Cliff Jacobson Interview
I’ve learned an absolute TON about canoeing from Cliff Jacobson over the years and was thrilled to have him on my podcast. You can listen our conversation here or check out the highlights.
Bear Boards and Other Precautions
Bears are curious, persistent, and tremendously strong creatures. Given enough time they can break into just about any structure to ransack it in their quest for food. And if you travel enough in bear country you’ll inevitably come across some pretty elaborate fortifications that people have built to protect their cabins. One of the lowest […]
How to Get Started in Canoeing, Featuring Mikaela Ferguson
Getting started in something new is always daunting, and this especially true if you’re talking about canoeing, paddling, and other watersports. There is steep learning curve and potentially quite an investment in gear, so you want the process to be as painless as possible. I was thrilled to have canoe guide Mikaela Ferguson on my […]
My Top Four Wilderness Canoeing Books
I’ve learned a TON about traveling in the wilderness from books. Here are my top four wilderness canoeing books… The Path of the Paddle, by Bill Mason Bill Mason is a Canadian patron saint of canoeing, and this is the book that taught multiple generations of paddlers how to canoe. I took a copy of […]
My Favorite Bear Alarm
The PakAlarm is an affordable and reliable way to bear proof your camp. Basically it allows you to run a tough monofilament line around your tent which, if tripped, sets off a very loud siren. I’ve used it on two arctic and subarctic trips so far and wouldn’t go north without it again. Here it […]
Know When to Walk Away, Know When to Run…
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Stephan Kesting (@essentialwilderness) It’s just not worth getting hurt when you’re just training. I bailed off this trail because it was cold, it was raining, and I was underdressed. Treevalanches were coming down all around me, and getting hit in the head with a big icy […]
Poling, A Forgotten Method to Travel Upriver
If I just had a dollar for every time I’ve been told, “Never stand up in a canoe”. Everybody knows that, right? Well, everybody is wrong. If you stand in a canoe you should do so carefully, but I do it all the time. I stand up to get a better view of rapids downstream, […]
Fire Irons, the Best Way to Cook Over a Fire
Fire irons are two pieces of metal, typically tubular aluminum, that can be laid across a fire to provide a stable surface for cooking. In my experience this simple setup is much lighter, portable, stable and rugged than carrying any sort of grill with you into the woods.
Things I Carry in My PFD on a Wilderness Canoeing Expedition
A personal floatation device keeps you on the surface of the water and stops you from drowning, but it’s also SO much more than that, especially on a long expedition. First, the layers of foam act as an insulator to keep you warm and as body armour if you’re getting bashed against rocks. It’s your […]
5 Ways to Screw Up Bear Spray
Bear spray is an important piece of wilderness equipment. I’ve carried it in black bear, grizzly bear and polar bear country and it’s always added to my peace of mind; after all, 20 years of research suggests that it’s more effective than a gun at deterring aggressive bears). But any tool badly used can create more problems […]