ACCIDENTS!
Broken trailer tongue–near LaRonge, Saskatchewan. Destroyed my wood-trimmed Old Town Tripper canoe. My dad was a quality control engineer. A sign in his office read, “Accidents don’t just happen; they are caused!” The villains are speed (doing a task too fast), impatience and not following safety rules. In 35 years of guiding canoe trips on […]
CANOES AND WILLIWAWS!
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 […]
WHAT TO FEAR ON A WILDERNESS CANOE TRIP
Muskox: Hood River, Nunavut, Canada. Yes, these guys can be dangerous! In 1974, I made my first big river trip in Canada. Five friends and I canoed 200 miles down a network of connecting Ontario rivers—Groundhog, Mattagami, Moose—to James Bay. It rained every day for 10 days; the river was flooded—very flooded (!); the bugs […]
A CHIPEWYAN THANK YOU
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 […]
DIVERSITY CAN SAVE THE DAY!
FreeStyle canoeing is like ballet on the water. Wood-canvas canoe by Tom Mackenzie. Some years ago, I had the privilege of taking a FreeStyle canoeing class from Karen Knight and the late Tom Mackenzie–two of the world’s top instructors. There were about 50 in attendance, mostly young women in small solo canoes. Many were new […]
BRIGHT COLORS SAVE LIVES!
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 […]
COLOR CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE!
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 […]
BIRTH OF A LEGEND: The Story of the Old Town Tripper Canoe!
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 […]
TURBO SKY HORSE
DeHaviland Twin Otter on floats With a payload of 3,000 pounds, full instrumentation and extended range capability, the deHaviland Twin Otter rightly earns the title, “workhorse of the north.” This mid-fifties freight hauler can carry up to 21 passengers–or half that number and all their gear–to the most remote regions of the world without need […]
NINE ADVENTUROUS–BUT NOT DEATH-DEFYING CANOE TRIPS!
Rio Grande River, Texas/Mexico border. Scenes like this are commonplace along the RioG. That’s my canoe in the foreground. When someone asks me to share my favorite places to canoe, I usually hesitate. After all, one person’s treasure is another’s trash. I like my rivers brimming with wildlife and rapids. And the more remote, the […]