Your inspirational people or canoe heroes?

[yellowcanoe]

Here is Reinhard Zollitsch one of mine. Met him and Nancy several times. Still kids!
http://www.wcsh6.com/entertainment/...llitsch-remains-an-adventurer-at-77/367717611

blogs
http://www.zollitschcanoeadventures.com/

some very good winter reading..

Note. No double blades.

 

[BobMills]

Kim,

Thanks for the link - it's fun to find someone interested in what interests me.

Bob

 

[Srobocop]

I usually watch Kevin Callan Videos and Trip reports on youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyAVx1RB04N3CDMRPLeLiRg

 

[Iskweo]

My canoe heroes? All the people on this site who continue to push the edges and head out when lesser beings have hung up the paddles, put away the outfitter tents, and forsaken the portage trails. My hat is off to all of you hard core canoeists.

And Bill Mason, always Bill Mason.

Christine

 

[sweeper]

Being new to the wider world canoes and not just where to go, I found Kevin Callan's books and then his videos, and also our very own videos by HOOP. Alan's videos are a major reason I bought my new Swift Keewaydin. I'm not going very far with the canoes I had, especially alone.

 

[Boreal Birch]

For me it would have to be the book THE SINGING WILDERNESS by Sigrud F. Olson, that book sang to me. Later on I met the man himself and was even more impressed, to the point of trying every day to be more like Sig. I learned to paddle a canoe from a book Calvin Rustrum.
BB

 

[tump_lion]

it was mason who busted it wide open for me...

and as above
sig olson
& rustrum

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

Anyone who takes a group of teenagers on a canoe camping trip has hero status in my book.

 

[Chip]

My nominations go to three local guys from the pre-royalex era. Roger Corbett, canoeist extraordinaire and author of Virginia Whitewater. Dead now, he was 20 yrs my senior and took me underwing when I wanted to become proficient at canoeing whitewater. He must have been a beast paddler in his prime, which was well behind him when I began paddling with him. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of rivers throughout Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania--seemed to be able to remember every rock. He'd weave his way through a rapid in a 16' Mohawk Intrepid and his paddle would hardly move. Through him, I met Louis Matacia, who used to run liveries on the Shenandoah and wrote a series of guidebooks on that river. He always solo-paddled an OT Tripper and always insisted on carrying it himself though he was in his 70s. I hope I can paddle a canoe, let alone lift a Tripper, at that age.

The third local guy that impresses me is Ed Gertler. He has written guidebooks on Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Paddles a C1 of some sort which is no longer in production, but he has the mold, so when he wears them out he gets another one built. And I believe he does wear them out, for he paddles (fast) the rivers in the guidebooks. I once paddled a section of the Conococheague with him, finishing up in late afternoon of a cold, early-March day. We'd left his vehicle upstream at the put-in, and while I was driving him back he asked if I'd mind dropping him off upstream near the Pennsylvania border, which I did. He explained he needed to paddle the upriver section because he was updating the Maryland guidebook. It was cold and late. I was tired. He wasn't going to get back to his car until well after dark. He is a paddlers paddler.

On that early-March trip, we talked about Roger Corbett. Turns out, Corbett had also mentored Gertler, and that must have been back around 1970-80. Gertler was this kid who wanted to paddle but wasn't old enough to drive, and Corbett would go pick him up and take him paddling. Later, Gertler tried to talk Corbett into writing a guidebook for Maryland. Corbett turned the tables on him. He refused to write the guidebook but encouraged and helped Gertler to write it. So not only did Corbett train paddlers, he developed a prolific guidebook author, and I never heard of him accepting payment for any of it.

So, these guys get my hero nominations, not only for their considerable paddling prowess, but for a lifetime of helping others enjoy paddling and giving back to the paddling community.

 

[Mnoutdoorfunguy]

The Freemans for spending a year in the BWCA Wilderness to protect a wild Place for us all and to bring awareness about wild places.

 

[Guest]

My nominations go to three local guys from the pre-royalex era. Roger Corbett, canoeist extraordinaire and author of Virginia Whitewater.

The third local guy that impresses me is Ed Gertler. He has written guidebooks on Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Paddles a C1 of some sort which is no longer in production, but he has the mold, so when he wears them out he gets another one built. And I believe he does wear them out, for he paddles (fast) the rivers in the guidebooks

Turns out, Corbett had also mentored Gertler, and that must have been back around 1970-80. Gertler was this kid who wanted to paddle but wasn't old enough to drive, and Corbett would go pick him up and take him paddling. Later, Gertler tried to talk Corbett into writing a guidebook for Maryland. Corbett turned the tables on him. He refused to write the guidebook but encouraged and helped Gertler to write it. So not only did Corbett train paddlers, he developed a prolific guidebook author, and I never heard of him accepting payment for any of it.

So, these guys get my hero nominations, not only for their considerable paddling prowess, but for a lifetime of helping others enjoy paddling and giving back to the paddling community.

I have a hard time edging into hero worship, and they say “Never meet your heros”, but I second Chip’s nomination of Corbett and Gertler as inspirational, or at least invaluable.

Inspirational for their paddling prowess, and for having paddled every inch of river in their guidebooks. And yes, Gertler’s Time estimates for individual sections is listed in “Gertler Time”. Multiple by 1.5 or 2x for the average paddler. And for having paddled every dang inch of everything that might float a boat, from crazy occluded headwaters down.

But they are invaluable for having developed the most user friendly paddling guide formant ever created.

Roger Corbett had that format nailed with Virginia Whitewater (which includes distinctly non-whitewater sections)

https://www.amazon.com/Virginia-whi...481569619&sr=1-1&keywords=Virginia+Whitewater

Gertler used his mentor’s format for Maryland and Delaware Canoe Trails.

https://www.amazon.com/Maryland-Del...1&keywords=Maryland+and+Delaware+Canoe+Trails

And then Keystone Canoeing and Garden State Canoeing.

https://www.amazon.com/Keystone-Can...=1481569882&sr=1-1&keywords=Keystone+Canoeing

https://www.amazon.com/Garden-State...1569940&sr=1-1&keywords=Garden+State+Canoeing

I don’t know if there was mentoring going on, or simply adoption of that most user friendly paddling guide style, but Paul Ferguson’s guides to eastern NC and SC are identical to the Corbett/Gertler format.

https://www.amazon.com/Paddling-Eas...=1-1&keywords=paddling+eastern+north+carolina

https://www.amazon.com/Canoe-Kayak-...&qid=1481570293&sr=1-5&keywords=Paul+Ferguson

Mid-Atlantic area paddlers are blessed with a richness of paddling from coast to mountains. Having everything from NJ and PA in the north to NC and SC in the south in the same exquisitely user friendly format is a huge boon. Thanks Roger, Ed and Paul.

Hey Chip, there is a 1[SUP]st[/SUP] edition 1979 Gertler MD/DE guide on Amazon for 60 cents.

https://www.amazon.com/Maryland-Del...4&keywords=Maryland+and+Delaware+Canoe+Trails

Worth it just for the cover. Maybe spring it on Gertler for an autograph someday.

 

[Grandpa Paddler]

In all seriousness, we have Mike McCrea. I have appreciated his articles and sense of humor for years. When I first joined this forum I was happy to discover his presence here. He may not be my hero, but is deserving of my respect and admiration. Keep at it Mike.

 

[Guest]

In all seriousness, we have Mike McCrea. I have appreciated his articles and sense of humor for years. When I first joined this forum I was happy to discover his presence here. He may not be my hero, but is deserving of my respect and admiration.

Well, first of all, none of my hats now fit.

they say “Never meet your heros

Second of all, “Never meet the people you respect or admire”. Probably not a concern since I have become a solo paddling hermit in my later years.

Seriously, I am but a dubber with a good vocabulary and some literary license compared to many of the folks on Canoe Tripping. The wilderness trippers, canoe builders and sundy craftsmen (and craftswomen) here blow me away on a daily basis.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again; this is a very special community, especially with regard to different-strokes acceptance and appreciation.

And, yet again, my thanks to Robin and the CT denizens for keeping it clean, friendly and focused.

 

[Will Derness]

My nominations go to three local guys from the pre-royalex era. Roger Corbett, canoeist extraordinaire and author of Virginia Whitewater...................The third local guy that impresses me is Ed Gertler. He has written guidebooks on Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Paddles a C1 of some sort which is no longer in production, but he has the mold, so when he wears them out he gets another one built. And I believe he does wear them out, for he paddles (fast) the rivers in the guidebooks.

So, these guys get my hero nominations, not only for their considerable paddling prowess, but for a lifetime of helping others enjoy paddling and giving back to the paddling community.

Concur with you on these guys, without Corbfett's and Gertler's guide books it's unlikely I would have adventured out as much. Their guides gave everyone access to the great flowing waters we enjoy so much. I never had the good fortune to meet either paddler, but I started my beginnings with Gertlers MD/DE book and quickly discovered cutting Ed's time estimates in half was the wiser choice after early journeys found me on the water far longer than Ed was.

Mid Atlantic paddlers received a blessing with their research and publications. Many a trip my friends and I have taken came right out of those guidebooks.

 

[Doc.]

William Johnson, pivotal pillar in opening up the American northeast and the Canadian southeast in the early 1700's; Simon Kenton, a pivotal pillar in opening up the Ohio/Kentucky territories in the mid 1700's; Tecumseh, who came within a hair's breath of uniting the native Americans from Canada to the Gulf Coast in a continental confederation in the early 1800's. Each of these individuals demonstrated courage, true leadership, wilderness skills, creativity, personal integrity, and sacrificial living beyond compare. It's safe to say that all three were masters of wilderness canoeing.

 

[Odyssey]

Art came first. Then literature. Then film.
Taking high-school art classes was fun, challenging, and a good excuse not to go to math class. Trying to understand Realism, Cubism, Expressionism and too many more isms was barely tolerable seated across from the Jackson twins. Those beautiful blonde Amazonian girls sure inspired me, that is until one day we studied the post-impressionism of The Group of Seven. And then I totally forgot the twin muses across from me and discovered the lure of the north country through art.
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history...-of-seven.html
A field trip to the McMichael Gallery where many of their works reside cemented the bond between this pen and ink scribbler and the wild and painted land.
http://tvo.org/video/documentaries/p...-seven-feature
http://mcmichael.emuseum.com/emuseum/
I've been returning to the McMichael ever since, on a pilgrimage to reaffirm a connection with a land I like to paddle through, immerse body and soul, and by losing myself in their art find myself there.

Soon afterwards I came across the legend of Grey Owl. Although much of his personal life is impossible to admire, I do love his writing. I still have an old copy of Tales From An Empty Cabin, and enjoy it on a winter's evening, imagining myself in the depths of the quiet northern forest, a mug of strong black tea in one hand, listening to the howling winter storm through the pines. Or are they wolves?
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/belan...sfeld_16E.html

"The feel of a canoe gunnel at the thigh, the splash of flying spray in the face, the rhythm of the snowshoe trail, the beckoning of far-off hills and valleys, the majesty of the tempest, the calm and silent presence of the trees that seem to muse and ponder in their silence; the trust and confidence of small living creatures, the company of simple men; these have been my inspiration and my guide. Without them I am nothing." Grey Owl


[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The films Waterwalker and Song Of The Paddle by Bill Mason completed the circle for me, drawing together a love for the physical rigours of canoe travel, the spiritual search for deeper meaning in this mixed up world, and an artistic appreciation for the bold and infinite palettes of colour spread throughout the backcountry.[/FONT]
https://www.nfb.ca/film/waterwalker/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/song_of_the_paddle/

I've no real canoe heroes, but have found instead real inspiration drawn from other wandering souls, who've searched and loved canoe country on their own personal quests in their own chosen medium and on their own terms.

 

[Muskrat]

Chapelle and Adney for their work on the bark canoes and skin boats. John Winters for his willingness to share the mind of a canoe designing naval architect. All the other authors who write about boat design and engineering for the layman. And, even though he uses a double blade, George Dyson is everything I want to be, a radically outside the box boat building and going vagabond and a science historian.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I guess I take more inspiration from the living vs the dead, because those that are living encourage me in person to go do it.

Lots of folks at the WCHA, the FreeStyle tripping folks like Marc and Bruce and others ( who started me Florida paddling in January.. never too cold), Becky Mason, Reid Maclachlan.. My dear departed friend Kirk Wipper. Cliff Jacobson and his wife Susie..Kevin Callan and Phil Cotton.. Michael Peake.. David Yost, Charlie Wilson, Peter Marshall. Bill Miller Lisa Lisius .Lisa De Hart. Wendy Weiger.

Those I actually get to yak about canoeing with and they all say why not do it? Great talk around the dinner table at events..

 

[GGTBod]

You know what? I was reading this thread and thought my paddle idol would have been mentioned over and over again. Would anyone be surprised with my Adirondack passions that i have a soft spot for Nessmuk (George Washington Sears), funny thing was i found him and his works when i was teaching myself snares and trapping from his old book Woodcraft and Camping, it was only after hunting down his other works i found out he was a paddler and that his favourite haunts were around the places i went paddling and camping as a young boy on my first trip to USA and the Adirondacks

 

[yellowcanoe]

Nope.. George Washington Sears was a lover of civilization.. Back in the good ole ADK days.. It is fun to try to find out where he slept and stayed.. But I am neither 90 lbs nor tubercular.
Perhaps cause I spent a time living in the ADK's but love to explore other areas. I get bored with my home area.. Its just me.

The poor ADKs are being over improved I say..Its not like the early sixties when I was there.