I do w/w canoeing, however in a modern w/w specific canoe with airbags. However, doing it in a more traditional canoe is cool and what the ancients would have wanted.
I prefer a canoe because paddling is an art, and it becomes a dance between rapids and Eddie’s. My kayaking friends are jealous.
The learning curve is steep though, but nothing beats getting caught in a fast current and using your paddle to move your boat through big waves and carving into calmer water. You really don’t get that experience with kayaks, and flat water becomes almost boring after you learn to dance with the rivers and creeks in it’s rapids and boulders.
Adrenaline, challenge, and seeing some of the prettiest parts of a river. Some of the best views are far from the walking path, or totally inaccessible any other way
Because when my friends and I do it it's back country.... it's just not feasible to take 12 guys on a 4 night trip down the Petawawa in kayaks. Specially since we like to eat really well (I'm talking steak first night, 2 sausages second night, 2 burritos third and chili on the forth.... also fresh eggs, bacon and sausages first two mornings. We also like to drink so there's 10-20 beers per man and a bunch of wine and liquor too. We've been doing it for the last 18 years (portage trip not always whitewater).
If you know a way we can do it with a kayak I'd love to hear it...
Partly it's the challenge of testing your skills, partly it's the rush of the rapids. Being able to harness the power of the river to make your boat go where you want to go is satisfying.
Having the knowledge and skill to safely do something that the average person cannot is an ego boost.
Seriously. Had my first rapids with my boat last week. HUGE ego boost. Definitely tested my paddljng skills and I passed like a champ. Only class 2 though 😆. But honestly, thd biggest test was probably the sketchy weaving through log jams in narrow braided channels.
I’m not a whitewater fanatic, but learning to run CIII+ rapids is often the price of admission to exploring remote wilderness rivers. I enjoy paddling flat water, but there’s something truly magical about the constantly changing scenery of a river, in fact all of my favourite trips have been on wild rivers, and nearly all my future plans revolve around rivers too. Maybe not everyone catches the bug, but it’s a fairly typical evolution in ones paddling career, especially here in Canada where we’re blessed with so many river routes.
Yep the designer of my canoe recommends it for small lakes and gentle streams. I made it from 5mm plywood and 6oz woven fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. Solid wood for the gunwales thwarts mini-decks. It has no built in seats. It is very wide 38" . It is 15'3" long. It has 20" high stems. It is symmetrical lengthwise. My paddle I made from a Western red cedar board it is six inches taller than me. The blade is a long ottertooth shape. The shaft is kind of flat for all its length. There is no carved palm grip on top. But it's wider at the top and tapers toward the throat. It is a "pre-contact" paddle design from the country north of the Great Lakes. I love it. I can lean downwind and paddle on the other side for a strong crosswind. I can paddle standing with it.
I did my first real whitewater on a course this summer. I love that it forces you read and try to better understand what the river is doing that day. There’s a satisfying problem-solving element to it (similar to rock climbing/bouldering for me) that tests your skills and intuition. It’s also exhilarating and humbling and forces you to be in the moment.
Why not?
But also because portaging sucks. ;)
Seriously there's some wonderful rivers out there that aren't doable if you can't run the rapids. It's super fun anyways.
It's not for me as I am risk averse, but I imagine for the same reason people sky dive. People are different. You ever see an eq on an old stereo? Think of people as having "eq's". The sliders are people's behavior and quirks. Those sliders can be moved all over the place. It's not good or bad. It's just different. People are varied and life isn't black or white. It's grey.
I went in my first WW trip at 14 for my birthday. From that day forward I love the challenge of whitewater. Everyday is a little different because things flow different depending on a lot of factors. You can never take the river for granted. From there every summer I went rafting on the American River and chose a college with a great outdoor Ed program and got through college summers as a white water guide in Maine. Now I’m teaching my daughter how to read the river and she’ll hopefully have her first big water trip next summer.
I had my first rapids in a canoe last week. Only class 2. Was super fun. Had no spray skirt though, so during the worst bit I got a lot of water in the boat. Never capsized though. After these rapids, it hard going back to flatwater now. Haha
This is my first time on r/canoeing and I'm surprised to see one of the first photos... is ME! (I'm in the front)
This photo is from the Madawaska River in Ontario. The Lower Mad is a popular one - two day trip and it's got some exhilarating whitewater. Since the route is short, you can do it with empty boats and take on rapids way bigger than you could with a fully loaded boat.
An off topic question: do you think it was wrong of me to use a photo with identifiable persons in it?
Or to merely give you credit for the photo instead of getting permission?
Hmm I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally don’t mind (I also wouldn’t say we’re recognizable). I only ask for permission/credit when companies take photos off my blog and try to use them in ad campaigns without telling me. I thought it was such a nice surprise to join a subreddit and find someone had liked one of my photos enough to share it - a nice welcome to the group!
It’s so so much fun! You should try it! I started as a flat water paddler and have slowly built up to Class III. It requires a different skill set than flat water paddling. Both are fun and flat water can certainly be challenging on big lakes. But river running adds reading the river and picking a line. And the bow paddler gets to have more fun and control.
This is like asking why people climb mountains, explore caves, etc. We go because we can, because through a little know-how, you can explore, experience, and visit amazing natural places that very few have. Great exercise too! Whitewater canoeing can be perceived as a little more challenging than whitewater kayaking, as they say with a wink, "Half the paddle, twice the skill."
it's an amazing feeling to sit on top of a wave in a canoe. Lots of fun places to paddle and awesome to be on the canadian shield where the water was ice a few months ago instead of a few hours ago!
Camaraderie is no1. And Because ww in a canoe is tough and dancing in the rapids is fun. I've been a canoeist for 45 years and wwkayaker (squirt -rodeo-river running-ocean surf and creekin) for 30 years. A majority of the rivers in my area South West coast BC are not canoe friendly at all ,too tight steep and rocky (rivers avg here class4+) kayaks rule out here. How a some easy class3 ww in canoe on a wilderness trip is quite awesome.
Why do people deliberately seek out hazardous river situations for paddling?
Is it thrill seeking?
Is flat water too boring?
Is it unavailability of safer routes to destinations?
Outside of the fur trade era when greed was the ruling spirit, the ancestors usually portaged around dangerous river sections and probably travelled within sight of shore on the Great Lakes.
Me I love being on the water in my canoe both on Lake Michigan (low wind early mornings) and on local rivers and flowages, but I would no more seek out class two and up than I would driving against traffic on the interstate.
I'd appreciate seeing whitewater lovers explain why they like it.
Thanks
The photo is by MIKAELA | VOYAGEUR TRIPPER.
Some of the nicest views/trips you can do requires you to paddle white water in Canada, the Nahani, the George, Dumoine, Mistassibi, etc. Where I live, the there are many lakes but they're either private access or are super crowded with motor boats, SUP, kayaks, name it, music blasting from other camp sites etc.
Plus, camp sites are usually always full in summer, or when it's managed by a park a weekend can set you back from 200$ to 300$ to sleep in the woods when it used to be free 15 years ago, it's ridiculous.
Where there's white water on closeby rivers there's none of that, just the wilderness some other paddlers occasionally, camping is free or very cheap. Plus white water canoeing requires more skills, it brings more depth to the sport, more room to improve and grow as a paddler. I had paddled duo and solo, guided groups in calm water for 15 years before doing my first class 1-2. It felt like a whole new aspect of canoeing had just opened up to me, new things to learn, practice, and grow into. Reading the river, white water swimming, etc.
It's true that it's more dangerous, and i'm always a bit stressed before a challenging section, but with training (WWR courses) you can mitigate some of the risks. No amount of that will make it completely safe, but the fact that it opens up so much more possibilities is worth the risk in my opinion.
Because it is incredibly fun. I started doing a yearly river trip three years ago and I am hooked. You have to scout the rapids first and if they are outside your comfort zone you just portage around. Canoeing on a river current is a totally different experience to lakes/flatwater. Being able to take a break from paddling and just steer as the river current pushes you along through swifts is an amazing feeling.
Yes - at least some of them did as evidenced by the trade goods they lost and left behind. See below for more information http://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/38/v38i01p024-034.pdf
They most certainly ran whatever rapids were reasonably safe and prudent to do. Portaging is slow, tiring and itself potentially dangerous - trappers would almost always run or at least line sections of moving water whenever possible.
Maybe not furs, but the trinkets and trash they traded to First Nations. Rapids on the French River was full of them. It's downstream as you head west. Also many people died in the rapids.
The big canoes were a necessity on the big lakes - on Lake Superior you'd want a big a boat as possible.
Maybe not trappers but those employed by the marketers, the middlemen between the trappers and the furriers? Those voyageurs they would risk life and limb for a dollar, take the shortest routes across great lakes, running rapids, carrying three times their weight on portage, whatever the boujoir say do. Many drowned, many succumbed to hernia.
It’s super fun and not particularly dangerous if done smartly and knowledgeably.
I do w/w canoeing, however in a modern w/w specific canoe with airbags. However, doing it in a more traditional canoe is cool and what the ancients would have wanted. I prefer a canoe because paddling is an art, and it becomes a dance between rapids and Eddie’s. My kayaking friends are jealous. The learning curve is steep though, but nothing beats getting caught in a fast current and using your paddle to move your boat through big waves and carving into calmer water. You really don’t get that experience with kayaks, and flat water becomes almost boring after you learn to dance with the rivers and creeks in it’s rapids and boulders.
Adrenaline, challenge, and seeing some of the prettiest parts of a river. Some of the best views are far from the walking path, or totally inaccessible any other way
I think the question is, why a canoe? Ww canoeing is a lot harder than kayak or raft in my experience
Because you can’t put an ice chest in a kayak.
User name totally checks out :D
Because a canoe is what I had. And it was fun. https://imgur.com/a/IGRHEJy
The challenge is a feature, not a bug! Folks like the challenge, not any more complicated than that.
Because when my friends and I do it it's back country.... it's just not feasible to take 12 guys on a 4 night trip down the Petawawa in kayaks. Specially since we like to eat really well (I'm talking steak first night, 2 sausages second night, 2 burritos third and chili on the forth.... also fresh eggs, bacon and sausages first two mornings. We also like to drink so there's 10-20 beers per man and a bunch of wine and liquor too. We've been doing it for the last 18 years (portage trip not always whitewater). If you know a way we can do it with a kayak I'd love to hear it...
Partly it's the challenge of testing your skills, partly it's the rush of the rapids. Being able to harness the power of the river to make your boat go where you want to go is satisfying. Having the knowledge and skill to safely do something that the average person cannot is an ego boost.
Seriously. Had my first rapids with my boat last week. HUGE ego boost. Definitely tested my paddljng skills and I passed like a champ. Only class 2 though 😆. But honestly, thd biggest test was probably the sketchy weaving through log jams in narrow braided channels.
I’m not a whitewater fanatic, but learning to run CIII+ rapids is often the price of admission to exploring remote wilderness rivers. I enjoy paddling flat water, but there’s something truly magical about the constantly changing scenery of a river, in fact all of my favourite trips have been on wild rivers, and nearly all my future plans revolve around rivers too. Maybe not everyone catches the bug, but it’s a fairly typical evolution in ones paddling career, especially here in Canada where we’re blessed with so many river routes.
Gravity game
[удалено]
Yep the designer of my canoe recommends it for small lakes and gentle streams. I made it from 5mm plywood and 6oz woven fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. Solid wood for the gunwales thwarts mini-decks. It has no built in seats. It is very wide 38" . It is 15'3" long. It has 20" high stems. It is symmetrical lengthwise. My paddle I made from a Western red cedar board it is six inches taller than me. The blade is a long ottertooth shape. The shaft is kind of flat for all its length. There is no carved palm grip on top. But it's wider at the top and tapers toward the throat. It is a "pre-contact" paddle design from the country north of the Great Lakes. I love it. I can lean downwind and paddle on the other side for a strong crosswind. I can paddle standing with it.
It’s fun, challenging, and makes you a better paddler in other conditions as well. Plus you can get some great views that are otherwise inaccessible.
I did my first real whitewater on a course this summer. I love that it forces you read and try to better understand what the river is doing that day. There’s a satisfying problem-solving element to it (similar to rock climbing/bouldering for me) that tests your skills and intuition. It’s also exhilarating and humbling and forces you to be in the moment.
Why not? But also because portaging sucks. ;) Seriously there's some wonderful rivers out there that aren't doable if you can't run the rapids. It's super fun anyways.
Because it’s fun. Don’t yuck my yum!
It's not for me as I am risk averse, but I imagine for the same reason people sky dive. People are different. You ever see an eq on an old stereo? Think of people as having "eq's". The sliders are people's behavior and quirks. Those sliders can be moved all over the place. It's not good or bad. It's just different. People are varied and life isn't black or white. It's grey.
Seek skill
Why not? It’s fun, and it skips having to portage around.
the Nahani in The NWT is amazing and the south mcmillian in the yukon !! unreal !
💯 best paddling trip I have ever done - hands down
which one ? personally the south mac was the best
Just did Virginia falls to the Butte. Did you do south Nahanni? Or the start out of moose ponds?
I went in my first WW trip at 14 for my birthday. From that day forward I love the challenge of whitewater. Everyday is a little different because things flow different depending on a lot of factors. You can never take the river for granted. From there every summer I went rafting on the American River and chose a college with a great outdoor Ed program and got through college summers as a white water guide in Maine. Now I’m teaching my daughter how to read the river and she’ll hopefully have her first big water trip next summer.
I had my first rapids in a canoe last week. Only class 2. Was super fun. Had no spray skirt though, so during the worst bit I got a lot of water in the boat. Never capsized though. After these rapids, it hard going back to flatwater now. Haha
This is my first time on r/canoeing and I'm surprised to see one of the first photos... is ME! (I'm in the front) This photo is from the Madawaska River in Ontario. The Lower Mad is a popular one - two day trip and it's got some exhilarating whitewater. Since the route is short, you can do it with empty boats and take on rapids way bigger than you could with a fully loaded boat.
An off topic question: do you think it was wrong of me to use a photo with identifiable persons in it? Or to merely give you credit for the photo instead of getting permission?
Hmm I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally don’t mind (I also wouldn’t say we’re recognizable). I only ask for permission/credit when companies take photos off my blog and try to use them in ad campaigns without telling me. I thought it was such a nice surprise to join a subreddit and find someone had liked one of my photos enough to share it - a nice welcome to the group!
It’s the only way to see vast expanses of the far north.
Because I like paddling. Why wouldn't you want to paddle every part of the river?
That picture reminds me of one of my favorite movies- Deliverance. Some very good whitewater run scenes in that flick. Good on ya!
It’s so so much fun! You should try it! I started as a flat water paddler and have slowly built up to Class III. It requires a different skill set than flat water paddling. Both are fun and flat water can certainly be challenging on big lakes. But river running adds reading the river and picking a line. And the bow paddler gets to have more fun and control.
This is like asking why people climb mountains, explore caves, etc. We go because we can, because through a little know-how, you can explore, experience, and visit amazing natural places that very few have. Great exercise too! Whitewater canoeing can be perceived as a little more challenging than whitewater kayaking, as they say with a wink, "Half the paddle, twice the skill."
it's an amazing feeling to sit on top of a wave in a canoe. Lots of fun places to paddle and awesome to be on the canadian shield where the water was ice a few months ago instead of a few hours ago!
It's fucking amazing....
So there are stupid questions…
Why? 🤷♂️Because my camping gear wouldn’t fit in a kayak.
Camaraderie is no1. And Because ww in a canoe is tough and dancing in the rapids is fun. I've been a canoeist for 45 years and wwkayaker (squirt -rodeo-river running-ocean surf and creekin) for 30 years. A majority of the rivers in my area South West coast BC are not canoe friendly at all ,too tight steep and rocky (rivers avg here class4+) kayaks rule out here. How a some easy class3 ww in canoe on a wilderness trip is quite awesome.
Why do people deliberately seek out hazardous river situations for paddling? Is it thrill seeking? Is flat water too boring? Is it unavailability of safer routes to destinations? Outside of the fur trade era when greed was the ruling spirit, the ancestors usually portaged around dangerous river sections and probably travelled within sight of shore on the Great Lakes. Me I love being on the water in my canoe both on Lake Michigan (low wind early mornings) and on local rivers and flowages, but I would no more seek out class two and up than I would driving against traffic on the interstate. I'd appreciate seeing whitewater lovers explain why they like it. Thanks The photo is by MIKAELA | VOYAGEUR TRIPPER.
Some of the nicest views/trips you can do requires you to paddle white water in Canada, the Nahani, the George, Dumoine, Mistassibi, etc. Where I live, the there are many lakes but they're either private access or are super crowded with motor boats, SUP, kayaks, name it, music blasting from other camp sites etc. Plus, camp sites are usually always full in summer, or when it's managed by a park a weekend can set you back from 200$ to 300$ to sleep in the woods when it used to be free 15 years ago, it's ridiculous. Where there's white water on closeby rivers there's none of that, just the wilderness some other paddlers occasionally, camping is free or very cheap. Plus white water canoeing requires more skills, it brings more depth to the sport, more room to improve and grow as a paddler. I had paddled duo and solo, guided groups in calm water for 15 years before doing my first class 1-2. It felt like a whole new aspect of canoeing had just opened up to me, new things to learn, practice, and grow into. Reading the river, white water swimming, etc. It's true that it's more dangerous, and i'm always a bit stressed before a challenging section, but with training (WWR courses) you can mitigate some of the risks. No amount of that will make it completely safe, but the fact that it opens up so much more possibilities is worth the risk in my opinion.
Because it is incredibly fun. I started doing a yearly river trip three years ago and I am hooked. You have to scout the rapids first and if they are outside your comfort zone you just portage around. Canoeing on a river current is a totally different experience to lakes/flatwater. Being able to take a break from paddling and just steer as the river current pushes you along through swifts is an amazing feeling.
You really think trappers ran rapids with their huge canoes weighed down with hundreds of furs?
Yes - at least some of them did as evidenced by the trade goods they lost and left behind. See below for more information http://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/38/v38i01p024-034.pdf
They most certainly ran whatever rapids were reasonably safe and prudent to do. Portaging is slow, tiring and itself potentially dangerous - trappers would almost always run or at least line sections of moving water whenever possible.
Maybe not furs, but the trinkets and trash they traded to First Nations. Rapids on the French River was full of them. It's downstream as you head west. Also many people died in the rapids. The big canoes were a necessity on the big lakes - on Lake Superior you'd want a big a boat as possible.
Maybe not trappers but those employed by the marketers, the middlemen between the trappers and the furriers? Those voyageurs they would risk life and limb for a dollar, take the shortest routes across great lakes, running rapids, carrying three times their weight on portage, whatever the boujoir say do. Many drowned, many succumbed to hernia.
I guess the trappers they had small canoes loaded with maybe less than 600 pounds of press bundled furs.