« COMEBACK KID. PHOTOS: JENNIFER JOHNSON
“I have seen an increasing trend in the purchasing and use
of traditional gear,” he says. He chalks the renewed interest up to people wanting a closer connection to nature. “They’re mostly made from once living material, warm to
the touch, formed by living hands. Each piece has individual traits. Each piece has beauty and history, and then you add your memories to it.” He adds that traditional gear “just feels good.” Earlier this year, the Canadian Canoe Museum sold out
their course in wanigan building. “Wanigans have a bit of a cult following, but this year especially there seems to be a surge in interest,” says program coordinator Beth Stanley. “They’re a little old-school, a little retro…the people who use them on trip swear by them.” Of course, there will always be a place for the super-sexy,
sleek and shiny, but more trippers are finding space in their gear rooms and on trip for traditional fare. If wanigans can rub corners with silicone-impregnated tarps and five-pound tents, maybe they’ll have the opportunity to teach the next generation a thing or two about a simpler time, when canoe tripping was less about the fast and the furious, and more about an intimate connection to the land. When not hauling wanigans and paddling in strong head-
winds, you’ ll find Jen Johnson writing for
www.backcountry-
withthekids.com. This article first appeared in Summer/Fall 2013 issue of Ca-
noeroots.
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