A few years ago I pulled off the highway onto a deserted logging road and pulled out an old container of bear spray. I wanted to fire it off to refamiliarise myself with the range and dispersion pattern of the capsicum spray. I checked the wind direction, removed the safety latch, and pushed down on […]
What causes a river to meander and cause a series of curving channels across the landscape?
PORTUGUESE COASTAL CAMINO OVERVIEW The Camino de Santiago is a thousand-year-old pilgrimage network all over Europe which converges on the amazing cathedral in the town of Santiago de Compostella, Spain, that is built over the supposed remains of St James the Great. The most popular version of the Camino is the Camiño francés (the ‘French […]
Canoes are universal. After all, anywhere that there is open water it’s probably useful to have an open-topped craft that can be easily loaded and unloaded, pointed at both ends so it can go forwards and backwards, and light enough to be propelled by paddles. Prior to the advent of Kevlar and fancy plastics, canoes […]
Rolling practice… It’s been 20 years since I last rolled a small whitewater canoe equipped with a saddle, thigh straps, and airbags, so I headed to the pool to practice. I can see some room for improvement, but overall it’s a skill that’s coming back quickly. I’m motivated to make my roll bombproof because I […]
In this video I chatted with Canadian explorer Adam about rain and cold weather gear for expedition canoeing… Adam normally goes super minimalist, but hypothermia is certainly something to worry about. He had hypothermia a lot while doing shoestring expeditions on a budget in his 20’s and he’s not had hypothermia since then because he […]
I recently spoke with explorer and author Adam Shoalts about the role intuitive navigation plays in the wilderness. Here’s the video of that conversation, and the summary of the main points are below the video. Enjoy! Summary of Intuitive vs GPS Based Navigation It’s obviously a huge asset if you can learn to navigate intuitively, […]
Adam Shoalts is an accomplished Canadian explorer with many big expeditions under his belt. He’s been a guest on my podcast (The Strenuous Life Podcast) multiple times, always with new, amazing stories. In our most recent conversation he explained how mindset and mentality are MUCH much more important than gear for staying safe in the […]
Lessons repeat themselves until learned… The first time I had a boat float away on me was on the Missinaibi River in Ontario. I had just portaged the boat down a muddy trail through the forest and arrived at the bottom of a rapid. I dropped the 16 foot Prospector into the water with just […]
The clove hitch is an important knot commonly used way to fasten a rope to an object. It’s quick knot to tie and is easily undone. It’s used in two different scenarios; it’s the same knot although you tie it in different ways…. A lot of people have trouble with tying the clove hitch, and […]
