The Meanest Link

The Meanest Link is a canoe route created to honour the memory of Bill Swift Sr., one of the founders of Algonquin Outfitters. Swifty, as he was most often called, had other nicknames, such as Mean Dude, or Meanest, which were a tribute to his gruff exterior persona. How he got those names is another story.

“The Link” was dreamed up by Alex Hurley and Gordon Baker in the summer of 2004. The trip consists of four challenging canoe routes connecting the four Algonquin Outfitters stores serving Algonquin Park: Oxtongue Lake, Huntsville, Brent on Cedar Lake, and Lake Opeongo. Meanest’s love of canoe tripping and numerous feats of endurance on the trail were legendary, so Gord and Alex felt that a canoe route linking Algonquin Park and Algonquin Outfitters would be an appropriate way to honour him. Paddlers must follow a prescribed route between each location and follow a few traditions along the way. Each leg of the trip must be done as a single canoe trip, with the exception of the Huntsville/Brent leg, which due to the difficulty and time required, may be split into two sections. Ambitious paddlers with time on their hands can attempt the “Full Link” and do all four sections on one canoe trip totaling approximately 420km or 261miles .



• 100% combed and ring-spun cotton (Heather colors contain polyester)
• Ash color is 99% combed and ring-spun cotton, 1% polyester
• Heather colors are 52% combed and ring-spun cotton, 48% polyester
• Athletic and Black Heather are 90% combed and ring-spun cotton, 10% polyester
• Heather Prism colors are 99% combed and ring-spun cotton, 1% polyester
• Fabric weight: 4.2 oz (142 g/m2)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Side-seamed

Size guide