Canadian Canoe Routes | SouthernPaddler.com

Canadian Canoe Routes

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Anonymous

Guest
Friend oldyaker,

If I am repeatin' a tale, please accept my apologizin'. I aint az old az some, but I kin fergit with the best of 'em.

Back when I usedta read "Outside" magazine, cover ta cover....issue after issue (before it become a Yuppie snow ski & mountain bike magazine), Ole Randy Wayne White wrote a tale bout paddlin' gear. He tole how him 'n hiz ex-Marine buddy went over ta the Nantahala 'n laughed at the paddlin' folk in wierd clothes 'n air bags 'n such.

Ole Randy 'n hiz buddy wuz wearin' cut off jeans, tennis shoes 'n paddlin' a Grumman. It wuz summer. He tole how wierd they figgered all them whitewater paddlin' fellas wuz in all the funny clothes 'n plastic boats.

They put in up ta Ferrebee Park, jest above Delebar's Rock. They went round the bend 'n lost the Grumman on Delebar's. They lost the beer cooler 'n paddles 'n near bout froze before they got out. Ole Randy sez mebbe there's a reason fer all the strange paddlin' gear 'n plastic boats.

Now dont git me wrong. Most a my paddlin' life I been in used, beat up gear. Until 2002 I never had a seat I didnt make outta foam 'n Lance's fish carvin' lectric knife. [That year I bought a used fat man boat....the red one in the pichurs of me in the falls on my webshot that Pirogue showed me how ta set up.] I carved 'n glued all my own knee pads frum blocks 'm glued in all my thigh straps. I made some foot braces frum a tore up kayak.

One year we painted all our canoes green like the college colors, but the paint didnt take. We put 'em in the Nantahala 'n turned it kinda green. We used ta call the reglars "Center Magic" cuz they mostly had Volvos, high dollar dry suits 'n high dollar roof racks. I used the $25 rain gutter clamps ya put a 2x4 on till Lance's son-in-law made me a angle iron rack.

I use a $25 plastic paddle 'n a few "lost" plastic raft company paddles that I never could git back ta the owner. Half my flotation iz used, wore out stuff frum the NOC GAF (Guest Appreciatin' Festival) sale each October. My river shoes come frum Wal-Mart 'n my wool socks frum Campmor. Whew.....

Aint no reason fer anyone bein' a snob bout gear, but there dang sho iz a point in havin' the rite gear fer the job......jest like Ole Randy figgered out when he run up on Delebar's Rock 'n lost hiz Grumman.

regards,

bearridge
 
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oldyaker

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
1,949
31
Agreed.

Agreed Bear, But there is a point where form overtakes funtion. With our pursuit of paddling, funtion should alway's be over form. You don't have to sell your first born to aquire good paddling equipment. Alot of the gear company catalogs look like fashion statements. You can alway's tell the Latt'e suck'n, Beamer driv'n, green polo shirt wear'n paddlers out on the water. You don't fit that mold in mind Bear. Your like most of the great folk on this forum, we go with what works and if we can save a few bucks doing it, we will. I see the yuppie trend in fly fishing as well. Some of them look like they modeled for LL Bean, don't catch anymore trout than anyone else. Wife and I bike sometimes, we wear cut offs and the local watering holes t-shirts, we get to the end of the trail just like the spandex wear'n folk and in about the same time. Of course you wouldn't want to see 'ol yak in spandex, :shock: might make ya go blind or give ya bad dreams!
 
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Swampy

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
1,736
0
Southeastern North Carolina
Oldyaker , I have goin back and forth to this URL of yerz. Lotz and lotz of great stories, posts on gear and what works and doesn't.
The canoe route they post are something , jest like ya said, keeps ya dreamin!
The trip reports are second to none... even az good az ourz!
Now if them boys an gals could have a map section az good az the lower 50 states, then they'd have an edge.
Thanks again for this URL. All will enjoy it.
swampy
 
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