CANOEING QUIZ by Cliff Jacobson Steel River, Ontario When I was a Boy Scout in the 1950s, my greatest thrill was summer camp and the overnight canoe trip. Only boys who had passed their swimming requirement were invited. If you knew how to run waves and steer around rocks you were a hero to your friends. Hitting a rock or log—or worse, a capsize—drew laughter. As in life, good skills were rewarded, bad ones had consequences. Take this test and see how much you know about

Yes! The fishing (and everything else!) is AWESOME in Northern Canada. North Knife River, Manitoba You’ve made many successful trips into the Boundary Waters. You’ve never gotten lost - maybe just confused for awhile; you’ve weathered storms, made fire in the rain, never capsized or been threateningly cold. After each trip, you’ve come home smiling. Now you dream of canoeing a wild river in Canada or Alaska. Does your experience in the Boundary Waters qualify you for a

by Cliff Jacobson Renee and Ken Sebranek on a wild Wisconsin river. Reneee is totally blind! Their heart-warming story is in my book, CANOEING WILD RIVERS, 5th Edition. Question: Should you tie everything into your canoe when you run rapids and big lake waves? Or, should gear be allowed to float free in a capsize? If you've ever capsized in a bad rapid with a load of camping gear aboard, you know the value of tying in packs. Tightly secured packs act like a gi

Kayaks now outnumber canoes on almost every waterway. Why are they so popular? Some years ago, I guided a group of teens on a canoe trip in Minnesota's Boundary Waters. As we rounded a point, a yellow kayak darted toward us. The paddler—a young woman in her twenties—flashed a smile, then poured on the coal. In a flash she was gone. The kids, in their banged up aluminum canoes, were spell-bound. "Why can't we have those?” they pleaded. I just grinned and said, "You'll se

This guest blog, by, Tony Heck, is a great read. It's long, but worth your time. About Tony: Tony is a jack-of-all trades outdoorsman, paddler and master sausage maker. He travels with his little Beagle dog, Tu. Tu has grown quite comfortable sitting atop Tony's specially outfitted Old Town Tripper canoe. Tu never complains. Tony's home-smoked sausage is my go-to lunch meat on canoe trips. It keeps fine for the longest trip and is much tastier than what I've found in s

(With addendum that tells the fate of the two paddlers and the wrapped red kayak) Cr. Chris Baker Photography Some people don’t like to do the same river twice—attitude being “been there, done that, seen it all.” Maybe not. I’ve done many of my favorite rivers several times. And each time they have provided new insight and challenges. My recent (November, 2019) fourth run with friends down the Rio Grande, a very remote, spectacular desert river in Big Bend National Park t

This is from Caitlin Looney, a wilderness therapist in Colorado. Caitlin was guiding a group of teenagers and turned a “lost experience” into a confidence-building, inspirational event. Caitlin did everything exactly right. Follow along on the map as you read her story. Note that her choices reflect an in-depth understanding of backcountry navigation. Cliff ------------------------------------------------------ Hello Cliff: I am a wilderness therapist in the Rockies of Colo

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

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