The ribbon of silvered river in this image flows through Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Eventually, if you’re brave enough to bear the bugs and you remember to make a left at Lake Winnipeg, you’ll end up in Hudson’s Bay.

Not so for my brother Jan and I. We’ll be hanging a right near Lake Winnipeg, headed south for Portage la Prairie. When he got wind of my plans to paddle across Canada, he signed on for the stretch down the Saskatchewan. If you ask him, he’ll say his here for comedic relief and to make sure I eat something other than oatmeal. I say he’s here because he loves the lakes, rivers, and land like no one else I know.

I didn’t coin the phrase, but it fits perfectly. We are, for the next precious few weeks at least, Courier de Bro.