Campfire Tales: Canoe Camping Conventions
Call them Rules of the Road, Standard Operating Procedures or Practical Protocols. There are certain canoe camping conventions that you must follow when your spirit of adventure calls for a backcountry fishing trip.
Canoe Camping Rule #1: Respect History
“I’m not getting into a canoe with you,” he said adamantly.
“No” was the only standard protocol my brother Gary needed when I asked him to go with me on such an adventure.
At this stage in our lives, I was counting on the idea that as you get older you tend to forget things. But his memory of our last canoe mishap had come back to him more crystal clear than the murky water we were treading that day.
Up a creek without a paddle? No, we had the paddles. It was the canoe that was being carried downstream by the current.
As it had been only the third time I had capsized a canoe with him in it, I would have expected him to be more forgiving.
Canoe Camping Rule #2: Beware The Lean
Not one to give up easily, I asked my adult son Brian if he wanted to go.
“Sorry, Dad,” he said. “I have a family of my own now. Getting into a canoe with you is too great of a risk.”
That hurt. Obviously, he had recalled the last time we fished together in a canoe. Not paying attention to what the other was doing, we both reached out to the left for the hooks at the end of our lines at the same time. But we leaned too far. The canoe flipped instantly.
Captain and crew momentarily went down with the ship. Luckily we both had life jackets and bobbed back to the surface. But our fishing tackle sank like a stone. It’s probably still in Davy Jones’ locker.
Canoe Camping Rule #3: Secure The Gear
That leads us to the next obvious rule: strap everything down.
“Sorry, Dad,” my son Sean said when I asked if he was free for the weekend. “I can’t afford to get tied up right now.”
Okay, that was a little dig about my slightly obsessive insistence when he was young about securing our gear. I had learned my lesson. Everything was tied down.
“We looked like tangled marionettes,” he said. “Every time you cast your line, my right leg would lift. I felt like Pinnochio. The packs were tied, the sleeping bags were tied, the tackle boxes were tied. You insisted on having our pocket knives, house keys and everything else on lanyards. Then our fishing lines would become entwined with it all. Talk about web gear. We couldn’t even paddle with such a network of lines everywhere.”
“Isn’t that an exaggeration?” I asked. “Let’s not go overboard.”
“Not going overboard is the general idea,” he said.
Canoe Camping Rule #4: Plan On Getting Wet
While I confine my canoe and kayak exploits to flat water, still I always plan on everything getting wet.
You can pack everything in dry bags, but I find doubled trash bags work best. Yes, the water will find its way in eventually and ruin your gear.
When you get home, though, you can simply throw out the trash bags, damaged gear and all. It’s very convenient.
“You’re not going to make us call you ‘Captain’ like you did when I was young are you?” my son Matt asked on our last family camping trip.
“No, you don’t have to call me ‘Captain,’” I said. “Anyway, we’re all in individual kayaks this time. It’s like a little fleet. ‘Admiral’ would be more appropriate.”
On that particular trip, it was Matt who overturned his kayak and had to swim to shore while I towed his half-submerged kayak behind me. People passing by in other canoes and kayaks thought Matt was a marathon swimmer in training and cheered him on. It was a like-father-like-son moment. I was proud.
Canoe Camping Rule #5: Sit In The Back
While I like to travel and fish by canoe, I’m definitely a backseat driver. Sitting up front, especially in a narrow canoe can be nerve-wracking. There’s nothing in front of you but open water. At least in the back you have the length of the canoe in front of you.
“Why do you always insist on sitting in the back?” my wife Dawn asked.
“I can steer better from back here,” I said.
“Also, you can stop paddling when you get tired while I continue to do all of the work up front,” she said. “I know your tricks, you sneak.”
“That’s ‘Captain’ to you,” I said.
Luckily, all of our camping gear was strapped in. She had nothing to throw at me other than her paddle.
And with the likelihood that I might go overboard at any minute, she wasn’t about to give that up.
For real information on camping by canoe, go to the Old Town Canoe website at OldTownCanoe.com. And check out the IamOutdoorsy video below.
(Lead photo credit: Daniel Thornberg / Dreamstime.com)
Steven Paul Barlow is a retired sergeant/station commander and former firearms instructor with the New York State Police. He is an avid hunter, fisherman, and enthusiast with all things related to firearms, knives, and survival. He has been writing on outdoor topics for more than 35 years. His collections of outdoor humor stories are available at BriarHill Books.