A Toronto kayaker claimed the blackened husk of a truck found early Tuesday smouldering in the H. Coyne and Sons Ltd. gravel pit near Lobird Road.

Shaun Boughen, 30, parked his 1989 Toyota Forerunner, loaded with more than $25,000-worth of kayaking, camping, cycling and photographic gear, at a friend's Hillcrest home on Monday, at the end of his six-month northern sojourn.

"I walked into the house with nothing but my computer, a journal and the clothes on my back," Boughen said today. He spent hours e-mailing friends all over the world the night his truck was nicked from Roundel Road.

"Now, all I've got left is three kayaks ... I'll be the guy paddling in my jeans," he joked.

When Boughen awoke Tuesday morning, his possessions - including his bike and a summer's-worth of photographs - were gone.

He's mostly concerned about his memories.

"I spent a lot of time nailing these shots," said the man, who sells used transport trucks in Toronto. "That stuff, you can't replace."

RCMP said the Toyota Forerunner was found at around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday burned beyond recognition. The bike was melted. Any aluminium parts melted into hardened silver puddles.

Investigators are not sure if the contents of the truck were stolen or just turned to cinders.

"I wouldn't have even known it was mine," said Boughen, who got a look at the burned shell of his truck yesterday after police identified the vehicle.

Boughen has travelled the world, white water kayaking as far away as Chile, but he's only experienced thefts in the Yukon.

This time, his stuff was not only stolen, it was trashed. The truck, found rolled near Squatter's Row, only offered up a few ashes to investigators. The spokes of a bike. The remains of a cooler, and pots with a black lump of potato inside.

Boughen just returned from a few weeks in the Northwest Territories, and planned to fly home. A friend was going to drive the truck back to Ontario. He won't be pulling out in what's left of the vehicle anytime soon.

And what does Boughen plan to do now?

"Not even blink ... no big deal," said Boughen. He hopes his insurance will cover some of the loss, but doubts the adjusters will believe the treasures he had in the truck.

Despite that, he's in good spirits.

"Hey, I'm always in good spirits. Hey, with the shit that I do, I could die, so, I'm still alive, and I can get most of that stuff back."