BOBBY
Point Lake, Nunavut, Canada. Start of our trip down the Hood River Muskox! Cliff Jacobson and Sue Harings. Hood River I first heard about Bobby in 1983, while canoeing the Hood River in the (then) Northwest Territories of Canada. In those days, there was a lot of exploratory mining north of 60 (the sixtieth parallel). […]
TEN TOP CAMPING ITEMS!
Newcomers to camping are often put off by the all the things they “think they need” to have a good time. Frankly, you can get by with very little, if you are a skilled camper. Witness the tales of mountain men like Jim Bridger and Kit Carson who traveled desolate country for weeks at a […]
A MIRROR INTO THE PAST
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, gateway […]
WESTERN WATER
Eastern and midwestern waterways are generally clear and inviting. Not so in the far west. Desert rivers like the Colorado, Green and Missouri are brown-colored and too silty to drink. Visibility is measured in centimeters. The water, which looks like chocolate malt, has a murky, raspy taste. You won’t want to drink it even if […]
FEAR AND CONFIDENCE
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 […]
Montana Madness
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 exception, […]
LESSONS FROM CANOEING THE ARCTIC
INUKSHUK Wilberforce Falls, Hood River, Nunavut, Canada My first Arctic canoe trip was on the Hood River, Nunavut (formerly, Northwest Territories), Canada, in 1982. We ended at Bathurst Inlet two days early, so to kill time, we hiked to a traditional Inuit campsite about three miles away. It was a beautiful spot, nestled in hills […]
New Book: Justin Cody’s Race to Survival!
Wilderness users are an aging group. The U.S. Forest Service recently reported that the average age of those who go to the Boundary Waters is now around 50. Gray hair has replaced the darkened threads of youth. How can we attract young people to the wild outdoors? I decided to write a teen book that […]
A properly equipped family canoe. EVERYONE is wearing a life jacket!
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 […]
TWENTY TIPS FOR CANOEING THE BOUNDARY WATERS
Much as I love canoeing wild, fast rivers, I can’t escape the lure of the Boundary Waters. And every year, since 1971 (when I moved from Indiana to Minnesota) I’ve made at least two annual trips there. I’ve observed that two types of people generally paddle the BWCA: (1) Inquisitive souls who are always on […]