This week in canoeing news: Canoeists discover 40,000 year old skeleton, Mississippi River paddle and new water trails in Rhode Island.
Alaksan Canoeists Discover 40,000-year-old Steppe Bison Skeleton
As she scraped cold dirt from the remains of an extinct bison, Pam Groves wrinkled her nose at a rotten-egg smell wafting from gristle that still clung to the animal’s bones. She lifted her head to scan the horizon, wary of bears that might be attracted to the flesh of a creature that gasped its last breath 40,000 years ago. In the type of discovery they have dreamed about for years, Groves and Dan Mann, both researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, in summer 2012 found in the thawing bank of a northern river almost the entire skeleton of a steppe bison that died during the last ice age. Via Alaska Disptach.
Mississippi River Run
Imagine fashioning your own boat out of scrap pieces of particleboard and duct tape and then paddling down the world’s fourth largest waterway—the Mississippi. Mountain Folk’s Mississippi River Run begins at Itasca State Park, Minnesota, USA. Through a series of creeks and channels, this year’s River Folk will meander across lakes and in to the heart of the US of A. 2,350 miles later you will dock in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, with more than a few stories to tell. Festivities start May 4. Via Mountain Folk.
New Water Trails on Rhode Island
See the Water Trails page for 20 new paddle trail maps for paddling routes across Rhode Island. There are trips for all skill levels, all across the state, on rivers and lakes and salt ponds. The maps were created in partnership with ten watershed organizations across the state, with funding from the Rhode Island Foundation. Via ExploreRI.org
