The Canoeroots magazine crew headed down to Peterborough, Ontario for a unique, behind-the-scenes tour of the Canadian Canoe Museum. Check out this video tour of the main building as well as a few looks at what they have in the warehouse out back.
Time Travel
We’ve all been one or know one. Memorized the impossible, seven-syllable names (try saying Archaeornithomimus three times fast); pretended the backyard was Jurassic Park (and known that, to be perfectly correct, it really should be called Cretaceous park); slept between dinosaur-motif bed sheets. Yes, I’m referring to the part-time paleontologist, the fearless fossil hunter in your family. Whether it’s you, your son, grandson, sister or dad, a fascination with the creatures that walked, crawled, swam and sprouted long before we appeared can inspire a fun theme for your next family adventure.
Badland National Park, South Dakota
South Dakota’s White River Badlands are to the study and understanding of ancient mammals what Alberta’s badlands are to dinosaur research. Since 1846, paleontologists have uncovered the remains of camels, three-toed horses, saber-toothed cats, rhinos, rabbits, beavers and more, providing the most complete snapshot of mammalian life in North America during the early Age of Mammals 36 to 28 million years ago. But that’s not all. The extensive erosion that has produced this landscape of buttes, pinnacles and spires amid the prairie has also revealed even more ancient fossils dating from the cretaceous. During the Age of dinosaurs, however, a warm shallow sea covered the great plains. Since dinosaurs were land creatures, none have been found here. instead fossil hunters have unearthed giant marine lizards called mosasaurs, along with fish, turtles, nautiloids (shelled mollusks) and ammonites (ancient squid).
STAY AWHILE: Bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs may be seen from the park’s trails. hike 1.5 miles to the notch, a dramatic overlook of the white river valley—watch your step, the trail climbs a log ladder and skirts drop-offs.
INFO: The park is 75 miles east of rapid city on route 44. Badlands national park, 605-433- 5361, www.nps.gov/badl/
Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland
Newfoundland is world-renowned for its fossils. Long ago set adrift from what is now Europe, the rock’s sheer bounty of, well, rock is home to ancient marine organisms spanning 320 million years of geologic time. Most famous of these fossil beds is Mistaken Point, a wave-battered crag that takes its name from the deadly result of sailors mistaking it for the safe harbor of cape race. Buried in fine volcanic ash 565 million years ago, the creatures now exposed here in tennis court-sized slabs of sea cliff are not only the most ancient deep-water marine fossils in the world, they’re also the oldest diverse collection of complex organisms ever discovered. And they’re controversial, too. Only a handful of the frond-like, leafy forms resemble known living animals— most are so radically different that some scientists insist on assigning them to their own completely separate kingdom.
STAY AWHILE: Reached by dirt road and a six-kilometer hiking trail on the tip of the Avalon Peninsula, Mistaken Point has an edge-of-the-world feel that’s worth visiting even if you’re not a fossil buff. Between June and September, don’t pass up a whale- and puffin-watching boat tour 90 minutes north in Witless Bay.
INFO: The point is two hours south of st. John’s, off route 10. Meet your guide at the interpretive center in the coastal village of portugal cove south for a daily tour (departs 1 p.m., May–October, 3–4 hours). 709-438-1100, www.env.gov.nl.ca/env/parks/wer/r_mpe/ index.html
Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta
When dinosaur fanatics dream of Nirvana it looks a lot like southeastern Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park. Here the Red Deer River Valley carves through Canada’s largest badlands, revealing haunting hoodoos, isolated mesas and the greatest concentration of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils ever found. Every known group is represented, including favorites like Triceratops, Hadrosaurus, The Lost World’s battering ram Pachycephalosaurus and, of course, the terrifying Tyrannosaurus rex. Seventy-five million years ago, this was low swampy country with a steamy subtropical climate, and the dinosaurs rubbed shoulders with fish, turtles, crocodiles, amphibians and even marsupials. Since the first paleontologists began digging here in the 1880s, more than 23,000 fossils have been collected, including 300 dinosaur skeletons. Some of these now reside in museums around the world, but the greatest collection is housed just a two-hour drive away in Drumheller, Alberta’s Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology.
STAY AWHILE: explore the stark beauty of the badlands on the six-kilometer Great Badlands hike. Join one of the park’s paleontologist-led family or kids’ day programs, including an authentic dinosaur dig, prospecting hike or dinosaur day camp.
INFO: The park is three hours east of Calgary, off route 544. Dinosaur Provincial Park, 403-378-4342 ext. 235, www.albertaparks.ca/ dinosaur.aspx
Burgess Shale – Yoho National Park, British Columbia
The word Yoho comes from the Cree language. Probably the best translation is “wow”. Native peoples and modern visitors exclaim at the stupendous Rocky Mountians, emerald lakes and 833-foot Takakkaw Falls (another Cree word meaning magnificent). But it is likely that paleontologist Charles Walcott also breathed “wow” in 1909 when he discovered the fossil bed now known as the Burgess Shale. in seven years, Walcott collected more than 65,000 fossils, many of which were unknown. Declared a World Heritage site in 1981, the Burgess Shale is still regarded as the finest site for Cambrian age fossils. Join a daylong guided hike—the only way to view the park’s two fossil beds—to learn how these half-billion-year-old marine animals hold important clues to evolutionary understanding. Mount Stephen’s famous trilobite beds are accessed via a nine-kilometer hike, while walcott quarry is a strenuous, 22-kilometer round-trip to a spectacular subalpine ridge.
STAY AWHILE: There’s no shortage of things to do in Yoho. View some of the park’s abundant wildlife and lofty peaks while hiking one of the dozens of trails, canoeing on aptly named Emerald Lake or staying at a historic backcountry lodge.
INFO: The park is a short drive west of Lake Louise on Trans-Canada Hwy 1 and borders Banff National Park to the east. Yoho Visitor Center, 250-343-6783, www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn- np/bc/yoho/natcul/burgess.aspx
What is a fossil?
Think of fossils and the first thing that comes to mind is probably a dinosaur skeleton. But fossils come in every shape, size and age—the oldest fossils are 3.5-billion-year-old stromatolites while the youngest are just 10,000 years old.
Mold and Cast Fossils form when a skeleton is buried by sediment. Over time, the sediment turns to stone and the entombed bones begin to dissolve, leaving a cavity in the shape of the original skeleton. Water rich in minerals enters the cavity and the minerals deposited in the mold form a cast that has the same shape but none of the internal features (or DNA) of the original skeleton. Most of the fossilized bones, shells and leaves we find are mold and cast fossils.
Replacement Fossils are made up of minerals that have taken the place of the original organic material while preserving the internal structures. For example, petrified wood is actually rock—silicon or calcite crystals have replaced all of the organic matter down to the last cell!
Whole Body Fossils are unaltered, intact organisms like mammoths caught in ice or tar pits, or insects trapped in amber.
Trace Fossils record the activity of an animal, rather than the animal itself. These include footprints, tracks and coprolites (fossilized poop!).
This article first appeared in the Fall 2012 issue of Canoeroots Magazine.
S-Turn Rapid Technique
This whitewater kayak technique article originally appeared in Rapid magazine.
S-Turn is one of the most famous and celebrated rapids in Mexico. It is the crux rapid on the notorious Roadside section of the Rio Alseseca, dropping 20 fast and twisty feet before ending in an eight-foot-wide mini gorge.
As with any steep, tight drop the first requirement for hitting your line is staying upright. The real trick to nailing S-Turn, however, is to get river right during the first slide. Although it looks like a bad idea, starting left is the way to go. Then the water will take you back to the right at the correct time.
[1] Enter the rapid on the far left with your bow pointed slightly right. This will look intimidating since there is a menacing rock wall on the left that if feels like you are going to crash into. In reality, you will slide down four feet, hit the angled rock on the left and deflect back with right momentum.
[2] Take a hard left stroke to pull yourself as far right as possible onto the ridge of dry rocks that form the top bend of the “S”. Your bow should launch off the rock, sending your boat into the air. This move is key, as it sets you up for the next turn. If you don’t make it all the way right, your bow will drop and could piton the left wall, which will most likely result in a flip. Avoid this at all costs!
[3] Once you have launched off the rock and are aerial, lift your left knee. This prevents you from flipping when you land on the large boiling curler coming off of the left wall.
[4] Brace as required to stay upright and take a powerful right stroke to keep your bow pointed left as you enter the final kink of the S-turn. If you fail to keep your bow left here, you risk spinning out into a micro eddy on the right or spinning sideways and pinning in the narrow alleyway below.
[5] After you have snaked through the sliding S-turn, you drop into the super cool mini gorge. This alleyway is about 70 feet long with 15- to 20-foot-high walls. Make sure to stay pointed downstream because, at just eight feet wide, the gorge is the perfect size to pin sideways if you get careless. Enjoy the view as you drop out of the alley into a calm pool.
[6] When you realize that this is one of the coolest rapids EVER, you can eddy out on the left in the bottom pool and hike back up for another run.
– Nick Troutman was a member of the first team to make a full descent of the Rio Alseseca. He swam three times and considers himself lucky.
This article originally appeared in Rapid, Fall 2012. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.
Profile: Haley Mills
This profile originally appeared in Rapid magazine.
In 2010, a petite firecracker in a yellow Wave Sport Project 45 exploded onto the U.S. free- style circuit. Two years and one Freestyle World Championships later—where the 26-year-old Elizabethtown, KY, native ranked 5th among the world’s top rodeo queens—there’s scarcely a throwdown where you won’t see Haley Mills’ broad grin and lofty aerials buoying her to a podium finish. Rapid caught up with the peripatetic playboater in Raleigh, NC, en route to Virginia’s Dominion River Rock Festival.
How did you get started in kayaking?
I took a class at Nantahala Outdoor Center when I was 13. My parents encouraged me to hook up with local kayaking clubs and a couple of friends took me paddling almost every weekend. After college, I moved to Colorado. It was so easy to get to the playpark for a workout in Salida—that’s where my interest in freestyle really started.
How did you make the leap from recreational boater to professional competitor?
I was training so much, working on my tricks and placing well at local competitions, that I figured, “Hey, I’m pretty good at this—I think I’m going to give it a go.” I showed up for U.S. team trials in 2010 and placed third.
You were also the USACK National Freestyle Point Series Champion… what else made 2010 a breakout year?
My boyfriend, Mike Tavares, and I bought a 1975 RV for $1,500 so we could travel from competition to competition. I’d been paddling Wave Sport boats since I started freestyle kayaking and when I made the U.S. National Freestyle Team, Wave Sport signed me to their pro team.
Tell us about being a full-time river nomad.
We recently upgraded to a nicer RV that we live in year-round. I like the RV lifestyle because I can spend the whole year around water, training and competing. In the winter, we park the RV in Clay Wright’s driveway and train at Rock Island, Tennessee. We spend some time paddling with the Jacksons when they’re around. The South- east freestyle scene is pretty close-knit.
We’ve heard rumors that you work at Tom Sawyer’s Christmas Tree Farm in Chattanooga?
Trimming, wrapping and loading Christmas trees for six weeks is really good cross-training! I’ve also waitressed at upscale restaurants and sold smoothies in Iowa at a 10-day road biking festival. This year I have more sponsorship help and we’re also pulling a trailer for Boardworks, doing SUP demos and events.
Speaking of cross-training, you also compete in downriver, slalom, surf and SUP. What’s your favorite discipline?
I want to keep my focus on freestyle for the 2013 Worlds, but I love training for all of them. Racing six-mile SUP ocean events or doing an eight-mile downriver sprint makes me stronger in my playboat and a better competitor. The more I do, the harder it is to pick a favorite.
Are there any specific tricks you’re working on for the World Cup this September?
I’m known for my huge aerial loops and I’m working on a few more combos, making sure I get my Phonix Monkey and McNasty dialed. A split-to-split would be nice as well.
How excited are you to see the World Championships coming to the Nantahala Gorge next year?
Thrilled. I’ll definitely be living at Nantahala, working the feature a lot. I want to move up from top five.
Life after the Worlds?
Training to be an all-around athlete…slalom would be nice to add for the 2016 Olympics. Staying healthy and strong so I can paddle for a long time.
This article originally appeared in Rapid, Fall 2012. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.
Of Souls and Water Review
This article on the film series Of Souls and Water was first published in Rapid magazine.
“So, so, so, so, so, so, so SICK!” is how big wave maven, Ben Marr, describes his latest project—starring in “The Shapeshifter,” the third episode of the new short film series, Of Souls + Water. Marr’s opinion is obviously biased, but the five-episode series—released monthly this summer for free online viewing with the last five- to seven-minute short premiering August 28—is drawing plenty of acclaim elsewhere.
The series’ first episode—“The Nomad,” featuring National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Erik Boomer—received a nod on Outside magazine’s OutsideOnline.com. When a teaser of Marr’s episode played at the North Fork Championship in June, the crowd went so wild they drowned out the musical score. And, at the time of printing, both the first and second episodes were staff picks on Vimeo, a video sharing website with some 10 million members.
It’s no wonder people are taking notice. Of Souls + Water’s creative engines are director Skip Armstrong and producer Anson Fogel of Forge Motion Pictures—the Colorado-based production company that raised the bar for kayaking films in 2010 with Wild Water, and took Grand Prize at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in 2011 with the climbing film, Cold. Armstrong and Fogel shot all the episodes on high-definition RED digital cameras and the visuals and quality sound design are nothing short of cinematic.
“We wanted to bring Hollywood-style cinematography to the outdoors,” explains Armstrong, “we planned the shots we wanted, then found the characters to support that vision.”
It isn’t just production quality that sets Of Souls + Water apart. Armstrong and Fogel envisioned an artistic, poetic series that would tell the stories of five individuals bound together by the common theme of water. Rather than focusing on a particular sport (the series features whitewater kayaking, rafting, sea kayaking and surfing), each episode poses a question about the human condition.
“We took some risks, focusing on ideas of our humanity more than the details, more feeling than explanation,” says Fogel. “The result is something a bit more unique, I hope, that stands above the noise of today’s web media.”
Mark Deming, marketing coordinator at series sponsor NRS, agrees, “We wanted to get at the underlying meaning behind paddling and go beyond eye candy.”
After seeing Forge’s films on the festival circuit, Deming met with Fogel and Armstrong to explore partnership possibilities. Underwriting films is a recent venture for NRS—the Idaho-based paddlesports manufacturer and retailer first partnered with National Geographic filmmaker Andy Maser in 2011 for a series on dam removal—but Deming says there are plenty more projects in the hopper for 2013. Monetizing the films, he adds, isn’t a consideration. “Our goal is to help the artists at Forge bring their vision to reality,” says Deming, “then share it with our audience.”
Giving away the goods—especially when those goods are the fruit of costly production techniques and state of the art equipment—isn’t a new concept in the outdoor industry, but it is relatively new to paddlesports. When Reel Water Productions filmmaker Bryan Smith partnered with technical apparel manufacturer, Arc’teryx, in 2010–2011 to produce The Season, it was among the first times that paddling lifestyle had been featured in publicly available, professionally produced branded films.
As the paddlesports industry develops a more sophisticated online pres- ence, says Deming, “Branded content as the way companies do business on the web is going to become more prominent.”
Armstrong says that without sponsorship from NRS and New Belgium Brewing, the Of Souls + Water team wouldn’t have the luxury of shooting films when river or ocean conditions are optimal, and then getting them in front of audiences just a month later. Free online distribution, he says, “is so cool—as filmmakers, we finally have a platform where we can release this stuff. It’s something everyone who makes films is going to have to explore.”
See the episodes now, at www.nrsfilms.com
This article originally appeared in Rapid, Fall 2012. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.