Canoe camp in the Werneke mountains, along the Snake River, Yukon, Canada Some years ago, after a dangerous storm with winds to 50 miles an hour, a teenager and I went out to fetch water on a popular lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Everywhere, wind and rain had wreaked havoc upon the land. Clumps of uprooted vegetation floated aimlessly about, and waist-thick trees were downed and scattered all around. From our vantage point we could see three camps and

by Cliff Jacobson Final portage on the Frost River that leads into Little Saganaga Lake. Correction: not a portage; it's a rock-jumble that mixes seconds of paddling followed by seconds of lining followed by... whatever! Funny, how one’s perspective on things changes with age. Trips that are easy when you’re young become challenging with age. One late September, three friends and I paddled the Frost river (Cross Lake to Round Lake) in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I’ve d

by Cliff Jacobson Cliff: Boundary Waters Canoe Area, 1980. 17' Grumman aluminum canoe. A recent article in an on-line magazine listed seven reasons why now is a better time to be paddling than the 1980’s. I'm not sure. Except for bent-shaft, carbon-fiber paddles and my three carbon-Kevlar solo canoes—which I dearly love—I think that we had it better then, than now. Here are 12 reasons why BWCA: 1979. Cliff in stern of white canoe (18.5 foot Sawyer Charger--early Kevlar whi

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 with Larry Laba, CEO of SOA

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 or drown in a rapid! FEAR #3: Getting lost. Many people canoe the same route every season, claiming it's because the fishing or campsites are great. Truth is, they probably d