SAFE AND SOUND.
Aaron and Alex Savatti relax after reaching the Huntsville town dock on June 5, after their canoe trip through Algonquin Provincial Park. Although the trip was cut short, with the video documentation they now have, the pair hope their chances for a proposed television show are better than ever.
Photo by Brent Cooper
ALGONQUIN - Even with your best intentions, things don’t always go according to plan.
Just ask Alexander and Aaron Savatti, who left for a 25-day journey through Algonquin Provincial Park, which is roughly the size of Jamaica, on May 15. The trip was planned as an adventure for the brothers and to shoot some footage for a proposed television show on the experience.
However, what was to be a three-and-a-half week backcountry outing turned into an adventure of another kind for the brothers.
“About a week into the first trip we were at Rain Lake, a day before we were going to head up the Nipissing River,” said 19-year-old Alexander. “I woke up in a very deep fever, vomiting... it wasn’t pretty.”
The brothers decided to halt the trip and seek medical assistance for Alexander. They took 10 days away from the expedition for him to get better. But unfortunately at that point, according to Alexander, they could no longer do the 25-day trip they wanted because of time constraints.
Although they had to modify their route so they could make it back to Huntsville for June 5, 22-year-old Aaron said the trip was well worth the effort.
“We actually consider it two trips,” he explained. “They were different areas of the park and different circumstances. We had a great time on both trips. On the second part we were able to get cell service so we were able to update everyone on Facebook and Twitter. It was really unfortunate we couldn’t finish the first part of our trip like we wanted to, but with life you have to play the cards you are dealt.”
The original plan for the Savattis was just to take a canoe trip through the park, but that eventually morphed into a much bigger adventure.
The two were filming throughout the journey to generate pilot footage for a show they plan to pitch to television networks called Backcountry Brothers. They see it as a travel show which will document the pair as they go across Canada visiting small towns and highlighting the nation’s backcountry.
The trip was sponsored by Algonquin Outfitters and Johnson Outdoors, who were able to provide television contacts that the brothers hope will help further their broadcasting goals.
“We didn’t think about (the television show) when we first booked the trip,” said Aaron. “The idea sort of manifested itself through talking with the people we were in touch with.”
Aaron says the show would also feature useful tips for people planning their own camping trips.
As guides for Camp Northland B’Nai Brith in Haliburton, the brothers have spent countless summer nights sleeping in a tent. In their position as camp guides, the brothers lead groups of young people on trips into the wilderness.
Now that the Algonquin trip is done, the brothers are concentrating on getting back to their guiding duties at the camp and planning for that next step in developing their proposed television show.
“This trip was the first time we had something concrete on camera that we could show to people,” said Alexander. “We shot a lot of good stuff and showed our character. I think if we could find someone to compile it all in a short video, it will end up very nicely.”