adventure
magazine
adventure
Pa D D L E Fa C E S
magazine
have cane,
over three months. “Roughly one week into
that trip, paddling down Principe Channel, I
had a bit of a moment. Tim was a little ahead.
will Paddle
It was a beautiful day with a light wind at our
backs. A bunch of ducks flew over, and I could
hear their wing beats. In that moment I felt,
this is what is real. I actually stopped and teared
up a bit. If I hadn’t discovered kayaking, I don’t
dave aharonIan ThouGhT hIS accIdenT mIGhT mean The
know how I would ever have achieved that sort
end oF ouTdoor recreaTIon, uNtIL HE FouND KaYaKING
of moment again.”
Long trips present additional challenges, as
By alex matthews
I learned when Dave and I paddled the north
end of Vancouver Island last summer, rounding
DAVe AHARONIAN and I are paddling orthoses (foot braces), yet his reduced mobil-
Cape Scott and the Brooks Peninsula. Because
into the Broken Group archipelago off of Van- ity left a big hole in his life. He was living in
he can’t feel his backside, minor chaffing from
couver Island’s West Coast. It’s early spring and Toronto at the time. “I’d spent a ton of time
the constant rotation of paddling can quickly
our last chance to camp before summer fees in Pukaskwa National Park on the northeast
develop into nasty sores. In typical fashion,
kick in and the crowds arrive. We’ve only trav- shore of Lake Superior. I took four months
upon discovering a raw hole worn at his tailbone
elled about 10 miles to reach our campsite and hiking in the Rockies, the last two on my
he quipped, “Wow, that must really hurt!”
we’ve covered the distance quickly. But as Dave own. A few times I achieved a certain con-
Dave also has to use catheters, which need
climbs out of his kayak and grabs his cane, I nection with that wilderness experience that
to be sterilized every day and put him at con-
reflect on how very far he’s come to be here. was very profound for me. It was a bit of an
stant risk of urinary tract infections. “Initially
Back on June 1, 1986, Dave was 19 years old, epiphany. Six months after that, I was lying in
I didn’t know if I could boil them in saltwater.
working hard as a tree planter in the northern hospital with a fractured spinal cord. Having
And there wasn’t anybody to ask. Turns out
Ontario bush. After a day off in town, he and that intense experience in the outdoors again
that saltwater works great.” Trip mates quickly
two others were on their way back to camp was a huge motivation. And it was very im-
learn what’s in the pot when Dave says he’s
when the driver lost control and went off the portant that I do it independently. I couldn’t
“boiling spaghetti.”
road. Their crew-cab pickup rolled down a hill
and all three of them were thrown from the
vehicle. None were wearing seatbelts.
I achieved a connection with that wilderness experience
The driver got away with only cuts and
“
that was very profound for me. Six months after that,
bruises. michelle, a young woman riding in
I was lying in hospital with a fractured spinal cord.”
the front seat, died at the scene. Dave, who had
been in the back seat, fractured his spinal cord
Dave is a strong paddler, but when he climbs
in his lower back at the T12 and L1 vertebrae. hike or ride a bike again. I couldn’t carry a
out of his boat, pulls out his cane and limps up
In the initial “decompression” surgery doctors canoe alone. But one day a couple of friends
the beach, he sometimes draws stares. Other
removed bone fragments and inserted a metal found me an old kayak.”
kayakers are curious, but don’t feel comfort-
rod to stabilize Dave’s spinal column. eleven Just 13 months after his accident Dave was
able asking questions. Dave is incredibly good
days later, in a second operation, they fixed two back in Pukaskwa National Park, on his own,
at putting these folks at ease, volunteering in-
more stainless steel rods on either side of his and in a kayak. “I had very limited experience
formation and explaining his medical history.
spine in a procedure called spinal fusion. with kayaking, and I know that I gave my
Only after seeing Dave perform this trick sev-
The accident left him with no feeling in his mum more than a few grey hairs. But she un-
eral times did I begin to appreciate the pro-
feet, the backs of his legs, or his backside, and derstood how important it was to me that I be
found grace that he was exhibiting.
no use of the muscles below his knees. He was able to do that trip.”
His view is pragmatic: “If I can inspire any-
in hospital for six months and spent another Over the years Dave developed his pad-
one else to enjoy the outdoors, even if they
six months in outpatient rehab relearning how dling skills and expanded the scope of his
have to deal with some challenges, then that
to walk. trips. He moved to Victoria, B.C., and started
makes me really happy. The more they under-
“When I first stood up at the parallel bars doing multi-day solo trips on the ocean. Us-
stand, the better.”
during rehab, not feeling any weight on the ing his cane for balance, he can solo carry his
Back on the beach, we each grab an end of a
bottom of my feet—not feeling my feet at all— 60-pound Valley Nordkapp and load it on the
kayak, ready to haul it up beyond the high tide
was just plain weird,” Dave recalls. “my occupa- roof of his car alone, so he has the freedom to
line. I wince at the shock of the cold water on
tional therapist kept trying to persuade me to head out whenever he wants to. Dave is a pro-
my feet. “It’s freezing,” I stammer. Dave gives
buy a wheelchair. She was just doing her job. fessional photographer with a passion for wild
me a cheesy grin. “Really?” he says. He’s in no
But eventually I lost it and yelled, ‘Stop talking landscapes, and his kayak is an indispensable
hurry—he can’t feel a thing.
to me about buying a fucking wheelchair’.” photographic tool to access wild places.
A year after the crash, Dave was able to In 2002 he and Adventure Kayak editor Tim
alex maTThewS is the author of many magazine
articles and several books about sea kayaking. he
walk with the aid of a cane and two ankle Shuff paddled from Prince Rupert to Victoria lives in victoria, British columbia.
www.adventurekayakmag.com 33
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