Outdoor Writer & Consultant – Wilderness Guide – Custom Canoe Expeditions into the far north
Outdoor Writer & Consultant – Wilderness Guide – Custom Canoe Expeditions into the far north
My Bell Yellowstone Solo Canoe. It has been EVERYWHERE! When I was much younger, I made an annual trip down the Snake River in Minnesota. The upper Snake–beginning at the now practically defunct town of Woodland–is beautiful and remote. The upper section is characterized by thick woods and intermittent rapids. In the mix there are […]
A properly equipped family canoe. EVERYONE is wearing a life jacket! Hardly a year goes by when there isn’t a drowning on some lake or river, U.S.A. In nearly every case the victims were not wearing life jackets. Boats capsize and people die. Why? Because they don’t know what they don’t know! Those who have […]
Kayaks now outnumber canoes on almost every waterway. Why are they so popular? Some years ago, I guided a group of teens on a canoe trip in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters. As we rounded a point, a yellow kayak darted toward us. The paddler—a young woman in her twenties—flashed a smile, then poured on the coal. […]
Renee and Ken Sebranek on a wild Wisconsin river. Reneee is totally blind! Their heart-warming story is in my book, CANOEING WILD RIVERS, 5th Edition. Question: Should you tie everything into your canoe when you run rapids and big lake waves? Or, should gear be allowed to float free in a capsize? If you’ve ever […]
Yes! The fishing (and everything else!) is AWESOME in Northern Canada. North Knife River, Manitoba You’ve made many successful trips into the Boundary Waters. You’ve never gotten lost – maybe just confused for awhile; you’ve weathered storms, made fire in the rain, never capsized or been threateningly cold. After each trip, you’ve come home […]
Steel River, Ontario When I was a Boy Scout in the 1950s, my greatest thrill was summer camp and the overnight canoe trip. Only boys who had passed their swimming requirement were invited. If you knew how to run waves and steer around rocks you were a hero to your friends. Hitting a rock or […]
Dragging! This was a daily occurrence. These boats are TOUGH! When Alv Elvestad, owner of Pakboats (pakboats.com) invited me to join him and three friends on a canoe trip in his native land, Norway, I was thrilled. After all, I’d done the Canadian shtick for decades; it was time for something new. Alv proposed a […]
Noatak River, Alaska: Seconds before the williwaw. The canoeing literature universally recommends that landed canoes be turned belly up when stored for a few hours or days on land. The idea is that if it rains while the canoe is unattended, the water will simply drain off rather than flood the hull. Wind is also […]
Have you priced new canoes lately? Top-end composite models begin around $2,500 and, depending on lay-up and trim, top out at over $4,000! The good news is that GOOD canoes appreciate over time; bad ones do the opposite! Canoes depreciate about ten percent when they leave the store, another ten percent when they get their […]
Kopka River, Ontario. I was once asked what prompted me to start writing about canoeing and camping. “Myths,” I replied. I was incensed at the many stupid things that were parroted, edition after edition, in the canoeing literature. Here are some examples, many of which still survive today in modern books. SEA ANCHOR Going with […]