I had a really nice reply, then the forum stopped working, so I will do a brief one now: go ahead a gamble, but my experience with CIC and this forum was why I wrote what I wrote.
I will first say that the term permanent resident inherently means you LIVE in Canada PERMANENTLY.
You can check these links:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/about-pr.asp
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445ETOC.asp#appendixA
I will point out a few things from the first link:
A person in Canada temporarily, like a student or foreign worker, is not a permanent resident. - It can be argued that if you just land and then leave soon after you were in Canada only temporarily.
When you are a permanent resident, you can live outside of Canada, but must live in Canada for at least two years in a five-year period. If you live outside of Canada for longer, you may lose your permanent resident status. - It seems like you can just leave and stay out of Canada as long as you want, if you can gather those 2 years. BUT, when I was landing the officer actually suggested that I travel with my husband, because in that case that time counts in PR requirement. Usual vacation for Canadians is 2-4 weeks, and most people will not recommend you to stay outside of Canada for more than that, at least in the beginning.
Losing your permanent resident status does not happen automatically. You cannot lose your permanent resident status simply by living outside of Canada long enough that you don't meet the residency requirement. Unless you have gone through an official process, you have not lost or given up your permanent resident status, even though you may not be eligible to return to Canada as a permanent resident.
You may lose your permanent resident status if:
An adjudicator determines that you are no longer a permanent resident following an inquiry
A visa officer determines you do not meet the required residency when you apply for a permanent resident travel document or temporary resident travel document. - This shows that they can actually refuse you to enter Canada as a resident and then you will have to legally prove that you still meet the permanent resident requirements.
I am aware that none of these directly prove my point, but if you read between the lines and search through the forum you will see that I am right to be cautious. I neither win or lose anything by telling you not to do what you have planned, I am just sharing my experience and/or knowledge. You should be aware that CIC will never give clear directions when it comes to things like this, because then people would know what to avoid, and they want to be able to "catch" people that are bending the rules. Just the point that another forum member told you not to do what you have planned at the same time I did should make you think. Some people from USA did exactly what you want, but that doesn't mean it is safe to do it.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!