Join four men on a 2600-mile canoe journey through blizzards, frozen lakes and mountains as they travel for 130 days from the Alaskan coast to the Hudson Bay. From the challenge of paddling up the Rocky Mountains to the stark beauty of the tundra, this film is an adventure through North America’s last great wilderness.
This film has been entered in the 2014 Reel Paddling Film Festival—find more great paddling films here.
“On December 28th, 2013 A group of stout masters decided to head to the Rio Fuy, we had one thing on our minds, and it has been on my mind for almost 6 years now…THE PUMA! To this day Salto de la Puma is still the tallest waterfall ever run in Chile. We unofficially yet accurately measured the drop this year to be around 35-36 meters tall (110-115 feet) This combined with it’s difficult entry and dangerous landing zone makes The Puma, in my mind, is one of the most technical waterfalls in the world. With the 2nd descent going down just 10 days earlier by a young German paddler…The time was now. With the right level, group, and experience, Evan Garcia stepped up for the third descent…This is the story.
Filmed by: Colin Hunt, Aniol Serrasolses, and Evan Garcia
Shot on: Canon 60D, Go Pro Hero 3, and Sony FS 700″
For more great whitewater videos, click here.
Current Designs has long made touring kayaks in all shapes and sizes, but lacked a British-style expedition kayak to complete their lineup. The Infinity fills the void.
The Infinity extrapolates the design of CD’s smaller Willow and Cypress kayaks into the high-volume realm for larger paddlers. But not only larger paddlers. Although spacious, the deck and thigh braces are low enough to fit mid-sized paddlers comfortably.
Regarding that age-old tradeoff, speed versus maneuverability, the CD design team clearly prefers to beat the playboaters to the campsite. The Infinity’s long waterline and low rocker profile translate into excellent tracking and speed. Yet turning performance is reasonable for a boat of this length and very predictable. The Infinity responds nicely to an edge for subtle course corrections.
Current Designs Infinity Specs
Length: 17′ 9″
Width: 22″
Weight: 52 lbs (fiberglass) / 50 lbs (Kevlar)
Price: $3,399 USD (fiberglass) / $3,799 USD (Kevlar)
Another speedy feature of the Infinity is the soft, rounded cross-section of the shallow-arch hull; it’s curved like a racing kayak’s and you can feel this in the low initial stability, though less so when fully loaded. A confident paddler can effortlessly roll on edge and smoothly recover from any amount of lean—or from being upside down.
Another upshot of the speed/tracking proficiency is almost completely neutral response to crosswind, translating into control in rough conditions and skeg non-dependence, though dropping the fin helps when quartering into strong winds or running downwind with a following sea.
Current Designs crafts beautiful kayaks, and it is perhaps the parent company Wenonah’s expertise with lightweight tripping and racing canoes that allowed our Kevlar demo to weigh in at less than 50 pounds. Peering through the layers of the translucent hull gives you a sense of CD’s composite wizardry and careful attention to which areas get reinforcement, like the hull and skeg box, and where material is pared to save weight, like the deck and bulkheads.
Attention to detail also shows in such features as the skeg cable routing, which was well clear of the rear hatch opening so we could fearlessly cram gear into the hatch and fill the spaces around the skeg box.
CD describes the Infinity as a “large expedition sea kayak” that will “comfortably accommodate larger paddlers,” but it’s really a big boat that doesn’t feel big, or trade off super-smooth performance for carrying capacity. The Infinity is excellently suited for any midsized to large paddler whose primary concerns are speed, efficiency, carrying capacity, light weight and long-distance touring performance.
Current Designs affixes the foot rails to a metal bracket moulded into the Kevlar hull, providing strength without through-hull holes. a heavier duty Kevlar fabric reinforces the hull under the cockpit. The bulkheads are lightweight Kevlar too.
We like the fit and layout of the cockpit and the positioning of the rear bulkhead close to the seat to maximize day hatch space. The front deck and simple, effective moulded-in thigh braces are high enough for large paddlers without sacrificing performance fit.
Sleek and speedy rule the day, as demonstrated by the sharp entry line, long waterline, low rocker, and rounded chines and bottom.
Light and compact, Big Agnes’ AirCore pads have an R-value of 5, which means they’re warm. Expect to spend a couple minutes blowing one up, but it’s worth it. Larger outer air chambers ensure you stay in the middle of the pad and there’s three and a quarter inches of coziness between you and the ground.
$79.95 and up | www.bigagnes.com
What does it mean to truly experience wilderness? Conservationists with the Sitka Conservation Society share their special wilderness experiences on the waters and in the forests around Sitka, Alaska.
Watch for a feature story on how members of the Sitka Conservation Society and others are paddling for science in the Spring 2014 edition of Adventure Kayak.
“Stakeout 2013 has been some of the most progressive paddling to date, with the likes of Dane Jackson, Rush Sturges, Nick Troutman, Ben Marr, Joel Kowalski, and the rest of ‘the boys’. Check out some huge air and big crashes as they move past double move combos into the triples on some of the biggest and best waves of the planet, like Buseater, Lucifers, Gladiator, High Tension, Bryson Bowl and Ruin.”
From Nicholas Troutman.
A test of the Saltwood Grasshopper paddle from Adventure Kayak magazine.
Grasshopper
If carbon doesn’t turn your crank, perhaps Saltwood’s one-piece wood shafts are more your speed. Artisan builders Richard Davis and Mike Robinson pair balsa-core, carbon composite blades with a fiberglass-wrapped, hollow wood shaft. The result is a light swing weight and stiffness where it’s needed, and the unmatched flexibility and feel of wood where it’s not. Plus, double hand indexes mean your fingers always know where they are, even if you don’t.
$375 (straight) / $450 (bent)| www.saltwoodpaddles.com
Take a peak at more hot new gear in the Summer/Fall 2013 issue of Adventure Kayak—click here to read for free.
As one era of transportation comes to a squealing halt, another is leaving the station under full steam. rail trails—multi-use recreational paths using abandoned railway lines—are ideal for family bicycle rides. Free of traffic worries, rail trails cross a vast breadth of scenery, offering a relaxing excursion into the countryside or an exciting climb through the mountains. Perhaps best of all, you’ll never have to face another hill—most trains can’t handle more than a three percent grade..
MEDICINE BOW NATIONAL FOREST, WYOMING
For mountain vistas, wildlife sightings and solitude— apart from the moose, mule deer, elk and pronghorn antelope—southeastern Wyoming’s Medicine Bow trail is hard to beat. Wending 34 kilometres through Medicine Bow National Forest, the recently completed (in September 2007) gravel path follows the corridor of an early 20th-century rail line that, at 9,050 feet, was the highest elevation standard gauge railway in the country at the time.
For an easy out-and-back ride that’s suitable for the whole family, start near the town of Albany at the Lake Owen trailhead and head south through evergreen and aspen forest mixed with open grassland. Lake Owen’s terrific trout fishing and relaxed 1.6-kilometre loop trail with views of 12,000-foot Medicine Bow Peak are your end-of-the-ride rewards.
WHEN TO GO: Mid-June to October
HOW TO GO: Hybrid mountain bikes are recommended
INFO: www.cyclewyoming.org
KELOWNA, B.C.
Constructed in the early 20th-century at an average cost of $84,500 per kilometre, the 600- kilometre Kettle Valley Railway formed a direct connection between Vancouver and the rich agricultural regions and silver mines of the Okanagan and West Kootenays. Along the way, it passed through an incredible diversity of landscapes, from cool mountain forests to Canada’s only pocket desert in Osoyoos.
If you just have one day, take a spin through Myra Canyon on Okanagan Mountain, south of Kelowna. This spectacular 8.5-kilometre section crosses 18 wooden trestles and steel bridges—including one 220-metre span 55 metres above Pooley Creek—and passes through two tunnels between the Myra and Ruth parking areas. This route was reopened in June 2008 after a five-year restoration following a devastating wildfire in 2003 that destroyed 12 of the 18 trestles.
WHEN TO GO: April to October
HOW TO GO: Suitable for most bikes
INFO: Cycling the Kettle Valley Railway, www.kettlevalleyrailway.ca, Penticton Visitor Centre, 800-663-5052
Discover four more great family biking destinations in the 2009 Late Summer issue of Canoeroots and Family Camping magazine. Read the issue in our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it online here.
My father always told me never to judge a book by its cover. Well, that’s not exactly what he said. My dad was a professional boxer and he actually said you shouldn’t judge a fighter by the colour of his trunks. But you get the picture.
I was reminded of his wisdom last week. Some tripmates and I were finishing up a remote route through Ontario’s Penokean Hills region. It’s a network of aqua blue lakes and clear streams north of Lake Huron’s North Channel that’s alive with feisty trout. It was a perfect trip, one that was to come to a tidy end when we reached the fishing lodge where we had scheduled a bush plane to pick us up. Poor weather made that impossible the first day, then the second, then the third. When rain changed to snow, we began looking for an alternate means of escape. That’s when the guides at the lodge, Chris Moose and Peter Roberts, suggested they drive us out by ATV.
Imagine, a bunch of snobby canoeists being rescued by ATV, the devil’s own bush buggy, the arch nemesis of canoeing. ATVs emit more greenhouse gases then any car on the road, their noise pollution ranks down there with personal watercraft and car alarms and those complaints are nothing compared to the way they tear up the ground while breaking down the barriers that keep remote areas remote.
The problem was, we all had jobs and families to get back to and waiting for another couple of days until the snow disappeared didn’t seem to be an option. So we took deep breaths and two-stepped over to the four-strokes for a ride back to civilization.
It wasn’t a pleasant trip. The so-called trail was 28 bone-jiggling kilometres long. Three hours later it ended at a river we had to ferry across before Moose could hitchhike down a dirt road to pick up his truck, a 1991 Ford with no working tail lights, tires that were balder than Bruce Willis and a stereo that had to be hit twice on the left and three times on the right before it would pump out a mix of Culture Club and Pet Shop Boys.
Arduous as the effort was, it worked. We got back to our own vehicle and made the seven- hour drive back to our jobs and families.
Moral of the story? Yes, ATVs can be a menace to wilderness areas. But so can canoeists trying to squeeze in wilderness adventures between strictly scheduled bush plane flights. It’s not the way you enter the wilderness but how you interact with it while you’re there that’s important. That’s another thing my father tried to teach me. Don’t look upon wilderness trips as something to squeeze in between appointments you aren’t prepared to miss.
We got to know the drivers of the malevolent machines during our joyless ride out to civilization. It was obvious that both guides loved the Penokean Hills region and would be dedicated to preserving it long after we had left. Moose and Roberts aren’t jockeying for the devil; they are the boxers who wear camo trunks and end up knocking down their arrogant opponent in the first round.
This article first appeared in the 2009 Late Summer issue of Canoeroots and Family Camping magazine. Read the issue in our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it online here.
