Outdoor Writer & Consultant – Wilderness Guide – Custom Canoe Expeditions into the far north
Outdoor Writer & Consultant – Wilderness Guide – Custom Canoe Expeditions into the far north
Mouth of the North Knife River, Hudson Bay. Green River, Utah Blending with nature is part of what wilderness camping is all about—and for many, this means dressing the part. The rule—widely encouraged by federal authorities—is to avoid bright colors that take the “wild” out of wilderness. Go instead with gentle green, olive drab and […]
Green River, Utah Blending with nature is part of what wilderness canoeing is all about—and for many paddlers, this means dressing the part. The rule—widely encouraged by federal authorities—is to avoid bright colors that take the “wild” out of wilderness. Go instead with gentle green, olive drab and autumn brown. This is a grand plan […]
Ask folks what they fear most about canoeing a wild river where help is an airplane ride away and you’ll probably get these answers–in roughly this order: FEAR #1: Bears! They’re afraid they’ll get eaten alive by one! Or, a bear will get their food! FEAR #2: They fear they will paddle over a falls […]
NOT SCOUTING A FAMILIAR RAPID Round the bend you see the dancing horsetails of a familiar rapid. Pangs of conscience tell you to check the pitch from shore before you proceed, but you arrogantly dismiss the warning and plunge confidently ahead. Then you see it—a storm-downed sapling that blocks the way. The canoe spins sideways […]
Bob O’Hara: One of North America’s most experienced Arctic paddlers Since 1969, Bob O’Hara has spent every summer canoeing in the Far North. A partial list of the 24 Arctic rivers he has canoed includes the Thelon, Coppermine, Back, Dubawnt, Kazan, Elk, Quoich, Ellice and Horton. Once, he paddled on the ocean from Wager Bay […]
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 […]
I recently returned from my annual fall solo canoe trip into the Boundary Waters. My experience began at the Tofte ranger station where for the nth time, I was asked to watch the seven minute ethics video that is required of all visitors. I politely told the ranger that I had seen the video at […]
Above: San Juan River, Utah: Cliff Jacobson, Bell Yellowstone solo canoe Tumplines are magical, more so when going uphill as they hold the weight of the load tight against your back! Thousands of Voyageurs and Himalayan porters can’t be wrong! A not-so-funny thing happened this year. I turned 77. That’s seventy-seven! Which is really old! […]
Mention guns and canoe trips in the same breath and some folks are apt to go ballistic. Still, if you’re traveling among dangerous bears it may be wise to go armed. This edited account from my North Knife River (Manitoba) log, relays the terror I felt when a polar bear chased my canoe across the […]
My first job after college was as a forester for the Bureau of Land Management in Coos Bay, Oregon. One rainy January morning I was re-marking the cutting line that defined the area of a timber sale. It was Thursday and I had Friday off and big plans for the weekend, so I hurried to […]