Gunter's regular companion is a 17 foot canoe. I grew up canoeing and boating on Lake Huron and my son and daughter are both accomplished paddlers also. Anders, who would fish in a dry lake bed, loves to go out and fish while I paddle. We spend alot of time puttering around Lake Washington here in Seattle. Although our Easy Rider canoe has also tasted salt water up in the San Juan Islands and some of our local rivers also. While Anders is getting close to the challenge of mild white water I have been hesitant. I will be working on righting the canoe and rope work this year with him. My favorite book on canoeing has to be "The Path of the Paddle". All of the stories and illustrations are based in my childhood stomping grounds of Northern Michigan. My favorite trip was while I was in the Boy Scouts. We canoed the Taquaminon river which entailed the traverse of two large falls. It rained most of the trip which took 3 days but we had a great time, and I was hooked on canoeing!

Taquaminon Falls in the WINTER and in the SUMMER

One of the wonderfull aspects of canoe camping verses backpacking is you can bring along many of the extra "luxury" items such as a dutch oven and "real food". Your tent can be larger and your course well defined. The secret to a great canoe/camping trip is to break whenever you feel like it (every 2 hours minimum) and if the weather turns sour you are justified in just sitting it out. With a 1000 lb. payload I can bring along enough food to wait out a most any spring/summer/fall storm. My number one rule for planning a schedule for a canoe trip is, DONT MAKE A SCHEDULE! At least not one that doesnt have at least a day or two to waste.
Here in Washington state and up Canada on our northern border there a alot of lakes that are restricted to boating with no motor. Some are large enough to require more than a couple of days to explore with campgrounds that only see canoes and kyaks. It is also important to let local authorities such as the Forest Rangers know of your plans so they know where you might be if you are very late getting to your take out.

Local spots in Seattle:

The Arboretum, which is on Lake Washington is a maze of backwaters. It is crowded in the summer, but the crowds are entertaining. There is a large number of "new" canoests who rent from the University of Washington dock which is across the channel. The Put-in is on the south side of highway 520. Just look for the signs.

The Bellevue Wildlife Sanctuary(Mercer Slough) is rarely crowded and is a great place to take the kids to see Eagles, Turtles, Ducks, Redwinged Blackbirds, and a large Blue Heron Rookery. I have counted up to 15 nesting pairs here. Just take I-90 west from I-405 to the Bellevue Way exit. As soon as you merge onto Bellvue Way look for a gravel road on the right. Follow to the water and launch. To your left is the waterway, to your right is Lake Washington. You come into the lake in a small bay. I have gotten some perch here, and have heard claims of Bass. If you paddle the shoreline going north you will come to I-90 bridge and a canoe rental/instructional area.

The Cedar River empties into the South end of Lake Washington, you can find a number of put-ins off of Maple Valley Highway.

The Samammish Slough is slow moving and goes from Lake Samammish (in Redmond). It is a nice float all the way into Lake Washington at the North end. Takes approx 8 hours. The little current that is in there moves towards Lake Washington