Outdoor Writer & Consultant – Wilderness Guide – Custom Canoe Expeditions into the far north
Outdoor Writer & Consultant – Wilderness Guide – Custom Canoe Expeditions into the far north
Despite newer designs, the Tripper excels as well in tough rapids. Some canoes are blistering fast but don’t turn worth a hoot. Others dog it on the flats but come alive in the maelstrom of winding rapids. Still others compromise speed and maneuverability for “all around” performance. Few canoes master this middle ground. The legendary […]
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 […]
Nice brook trout! Saturday is “turnaround” day at many fishing lodges in northern Canada. Eager to take advantage of the morning calm, float planes begin to shuttle fishermen and groceries with the rising sun. By nightfall the airways are quiet again and everyone is tucked into a spacious cabin in preparation for a week of […]
North Knife River, Manitoba: the water is very high and shore-line eddies are washed out. It is 45 degrees and raining. A rocky island hides two killer falls that lie below. The right falls can be lined; the left must be portaged. The river runs well into the trees—lining is out. We must portage! We […]
An abbreviated version of this article was originally published in the 2010 Canoe & Kayak Magazine’s Dealer-marketing Guide (long gone). Given the concerns in law enforcement today, I thought a second look might be enlightening. ————————————————————————————————————– Gates of Ladore, Green River, Utah It began at one of Rutabaga’s famed “Canoecopia” events. I stopped to chat […]
Dear Cliff: I hope you will forgive the length of this email, but I must write to tell you what an impact you have made on the life of me and my family this past month. Since I’m a teacher myself and know how fun it is to hear that I’ve made a lasting mark […]
Upper Wedding-Cake Falls Land of the Lost West of Lake Nipigon, in the rocky shield country of Ontario, there flows a spectacular river called the Kopka. Along its length is one of the most magnificent falls within the tree line. Here, at what was once called “Mink Bridge Portage,” the entire contents of the river […]
Boundary Waters Canoe Area, 1972 BWCA 1972 Many years ago, I outfitted and guided three wealthy Chicago men–the least affluent of which earned a quarter million a year–on a five day canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Minnesota. I was asked to provide the finest food, equipment and hospitality–whatever it took to […]
Above: Cliff, age 39 Cliff, age 39 In October,1980 I took my family on a canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Minnesota. Autumn is a wonderful time to be up north: the air is crisp and the people and bugs are gone. It was raining when we arrived in Grand Marais, Minnesota, […]
Above: Larry Rice (L), Cliff Jacobson (R). Northstar Phoenix canoes (IXP layup) Some of the “smaller” waves on the Yellowstone River Each September, friends and I do one last canoe trip before the snow flies. Our requirements for the route are simple, but at this time of year, elusive. We love rapids, so with rare […]