever since.

We met aged 17 at Apprentice training, for Black Feather. From there we worked together on northern rivers, as kayak guides on a cruise ship in Svalbard, Antarctica and the Canadian Arctic for a few different companies. When we weren't guiding, Paul worked as a Sales Rep for paddlesport gear, and Bella as an outdoor education instructor for the Ottawa School Board. From there, we moved to Squamish, BC where we lived for a few years. As you have likely figured out, we recently packed up our lives and moved into a converted Ford E-250 van. We have been travelling around the Rockies and the West Coast, visiting friends and family (thank you for the warm showers!). We have set our sights on an ‘Ontario Summer’ doing some guiding work, and enjoying time with our families.

The concept of ‘Spruce Routes’ was born from a desire to share educational and inspirational content throughout our travels. We hope our posts are educational, and inspire you to get outside! Our plan is to post educational videos, blogs, and images as often as we can, to help the beginner to advanced adventurer ‘get after it’!

We have arrived in Ontario just in time for Black Feather guide warm up, and are looking forward to some big water paddling on the Magnetawan river, cooking delicious camp food and connecting with amazing guides!

Stay tuned for our next post, detailing our van conversion! Thanks for all the van name submissions, but after making it out to the east we have decided to go with "J.P." as the van originated in Quebec.

Thanks for reading,

Bella, Paul and Naili Cho :)