Yes, we can, Justin! Thanks to the recording talent of Saige Spinney - a professional voice-over artist - your story, Justin Cody’s Race to Survival , a high adventure tale and a wilderness skills book all in one, is now available in audio form. It’s written for teens, but adults love it too! Just click HERE for Audible and you’ll be set to listen. If you prefer reading instead (or in addition to listening), click the following links for a hard copy or eBook . THE BACKSTOR

Three map companies have long serviced the BWCA - Fisher (www.fishermaps.com), McKenzie ( http://www.bwcamaps.com ) and Voyageur ( www.voyageurmaps.com ). National Geographic is the new kid on the block. NGS maps are beautifully executed - complete, precise and accurate. Here’s how they differ from the competition: The entire Boundary Waters are contained on just two waterproof, folded sheets (both sides of the page are printed). Map #753 covers the western half of th

Bad stuff sometimes happens on canoe trips -- and it's not always on the river! Location: about 20 miles southeast of LaRonge Saskatchewan, enroute to the Cree River. Most mechanics rely on systematical trial and error to solve problems. They figure that if they replace enough parts, they'll eventually find the difficulty. At the other extreme, are a small number of experts who, like my friend, Chic Sheridan, have the uncanny ability to correctly diagnose problem

Doug Green, Colorado River, Grand Canyon Round the bend you see the dancing horsetails of the rapid. As is the stern's prerogative, you command the bow to "brace" so you can stand for a better look. The way ahead looks clear, so you settle to your knees and power towards the slick water vee which defines the route. Suddenly, a huge rock pillow looms out of nowhere; the bow misses his cue, draws too late, and the tottering craft dives into the yawning hole below.

Ganesha stove. 700 ml pot on lower level. Top holds larger pots of any size. Note clean burn- barely any smoke. Every once in a very long while, a new camping product appears which is intelligently designed and honestly useful. The Ganesha wood burning trail stove, which will be released this fall, is one of them. When I unpacked the stove, I was initially confused. It appeared to be two stoves in one. Aha, I thought, a big one for large groups, a little one for solo.

Steel River, Ontario. Wrapped Mad River Explorer Kevlar canoe. Yes! It survived the wrap and was later repaired to functional (not cosmetic) perfection. 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), inattention and not following safety rules. In 35 years of guiding canoe trips on some of the toughest rivers in North America, I’ve never needed more

"Charter boat" pick-up, mouth of North Knife River, Manitoba Most Canadian Indians and Inuits who live in northern communities have never owned a canoe, let alone paddled one. In summer, they dash about in power boats and mini-four wheelers; in winter they drive Skidoos. Sounds like an extravagant way to get around until you realize that the remote settlements in which they live often have just a few miles of gravel roads and are accessible only by boat, airplane or snow cat

Dragging! This was a daily occurrence. These boats are TOUGH! When Alv Elvestad, owner of Pakboats ( www.pakboats.com ) invited me to join him and three friends on a canoe trip in his native land, Norway, I was thrilled. After all, I’d done the Canadian shtick for decades; it was time for something new. Alv proposed a trip of around 100 miles on three connecting (with portages) Rivers—the Poroeno, Lataseno and Kautokeino—in the far north region of Scandinavia where Norway, F

Kopka River, Ontario. One of the prettiest rivers in the tree line. SCENARIO You and three friends are planning to canoe the Kopka River in northern Ontario. This breathtakingly beautiful route consists largely of small and medium sized lakes and gentle current, but it also includes a number of short, challenging rapids. Five major falls which you must portage around, round out the trip. The portages aren’t marked and their locations aren’t always obvious. Two portages a

North Knife River, Manitoba. A narrow slot on river left (right of the canoe) allows safe passage. *SCENARIO Grand Rapids on the Mattagami River (northern Ontario) is more than a mile long and one-fourth as wide. When the water is high, the rapid is quite lively and produces a hollow drone which can be heard for miles. Nonetheless, the rapid is relatively easy if you choose the correct side of the river and stay alert. The rapid is indicated as a long series of hash marks

FAQ QUESTION Some friends and I are planning to canoe a remote river in northern Canada. We’ve paddled a lot of local rivers here in Michigan, and we’ve been to the Boundary Waters several times. We haven’t had any formal canoe training, but we read a lot and paddle a lot. And we’re not hot dogs! We respect the river and don’t take chances. I think we’re ready to make our first big trip. Nonetheless, I have a deep fear that we’ll screw up and paddle over a fa

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

Alumacraft 17', "wrapped." Hells Gate, Kettle River, MN. This canoe is being salvaged so it won't pose a danger (obstacle!) to paddlers. Round the bend you see the dancing horsetails of the rapid. As is the stern's prerogative, you command the bow to "brace" so you can stand for a better look. The way ahead looks clear, so you settle to your knees and power towards the slick water vee which defines the route. Suddenly, a huge rock pillow looms out of nowhere; th

Kopka River, Ontario. I was once asked what prompted me to start writing about canoeing and camping. “Myths,” I replied. I was incensed at the many stupid things that were parroted, edition after edition, in the canoeing literature. Here are some examples, many of which still survive today in modern books. SEA ANCHOR Going with the flow in yard-high waves keeps your attention. Allow the canoe to get off track—even momentarily—and it may spin sideways and swamp

Drying off after a heavy rain. Heat from the fire reflects into the twin tarps and dries wet clothes. Smoke exits through the slit between the tarps so you can sit back, and be warm and dry even during rain. See my video, The Forgotten Skills and/or my book, Camping's Top Secrets . Some years ago, at Canocopia in Madison, Wisconsin, I chatted with a young man who had recently completed a canoe trip in northern Canada. We shared our experiences and dreams for the future.

The Castle: White Otter Lake, Ontario My friend, Chic Sheridan and I discovered "White Otter Castle" by accident in 1984 while canoeing the Turtle River, near Ignace, Ontario. We'd been pinned for hours in a rocky cove of White Otter Lake by a fierce east wind which kicked up man sized rollers. We knew our tiny solo canoes were no match for the pounding sea, so we agreed to strike out after dark when the wind was down. So just after midnight, we paddled out into knee high

The Seal River is located northeast of Tadoule Lake, in a remote corner of northern Manitoba. It is one of the most beautiful canoeing rivers in Canada, and one of the more challenging. The Seal runs fast from start to finish. The closer it gets to Hudson Bay, the faster it drops. If the water is low, the final miles to the Bay are an exciting, rock-dodging run. If the water is high, it’s a heart-pounding experience, even in a splash-covered canoe! The rapids

The following life-threatening experience took place on the Turtle River in northern Ontario.* The Turtle is not a particularly difficult canoe route. The rapids are short and well-defined, and the portages are generally good. The major obstacle is a number of large sprawling lakes which you must navigate and which demand attention if the wind is up. Experienced Boundary Waters and Quetico Park canoeists--who have good judgment and basic whitewater skills--would find them

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 were terrible, the rapids were long and difficult and the scenery was unimpressive. One of our canoes that was not hauled well up on shore at the start

Have you priced new canoes lately? Top-end composite models begin around $2,500 and, depending on lay-up and trim, top out at over $4,000! The good news is that GOOD canoes appreciate over time; bad ones do the opposite! Canoes depreciate about ten percent when they leave the store, another ten percent when they get their first scratch. The downward spiral continues as dings pile up. Age means nothing. Condition is everything ! Ultralight We-no-nah canoe on a portage in