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UNBOWED. PHOTO: ROBERT WOTTEN PHOTO: JOANIE MCGUFFIN
A LOT OF PEOPLE would have given up on the first day. After months and months of planning, Seth Wotten was finally ready to start his cross-country paddle to pro- mote water conservation. The website was up and running, he’d
During his three-year cross-country paddle, the only thing
Seth Wotten
doesn’t have time for is complacency
BY AMY FLYNN
rallied sponsorships and support from the paddling community and contacted the press. Yet not a single reporter showed up to his pre-departure press confer- ence, and only his parents and a former girlfriend were there to see him off. “It was definitely discouraging,” says Wotten. “You’re excited about raising awareness, but then no one is there to listen.” In many ways, Wotten is a prototype
of the earnest, purpose-driven paddler: young, optimistic, ambitious and perhaps a little green. The 27-year-old latched onto the outdoors at an early age. He spent his summers attending camp in Muskoka and later worked as a canoe trip guide in central and northern Ontario. The idea of paddling across Canada
took shape when Wotten was studying outdoor recreation at Lakehead Univer- sity in Thunder Bay. Serious planning began in the fall of 2005, and Water for Future Generations was born. The plan: grab the public’s attention by paddling solo from Montreal to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean over two summers. Despite early challenges, made worse
by the fact he packed too much food and gear, Wotten’s commitment barely wa- vered. As he paddled into the smaller com- munities along his route, Wotten’s earnest resolve earned him media coverage and he found the locals interested in his message. Since he passed through many urban areas other canoeists avoid, Wotten bore witness to everything from litter-coated riverbanks, to the discharging of raw sewage, to un- necessary dams. “I stopped doubting my
22 n C ANOE ROOT S spring 2007
purpose,” says Wotten. “I knew I could raise awareness just by reporting on the deplor- able things I was seeing.” Still, as the days began to shorten, Wot-
ten found himself worn down by the grind- ing monotony and logistics of solo pad- dling. “When you’re alone, everything from portaging to paddling upstream to making dinner is a bigger challenge,” he says. Hampered by loneliness and a throb-
bing wrist, Wotten admits the trials of travelling solo were partly responsible for his decision to end the first leg of his trip in Kenora, about 800 kilometres short of his original goal.
“I knew I could raise awareness just
by reporting on the deplorable things I was seeing.”
When Wotten’s plan to work through
the off-season for a canoe manufacturer in northern Ontario fell through, he made his way to Toronto, where he’s back at a former job at an insurance company and busy planning for 2007. With the trip now split across three summers, Wotten dis- plays characteristic optimism by pointing out he now has an extra winter to raise money and spread his message through speaking engagements. “The trip is about raising awareness,” he says. “Even if I’ve never been much of a solo paddler, there’s no way I’d give up on this cause.” For more about Water for Future Genera- tions, visit
www.wffg.ca.
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