Video Walkthrough: Werner Sho-Gun

Videos

Photo: Screen capture Werner Sho-Gun — Video Walkthrough: Werner Sho-Gun

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Rapid publisher Scott MacGregor and Danny Mongo from Werner Paddles chat about one of Werner’s top selling and top performing whitewater paddles, the Sho-Gun, at the 2014 Canoecopia show.

Read Rapid’s full review of the Sho-Gun and click here to find a river running blade for every budget in the free online edition of Rapid, Early Summer 2014. Download our free app for Apple or Android.

Werner Paddles Sho-Gun

Gear

Photo: Kaydi Pyette — Werner Paddles Sho-Gun

Watch a video walkthrough of the Sho-Gun with Rapid publisher Scott MacGregor and Danny Mongno from Werner Paddles.

Werner’s Sho-Gun delivers a level of elegance rare amongst river dwellers. It’s incredibly light and buoyant and its smooth back face hushes each stroke to a quiet swoosh that will make any paddler feel like a master. The Sho-Gun’s huge blades move water with serious efficiency, making it an ideal choice for seasoned boaters or those wanting to step up their river running game. Constructed with Dynel edges and reinforced with Kevlar, the Sho-Gun is a paddle that’ll fight off rocks and waves without taking a beating.

www.wernerpaddles.com | straight shaft $350

Also available with Werner’s neutral bent shaft.

Click here to find a river running blade for every budget in the free online edition of Rapid, Early Summer 2014 or download our free app for Apple or Android.

Watershed Goforth Drybag Review

Gear

A spinoff of Watershed’s popular Ocoee drybag, the Goforth duffle is outfitted with a nifty new feature: waist straps. The band can buckle around your body or another piece of gear so you’ll never feel like you’re portaging a purse. Made in Watershed’s trusty submersible duffle style, the new bag keeps your lunch and layers dry with durable waterproof fabric and a ZipDry and buckle closure.

www.drybags.com | $100

Check out the flood of new gear we lined up for Rapid, Spring 2014 in our free digital edition, or by downloading our free app for Apple or Android.

Skills: When To Tie In Gear

Skills

Photo: Aaron Peterson — Skills: When To Tie In Gear

This canoeing expert tip column was first published in the Early Summer 2014 issue of Canoeroots.

To tie or not tie—that is the question. When, why and how to tie your gear into your canoe is a hotly debated topic amongst paddlers. The truth is, your skills, the nature of your route, your support team and whether or not you have a covered canoe should determine your decision to tie in your packs.

Some paddlers believe that packs should never be tied into a canoe, but should be free to float out in the event of a capsize—it’s certainly much easier to right an overturned empty boat rather than a gear-laden one.

Lake country, like the Boundary Waters and Quetico, demands a no-tie-in approach. Thanks to the many relatively small lakes, there’s often a portage every hour. It’s a hassle to tie and untie packs at every stop, even if doing so offers some security afloat as tightly-secured, waterproof packs act as giant float bags in an upset.

Continue reading this article in the digital edition of Canoeroots and Family Camping, Early Summer 2014, on our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it on your desktop here.

Trips: Family Backpacking Adventure

Trips

Photo: Jen Johnson — Trips: Family Backpacking Adventure

Between squinted eyes fighting to hold back the driving rain, we surveyed our landing spot. Beyond the sandy beach, there was only dense forest of jack pine and black spruce as far as the eye could see. We zipped our jackets a little higher and adjusted our packs a little tighter. With a wave goodbye to the captain of our shuttle, the aluminum catamaran was swallowed in the mist leaving us alone. We were walking out.

VOYAGUER ROUTE

Hiking the Coastal Trail in Pukaskwa National Park on Lake Superior’s northern shore had been a family decision. My husband, Fraser, and I had carefully consulted with our sons, Luke, 10 and Zach, 8, as the remote and rugged route required planning, training and commitment on everyone’s part.

Up until then we had enjoyed multi-day canoe trips and weekend hikes as a family, but 60 kilometers over seven days burdened with heavy packs was a daunting proposition. Our biggest concern was that on this single-access-point trail, failure was not an option. Blisters and tears would not be grounds for rescue.

The 1,900-kilometer-square national park is the definition of isolation, part of the longest undeveloped shoreline anywhere on the Great Lakes. The solitary road that leads into the park terminates at Hattie Cove campground where we would end our hike.

Truly a backpacker’s paradise, the trail is part of the larger, and yet to be fully-realized, 1,100-kilometer Voyageur Route hiking trail, which will one day carve a continuous hiking path from the eastern shore of Lake Huron to the western shore of Lake Superior.

The trail hugs the shore and is a maze of ascents and descents, fallen trees and car-sized rock slabs; at times it’s so steep hiking poles are set aside in favour of good old-fashioned scrambling. Boulder fields are vast and ankle twisting, shifting and slippery when wet. I took each step as if the next could result in a trip-ending injury, while Luke and Zach made a sport of it. I cautioned them to be careful, but “obstacles make it more interesting” they assured me.

Continue reading this article in the digital edition of Canoeroots and Family Camping, Early Summer 2014, on our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it on your desktop here.

South Dakota Kayak Challenge

Photo: courtesy Brian Wells — South Dakota Kayak Challenge

More than 140 racers took part in the fifth-annual South Dakota Kayak Challenge over Memorial Day weekend, and they took to the Missouri National Recreational River with aggressive perfection.

A three-person open-class team from the Kansas City area set a new record for the 70-plus-mile course, finishing in 8 hours, 18 minutes. The past record was 8 hours, 50 minutes. Competitors from across North America took part in the annual event, representing two Canadian provinces and 14 states.

While competitive-class racers set records, personal bests in the adventure class also were set. The Challenge saw its highest-ever percentage of finishers (79 of 96 solo craft finished, as well as 17 of 19 open/tandem race teams) with mild wind to start the event in Yankton, South Dakota.

The event marked the first competition on one of the nation’s newest National Water Trails. The Missouri National Recreational River received that designation at the end of 2013. The next race on this amazingly wild waterway is July 19 as the inaugural Fort to Field 50 Paddle Battle takes on the 39-mile district of the national park. Learn more at forttofield50.com.

The South Dakota Kayak Challenge returns in 2015 on May 23. Registration opens on Jan. 1, 2015. Learn more at sdkayakchallenge.org.

Pictured Above: Krista Patterson, Harrisonville, Mo. and Larry and Yancy Scroggins of Kansas City set a course record in the May 24, 2014 South Dakota Kayak Challenge, a race on what remains of the wild and scenic Missouri River. They completed the 72-mile course in 8 hours, 18 minutes.

Red Rock, Lake Superior

Trips

Photo courtesy Ontario Tourism — Red Rock, Lake Superior

Lake Superior’s 800-kilometer Canadian shore enchants with fiery sunsets, enchanting islands and open horizons. The beginner-friendly, half-day trip between Nipigon and Red Rock traces the biodiverse shoreline at the mouth of the Nipigon River. Make it a full day by hiking the shuttle on an eight-kilometer trail between the two towns.

Best season: Spring, summer and fall.

Highlights: An impressive gallery of Ojibwa pictographs at the Nipigon River mouth.

More Info: www.tctrail.ca/explore-the-trail/

Read about more great paddling trails here in the Early Summer 2014 issue of Adventure Kayak. Or download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch or Android App.

Gear: Columbia Drainmaker Shoe

Gear

Lightweight but durable, this new hybrid water shoe is best for adventures where you’re getting wet and want your feet protected. The Drainmaker is study enough for the portage trail, but the minimalist upper design and draining midsoles promise to be dry by morning. Available in men’s and women’s sizes.

Construction:

Techlite midsole with drainage ports in heel and forefoot
Omni-Grip high traction wet rubber grip
Breathable single layer open mesh upper
Siped with lugs for extra traction
Fully drainable footbed

$85 | www.columbia.com

This article originally appeared in Canoeroots and Family Camping, Spring 2014. Get more great gear reviews by downloading our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it on your desktop here.

Find Your Waypoint

Photo: Courtesy Flickr user robinvanmourik / Creative Commons — GPS unit

Canoe tripping with a GPS can be a dizzying experience. Revolving numbers denoting rate of speed, heading, route history, track log, distance to destinations and time of sunrise are all just a finger twitch away. It’s nice to know a new GPS could be a deep well of mental stimulation for you, but if all you really want to do is add a practical and capable tool to your set of navigation skills, then you really just need to know about waypoints.

At any time you can record your preset position as a waypoint, or you can enter a distant destination into your GPS as a way-point. Once you’ve entered a waypoint, the utility of your GPS goes into orbit.

Continue reading this article in the digital edition of Canoeroots and Family Camping, Spring 2007, on our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it on your desktop here.

Your Fantasy River

Stories

Photo: Peter Mather — Your Fantasy River

This photo essay by Peter Mather was first published in the 2014 Early Summer issue of Canoeroots.

Located in the northeast corner of the Yukon, at the end of the Rocky Mountain chain, is one of North America’s last intact ecosystems. Remote, rugged and utterly untamed, the Peel Watershed is a dream destination for canoeists looking for a once in a lifetime experience. Its rivers, including the Peel, Ogilvie, Blackstone, Hart, Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume, form a wilderness unparalleled, rich in wildlife, cultural history and natural splendor.

It’s also a wilderness under attack. Earlier this year, 70 percent of the watershed was opened to mining, oil and gas exploration despite years of opposition from environmental groups and local First Nations communities. To bring attention to the plight of the Peel and help others connect with an area that few will have an opportunity to experience first hand, I gathered an eclectic group of award-winning Northern artists to join me on a three-week canoe trip down the wild Wind River.

Upon returning home, we’d merge our crafts, creating a multimedia show to inspire and inform the public on the issues surrounding the watershed. We called our project Yukon Wildlands…

Continue reading this article in the digital edition of Canoeroots and Family Camping, Early Summer 2014, on our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it on your desktop here.