COMMUNITY | EDITORIAL | CONTRIBUTORS | CANOESCAPES Campfire [ COMMUNITY ] RE: PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST
“WHEN YOU SAID, ‘SUN, SEA, SAND,’ I THOUGHT YOU WERE TAKING US TO THE BEACH, DAD. WHAT YOU REALLY
MEANT WAS, ‘SON, SEE, SAND.’” From a comment posted on Canoeroots’ Facebook page by IRMA REAL RAINBOW.
PADDLE POLICE PRESENTED BY
PEOPLE’S CH ICE AWARD
In iPad, Android and Desktop Editions this Issue:
Read Canoeroots on your tablet or desktop at
www.rapidmedia.com/0069 and catch this bonus content:
• Video review of the Trapper Corvus (Canoe Tree, page 27)
• Video previews of the four stoves reviewed in this issue (In the Pack, page 28).
• Learn more about identifying constel- lations for your next night under the stars (Little Explorers, page 34).
• See a video preview of Alice and Dan Clark’s 100-day family paddle to the Arctic (“Have Kids, Will Paddle,” page 36)
Watch for this icon throughout this issue of Canoeroots for bonus digital content.
“Just want to say how much I enjoyed your piece about your daughter, canoe paddles and portages,” Jeremy Ward, curator at the Canadian Canoe Museum, wrote to Rapid Media publisher, Scott MacGregor about his Base Camp editorial in the 2013 Early Summer issue (
www.rapidmedia.com/0070). In the article, Mac- Gregor argued that paddles can be used off the water as walking sticks on portages, much to the dismay of some readers who regard their paddles as treasures. “An excellent piece and am enjoying passing it
WORLD TOUR 2013 The Best Toronto, ON
Indianapolis, IN La Jolla, CA
Paddling Films
The Complete Paddler Quiet Sports Expo
State College, PA The Penn State Outing Club Saint Louis, MO Regina, SK
Ocean River Sports Paddle Junkies
UC San Diego Outback Adventures Alpine Shop
Fresh Air Experience & Cross Canada Canoe Odyssey
Abbotsford, BC Western Canoeing and Kayaking & Valhalla Pure Outfitters High Level Canoes and Kayaks
Mount Pleasant, MI Buckley’s Mountainside Canoes Ottawa, ON Calgary, AB Kingston, ON Barrie, ON
Somerset, NJ New York, NY Waterloo, ON
Barrie Canoe and Kayak Club The Jersey Paddler
Northern Forest Canoe Trail & REI Princess Cinemas
Owen Sound, ON Suntrail Source For Adventure Eco-Logical Adventures
Parry Sound, ON White Squall & Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve Fredericton, NB Cambridge, MA Portland, ME Blyth, ON Bend, OR
Wiscasset, ME Yellowknife, NT Athens, NY London, ON Duncan, BC
Ramakko’s Source for Adventure & Laurentian University The Outdoor and Adventure Travel Show Trailhead Kingston
February 12
February 15–18 February 24 February 28 March 1 March 6 March 8
Prince George, BC UNBC Outdoor Recreation & Tourism Management Students March 8 Fort Macleod, AB Victoria, BC Sudbury, ON
March 9 March 13 March 15 March 16
March 16 & 17 March 20 March 20
March 22 & 23 March 22 March 22
March 22 & 23 March 23 March 23 March 23
Northern Forest Canoe Trail & Charles River Canoe and Kayak March 28 Northern Forest Canoe Trail & Maine Island Trail Association March 29 Composite Creations, Painted Black Studio, Blyth Festival Theatre & BBIA March 30 Bend Paddle Trail Alliance
Northern Forest Canoe Trail & The Chewonki Foundation Paddlers for Parts Association Paddlehead Boards
Western Kayak Club & Canoe Water Adventuring Alberni Outpost
around. I do hope that people continue to take of- fence,” joked Ward. “MacGregor’s Precious Treasures got it right on all
Winnipeg, MB Wilderness Supply Pembroke, ON Lake Placid, NY Courtenay, BC Nanaimo, BC Squamish, BC Austin, TX
Thunder Bay, ON Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley
April 10 April 10
Northern Forest Canoe Trail & Adirondack Lakes and Trails Outfitters April 11 Alberni Outpost & North Island College Alberni Outpost
April 11 April 12
Valhalla Pure Outfitters Squamish & The Squamish Paddling Club April 12 The Expedition School
Williams Lake, BC Williams Lake Film Club Anchorage, AK Charleston, SC Concord, NH Kenmore, NY Vernon, BC
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Joe O’Paddles & Superior Kayak and Canoe Club Tap Root
East Coast Paddlesports & Outdoor Festival
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Northern Forest Canoe Trail & NH Fish and Game Department April 18 Paths, Peaks and Paddles Inc & Catt Rafting Adventures True Outdoors & Vernon Search and Rescue
April 19 April 19
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Northeast PA Kayak School Newaygo Nationals Association Kelly’s Whitewater Park The Backpackers Shop
Center Activities, Humboldt State University
Orleans, MA Coloma, CA Elora, ON
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Birmingham, AL Cedarville, OH
CWDHS Aboriginal Program Liverpool Canoe Club The Trail Shop
Birmingham Canoe Club Massie Creek Paddlers
NOT BUSHCRAFT
“Gentlemen,” wrote Bruce Henwood in a typewritten letter received by Canoeroots’ (mostly female) staff, “‘How to Light the No-Match Fire’ proclaimed a title in bold print on the cover of the Spring 2013 issue of Family Camping and Canoeroots magazine. “Was it an article imparting knowledge of the lost art of producing fire with only the
natural material resources on hand? No way!” Henwood continued. “This magazine has been reduced to the role of a shill for corporate interests.” To keep the record straight, Trekker, manufacturer of the stormproof lighter featured in
the article (
www.rapidmedia.com/0071), is not an advertiser. What can we say? We love a good coverline. And we’ll take a blowtorch style lighter over a bow drill any rainy day.
www.canoerootsmag.com 5
March 30 April 5 April 6 April 6 April 6 April 9
of the Year
www.reelpaddlingfi
lmfestival.com Whitehorse, YT
Up North Adventures
Ottawa, ON Portland, OR
Bryson City, NC Jacksonville, FL Kamloops, BC Winfield, BC Cleveland, OH Revelstoke, BC Penticton, BC New York, NY Dallas, TX
Petawawa, ON
Cranbrook, BC Old Forge, NY Collinsville, CT Salmon Arm, BC Bar Harbor, ME
Cairine Wilson SS, Glebe CI and
RACCC.CA Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Nantahala Outdoor Center Black Creek Outfitters
True Outdoors & TRU Adventure Guide Program True Outdoors & Kelowna Canoe and Kayak Club The Backpackers Shop
Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre True Outdoors & Penticton Search and Rescue
Germany RAFFTAFF Waitsfield, VT Sarver, PA
Northern Forest Canoe Trail SurfSUP Adventures Just Liquid Sports
View & Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company
Fredericksburg, VA American Canoe Association Mt Vernon, WA
Blazing Paddles
Fayetteville, WV New River Clean Water Alliance The Forks, ME Jackson, CA
Springfield, MO Biloxi, MS
Sandpoint, ID Phormation Media Group
South Coast Summerfest & Mississippi Wildlife Federation Eureka Institute
Foresters Falls, ON OWL Rafting on the Ottawa River Mattawa, ON
Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park Algonquin Outfitters
Northern Forest Canoe Trail & Northern Outdoors Foothill Conservancy
BASECAMP | LITTLE EXPLORERS | BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW | GETAWAY | BUBBLE STREET Family Camping GET THEM OUTSIDE
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? PHOTO: SCOTT MACGREGOR
April 25 April 25 April 25
April 26 & 27 April 26 April 26 April 27 April 30 May 2 May 3
Appalachian Mountain Club New York-North Jersey Chapter May 7 Dallas Down River Club Town of Petawawa
May 8
May 10 May 11 May 11 May 11 May 15 May 18
Northern Forest Canoe Trail & Collinsville Canoe and Kayak May 24 Shuswap Association of Rowing and Paddling College of the Atlantic
May 30 May 31 June 1 June 6 June 7 June 8 June 8 June 8
June 13– 23 June 14
June 14 & 15 June 22 June 28 July 3
August 3
August 8–10 August 23 & 24 August 27
Orleans Chamber of Commerce & Explore Cape Cod Tours Inc September 13 Sierra Nevada House
September 12 September 21
November 10 November 11 Fall TBA Fall TBA Fall TBA
SUPPORTING SPONSOR
[ BASECAMP ] PRECIOUS TREASURES
I am as proud of my children as the next father on Facebook. Last fall I posted this photo of my six-year-old daughter, Kate. We’d just finished a couple days camping, fishing and paddling the whitewater section of the Lower Madawaska River. In preparation for the trip, I left Kate’s barrel outside her bedroom door. She filled it with all her own camping gear, checking items off the list we’d prepared. On trip, Kate caught and helped cook us a bass dinner. She did more than her share of the dishes. And here she’s beginning the uphill, 600-meter portage from the take-out to the truck. Yup, a proud father I am. You know what the very first comment was on Facebook? Some-
one wrote, “I hope she’s not using those paddles as walking sticks.” Really? Where does this come from, this paddles-as-treasure men-
tality? I asked Jeremy Ward, curator at the Canadian Canoe Museum, if the
voyageurs coveted their paddles. He told me that of all the items is- sued by the North West Company, paddles were not on the list. Little is known about where the paddles came from because there isn’t very much written about paddles at all. Much about the whiskey and the heavy packs, not much of the paddles. I believe paddles were thought of as simple tools, as romantic as a
carpenter’s hammer. I believe that paddles were used until they broke and could be used no more. Then they were burned in the cook’s fire or tossed in the flames as the boys drank—good riddance. I certainly feel the same about my computer some days.
Perhaps new paddles were carved on the spot. Maybe the voya- geurs carried spares—although carrying anything extra seems doubtful. No matter, it’s unlikely Jean Luc turned to his companion on the portage, leather tumpline cutting into his sweaty forehead, and said, “Tabernac, your paddle is not a walking stick.” Why? Because paddles are, in fact, perfect walking sticks when carrying 180-pound loads over uneven terrain. My guess is that this all stems from summer camps where they
have strict no-walking-stick policies. I get it. Camp paddles have to last for hundreds of children on hundreds of trips. Not to mention teaching valuable childhood lessons in respect. How you feel about paddles is here nor there, really. To you, maybe,
they are to be treasured. To me, and to Kate, paddles are tools. We can debate it further with a barrel of whiskey around a crackling campfire. But aren’t we missing the point? Look at this picture again. What else do you see? What about the little girl humping her own gear. A little girl who runs rapids. Who catches and cooks her dinner. Paddles and little girls are better outside. They are better when
they are well-grounded. Scratches can be sanded smooth and bro- ken paddles replaced. Lost childhoods cannot be hung on the wall. Scott MacGregor is the founder and publisher of Canoeroots. The sec-
ond comment on the Facebook thread was about her bare feet. You try to keep shoes on her feet.
www.canoerootsmag.com 35
accounts,” wrote in Brian Johnston. “Real-life thinking trumps any old age mentality on the rights and wrongs of paddle usage.”
PHOTOS: JAKE PALECZNY / INSET TOP TO BOTTOM: RYAN CREARY, VIRGINIA MARSHALL, SCOTT MACGREGOR , COURTESY NAISH
PHOTO: SCOTT MACGREGOR
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