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What a rush. PHOTO: IAN SCRIVER


[ EDITORIAL ] Random Acts of Canoeing


I paddled the Dumoine River once—from the bridge above Lac Benoit to its outflow at the Ottawa River. It’s definitely a trip best done at a nonchalant pace to fully appreci- ate the rough-hewn landscape. Tat’s the approach Canoeroots publisher Scott Mac- Gregor and his family took on their trip down the Dumoine (“Everybody’s River,” page 38). Tat’s not how my trip went. It was never really supposed to. A few years ago, my crew of three made a


deal with our employer, a local outfitter, to help drive the Dumoine’s punishing shuttle. In return, we could familiarize ourselves with the route by running the river. Te group we shuttled was scheduled to take the standard five days. When we started the drive, we had just 36 hours until we had to be back in the city and back at work. Te bullet trip went off without a hitch. We


took advantage of much of what the river had to offer, albeit at a much swifter pace than most canoeists with banked vacation days.


8 SUMMER/FALL 2011 I’ve talked with scores of paddlers, new


and seasoned, and it never takes long for the conversation to turn to practical canoe- ing advice, trip anecdotes and yarns. But all too often, when I ask about personal ex- ploits, people bow their heads and write off their experiences as insignificant. I mull this over when I find myself com-


promising trip plans to satisfy relatively mundane commitments. Constantly bom- barded with stories of dramatic canoeing accomplishments, I get caught up in the de- sire to hold a candle to those making larger waves than my own. Like many of the modest folks who blush


when asked about their past on the water, my canoeing career has been arguably less than monumental. I have no first descents. I’ve never paddled across the country. I’ve never been hit by lightning. After some 20 years paddling, my canoe-


ing resume is filled with a disproportionate number of seemingly random acts of canoe-


ing like that trip down the Dumoine. Even spending most days eating, sleeping and breathing paddling, I remain in the camp of canoeists unspectacularly accomplished on the water. Still, I keep my head up when people ask how my season is progressing. Here and there I develop a technique,


pass a weekend with friends in a canoe or head out after work for a quick tour. My status may be hovering somewhere in the neighborhood of Weekend Warrior but I’m proud that it has developed well beyond Armchair Enthusiast. When I consider my trip down the Du-


moine, I wonder if I did it right. Tere’s so much to see on this river that by rushing downstream, missing things was unavoid- able. Ten I realize that given my alterna- tive, there’s no doubt the run was worth doing. Any canoeing is better than no canoeing. —Michael Mechan


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