Canoeing – Canoe Camping and Outdoor Camping Trip Information

Choosing a canoe paddle might not seem like a big deal because one paddle propels the canoe as well as the other, right? Actually that statement isn’t accurate as there are distinct differences in canoe paddle designs and they all affect the efficiency of your paddling in one way or another.

The Very Basics of Canoe Paddle Materials

To better understand the differences in canoe paddles we should start by taking a look at the materials used to construct the paddles, and while in most cases there is no real right or wrong material, the material and style you choose will make a noticeable difference in your paddling.

Wood canoe paddles are popular for many reasons and appearance is one of those reasons. Wood paddles are also more comfortable and natural in your hands, and some paddlers suggest that because of the sensitivity of wood paddles you get a better feeling of how the paddle reacts with the water as you stroke, but they do require some occasional maintenance as the wood paddle will become cracked and damaged with time. Depending on the manufacturer and quality of paddle you select, a decent wood paddle can be begin in the $65 price range and increase to several hundred dollars. But it’s generally a good idea to spend a little extra on a quality wooden paddle rather than purchase cheap. Wooden paddles are ideal for deeper flatwater situations but can be purchased or modified with protective blade ends for paddling shallow rocky water too.

Aluminum canoe paddles are constructed from an aluminum shaft and usually a polyethylene blade. They are popular because they are cheaper, durable and forever lasting, and you can do things with aluminum paddles you wouldn’t normally do with wooden or carbon paddles, such as pushing off rocks and prying your way out of sticky situations. But the downside to these paddles is that they are much heavier than other paddle materials and those extra ounces add up over several hundred paddle strokes. Despite the extra weight I think aluminum paddles are the most practical canoe paddle to own; I own several of them for shallow water paddling and I think every paddler should have a few of them available for shallow rocky water paddling or as an extra paddle.

Fiberglass and carbon fiber canoe paddles are lightweight and strong, making them extremely versatile and a pleasure to use, but they tend to be the most expensive of all the paddle materials starting at around $150. These paddles are high performance paddles usually used by experienced canoeists. I don’t recommend inexperienced canoeists run out and make a purchase on a fiberglass or carbon paddle immediately as your money can be better spent elsewhere. While they are tough they aren’t as tough as the wood or aluminum/polyethylene paddles.

So my recommendations for a beginner’s canoe paddle are to make your selection based on the type of paddling you will be doing. If you are paddling deeper flatwater opt for a good quality wooden paddle and pick up an aluminum/polyethylene paddle as a spare or shallow water paddle. If you are paddling mainly shallow rivers and creeks the aluminum/polyethylene paddles are an excellent paddle to get started with, then you can graduate to something more expensive and specialized down the road. And if you are racing canoes or just have money burning a hole in your pocket then shop for the fiberglass or carbon fiber paddle.

Soon I’ll discuss canoe paddles in details such as the bent shaft paddle, the whitewater paddle, and how to fit your paddle to you.

Maddy From MaddyTheGoose.com

I’m thinking about getting a dog to accompany me on some of my canoe trips. I got the idea by watching various videos of paddler and canine, and it just seems having a good dog along would be a perfect fit. 

Have a look at Maddy the Goose canoe trip videos and you’ll see what I mean. In those videos Springer Spaniel Maddy is so obedient that she seems to be much more fun than burden and offers no chance of running off into the wilderness after a flock or turkeys or deer. But I’ve seen dogs on canoe trips that were more of a hassel than what their owners gained from bringing them along.

Some ideas that come to mind before taking a dog canoeing is to be sure they strictly obey the stay, heel and come command without a miss. Our terrier could never make a good canoeing dog because she only obeys those commands when she wants to…when she thinks she’ll get a treat out of it.

A question I have is whether a natural water dog like a lab would make a good canoeing dog? Seems logical that she would but I once watched a lab nearly dump a canoe and her master into the water when she suddenly decided to go for a swim and jumped out of the canoe.

One of the most interesting dog-in-canoe situations I witnessed was a guy who brought his Pomeranian on a three day canoe camping trip. He had a small dog crate mounted on top of a hard cooler and inside is where the dog stayed during the first day of the trip. On the second day the dog gained courage and began to move around the canoe. On the third day it rained and the dog stayed inside the crate. It also turned out to be a cool little dog  around the campsite, but for a canoeing dog I think I’m looking for something a little different than a lap dog. Could you imagine a Pomerian following you around on the portage trails? One swoop from an Eagle and your Pom would be gone.

Maybe I can get Troy from MaddyTheGoose.com to comment in on this blog post with some suggestions and tips for canoeing with dogs.

I found a few website links on this topic –

Dog Channel

Canada’s Guide to Dogs

Born to Paddle

See more photos of Maddy.

Canoe dog image courtesy of archangelm at Flickr.

Canoe Camping Boat Launch Karthaus Pennsylvania

Canoe camping is one of the few hobbies I’ve stuck with longer than a few years and one of the things I enjoy most in my life. My first canoe camping trip was in the summer of 1987, on a small creek located in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. There were six of us on that first canoe camping trip and we continue to canoe camp together to this day. This article will provide the basic information that you will need to get started on your first canoe trip, and hopefully turn canoe camping into your lifelong hobby.

Selecting Your Canoe Camping Destination
Your destination is a major consideration because the longer your trip and the more challenging the water the more technical things become in terms of packing food and gear, experience level and vehicle shuttles, so it’s very important to select a trip that is within your ability.  

• Inexperienced canoe campers can easily manage a multi-day river trip with some guidance from experienced canoe campers but there are always those who want to give it a go without any guidance or experience. If you are one of those people I’d suggest doing your first canoe camping trip on a lake or slow flatwater river.
• If you decide to descend a river on your first canoe camping experience use some common sense and choose something in the class 1 range. After that trip you should be ready to move on to something a little more challenging. 

Read an article about on one of our favorite canoe camping rivers in Central Pennsylvania. It’s called the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and  is very popular for overnight canoe trips through a slightly remote region of North Central Pennsylvania. It’s the perfect river for a first-timer canoe camper.

Selecting Your Canoe
First-time canoe campers don’t often have the luxury of choosing the perfect canoe for their trip because they are often using a borrowed canoe. But the main considerations in choosing your canoe is the length and design. In most situations the ideal canoe for canoe camping should be in the 16ft-17 ft length range and the design should be a touring design that provides both good stability, maneuverability and tracking. Read more about choosing canoe designs.

Choosing Your Canoe Camping Gear
A gear list can become rather lengthy in terms of what you’d like to have on a canoe trip but let’s start with the absolute must-have gear that are often overlooked.

1. Personal floatation devices that fit snugly and are properly rated for your body weight
2. At least one “extra” paddle
3. Throw rope of some type (this may help save a life in dangerous water situations)
4. Cooking equipment & essential food
5. Flash lights 
6. Dry bags
7. Dry clothing
8. Toilet articles
9. First aid kit
10. Waterproof matches or lighter
11. Rain gear
12. Sunblock
13. Cell phone or other communication devices (these have become essentials over the past few years)   

Of course then you have all the other items that make the trip more comfortable but not necessarily essential for survival. 

1. Tent
2. Sleeping bags
3. Extra food, snacks & drinks
4. Lantern
5. Camping stove
6. Sleeping bag mat
7. Clothesline
8. Chair
9. Camera
10. Coolers

 As you can see the items you could take along on your canoe camping trip are endless. The amount of gear you take with you depends on the length and remoteness of your trip as well as the location of your trip. For example when wilderness canoeing you are likely going to portage across land for long distances so you are limited to the amount of gear you can pack.   

 My last trip to a remote region of the Adirondacks proved that I’m no expert at wilderness canoe camping, but I have successfully completed a few wilderness canoe trips in the St. Regis Canoe Area.  Wilderness canoeing is advanced level of canoe camping that includes map reading, trip scheduling, canoe carries and a degree of efficiency that isn’t alway so easy to master and certainly not for the first-time canoe camper. You can read my Adirondacks Canoe Camping Trip Report to find out how challenging wilderness canoeing can be.

As you probably guessed there is a lot more to canoe camping than what I wrote in this short article, but hopefully this article gave you more incentive to pursue canoe camping. For more information browse through the many articles on this Website, or visit your local canoe outfitter or your local canoe & kayak club.