Canoe Head Fall 2013 Page 1

There are two seasons in canoe country: paddlingseason and canoe trip planning season. Sadly, weare approaching the latter. To soften the blow,here are some great photos from this summer,submitted by several of our readers. And, see pagefive for some tips on the safe winter storage ofyour canoes. Happy paddling!

Canoe Head

paddling advice fromSouris River Canoes

Issue #9 Fall, 2013

Sigh… It’s That Time of Year AgainIt’s nearly time to store those canoes and plan for next season.

John Sellick, photo by Todd Sellick

Danielle Schultz, BWCA

Todd Sellick Nancy Johnston, Algonquin Park

Todd Cheney, Penobscot Lake

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ImagineThe year is 1520, you are a 20 year old TimucuaIndian paddling down the Ocali river on a clearwindless Spring day with the blue sky reflecting onthe river. You are in search of whatever food mightpresent itself Alligator, Manatee, fish, or shellfish.A Red-shouldered Hawk starts whistling it's kee-rah kee-rah at the top of a tree as you approach.You see two turtles crawling along the bottom ofthe river out of your reach.

The MoveIn January 2005 after many cold and snowywinters in New Hampshire we, Steve and Joy,made the move to Spring Hill, Florida. We and ourbeloved and trusty 1980 Old Town Tripper canoewere ready for new adventures. After arriving wepurchased two books on paddling Florida and soondiscovered what a wonderful state Florida is forcanoeing.

Manatee on the Weeki Wachee River

Spring Hill is the home of the world famous WeekiWachee mermaid show. More importantly to us isthat it takes place at Weeki Wachee Springs whichis the start of the Weeki Wachee river. Aftercompleting our first paddle of the seven mile runon this river we were hooked on Florida's springfed rivers.

Florida's Best Kept SecretWhat comes to mind when you hear the words“Rainbow Springs”, “Blue Hole Springs”, “CrystalRiver Springs” and “Silver Springs”? Florida hasover 700 fresh water springs and 1,700 miles ofrivers, streams, and creeks. Some of these springsare the source of crystal clear rivers which alsomeans great canoeing. We had never heard ofFlorida's springs before moving here.

Cassidy Springs, one of 14 springson the Wacissa River

One advantage of canoeing spring-fed rivers is thatthe water level is usually good all year round. Theyear round water temperature of the FloridaSprings is 74 degrees. Another advantage is manyof these spring-fed rivers are in protected areaswith abundant birds, animals, and flowers. Afterfinishing your paddle you also have the option ofgoing back to the spring and enjoying a nicecooling swim. There is usually no cell phonereception in many of these areas. Florida has 47state-designated canoe trails, many more spring-fed rivers that are not designated and also anexcellent state park system.

Canoe SeasonYou can canoe Florida all year. We prefer to canoefrom March through June as we enjoy theabundant wildlife along the rivers, cooler weatherand fewer people. When preparing to paddle a new

Paddling Florida's Shangri-Laby Steve Urban

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river, we look at the books and online trip reportsand sometimes view Google Earth to get a feel forthe lay of the land and the roads back to our carafter the paddle. I prefer to pack my bicycle in thecanoe with wheels removed and on the canoe floor.This allows me to bike back and get the car at theput in. We keep a canoe log of our trips so year toyear we can compare temperature at start andfinish, water level, wind, distance paddled, timepaddled, and wildlife viewed. When canoeing astate park river we'll be at the gate for the eight amopening, and usually be first on the water. There isno feeling quite like breaking through the spiderwebs as you paddle down river, (on the narrowrivers/creeks) and being the first to enjoy thewildlife. We have limited ourselves to doing onlyday trips, 7 - 11 miles, but there are also manyopportunities for multi-day camping trips.

Le TigreIn December 2009 I had unexpected surgery. Bythe time canoe season rolled around in March, Ifound I was unable to lift our 84 pound Tripperonto the car roof racks with Joy lifting the otherend of the canoe.

Delivery of our Souris River Canoefrom Canada to Florida

We decided a lighter canoe was what was needed.After researching different canoes and readingreviews we decided upon the Quetico 16 Le Tigrebecause of the light weight (42 pounds), durability,craftsmanship, and reputation. The slightly smaller

size compared to our Tripper canoe would alsoallow easier manoeuvring on the smaller creeks wepaddle.

Welcome leTigre and thank you Tripper.

Gators and Snakes and Bears!We have had two close calls with gators in nine-plus years of paddling Florida. The first isattributed to being in the right place, but at thewrong time. This incident took place on the GuanaRiver in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida during gatormating season.

The second incident is attributed to learning thehard way about wanting to get a close up picture ofa gator. One day (see picture below on right) whilepaddling the Silver river we spied a gator lying onthe bottom. As we approached the gator it seemedto be sleeping. We manoeuvred the canoe toward itfor a better picture and were almost on top of itwhen it opened it eyes. Seeing us above startled itand it went into a gator roll snapping its tail for aquick getaway and the tail hit the canoe. The

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adrenalin spiked in us as much as the gator! Notgood and lesson learned.

Ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, thegators we see start heading in the oppositedirection and go under long before we get nearthem. It is nearly impossible to approach them. Usecaution of course. One time canoeing Juniper creekwe were in a section about 12 feet wide and 3 feetdeep with a sandy bottom and saw a good sizedgator swimming down river in front of us. Thegator had nowhere to hide so it stuck it's headunder the roots of a tree on the riverbank as wepaddled by on the opposite side.

The Florida Canoe and Kayak Trail Guide bookmentions paddlers having had snakes falling out ofthe trees into their canoe. Since arriving in Floridawe have only seen two water moccasin's(venomous). Since Florida does have fourvenomous snake species, we carry the SawyerExtractor Pump Bite kit with our first aid kit.

Your Visit to the Sunshine StateOn your next visit to Florida you can look at theonline Florida Springs map and decide where youmight like to paddle. Consider renting a canoefrom a local outfitter. They also offer shuttleservice, canoe guides, and great advice. Pack yoursun screen, hat, long sleeve shirt, swim suit, andcamera.

At the end of an enjoyable day on the river we'llsay to each other: "Another Day in Paradise".

Referenced booksPaddler's Guide to the Sunshine State by Sandy Huff 2001

Florida's Fabulous Canoe and Kayak Trail Guideby Tim Ohr and Pete Carmichael 2006

Internet LinksAerial photos of the Florida Springs.http://www.floridasprings.org/visit/aerial/

Florida’s State Park system.http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/paddle.htm

YouTube video of our February 2013 paddle onthe St. John's river and the Manatees.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0zMLey-Hqc

Video of our close call with alligators.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcTnaQ4Z2GM

Video of our May 2013 paddle onthe Silver River.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33s0UIJCa-A

Video of our May 2013 paddle onthe Wacissa River.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvRHRzeSmHc

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Storing Your CanoeYes, it’s getting to be time to pack your canoeaway for the winter. As I write this, we have aninch of fresh snow on the ground here in QueticoCountry. It’s not likely to stay, but it is a sign.

Here are a few tips for storing your canoe over thewinter, to ensure it is in good shape and ready topaddle next Spring:

● Keep it under cover. While are canoes arepretty UV-resistant, keeping them in the shadewill preserve their colour longer.

● Don’t let snow get on it. Our canoes are alsotough, but a two-foot layer of snow is heavyenough to buckle the bottom of a canoe, andcrack some ribs. If you must store it outside,cover it, so that so cannot build-up on the hull.If your canoes must be outside for a while, tonot put two or more close together side-by-

side. This allows snow to build-up even more,potentially damsging the hull.

● Support it properly. Storing it upside down,supported at a couple points on the gunwales isbest. They will distribute the weight,preventing your canoe from distorting.

● Put it away dry. Nothing will prevent waterexpanding when it freezes, so make sure yourcanoe is dry when you put it away. Some waterwill gather inside the end caps when the canoeis inverted, so check there.

● Put it away clean. Cleaning it will help revealany maintenance issues, and will preventmoisture build-up that could discolour thecanoe. Warm water, soap, and a little elbowgrease should do the job.

Last year, Souris River Canoes supported the VermontLoon Recovery Project by providing a new Souris RiverCanoe at cost. Our 42 pound canoe was a significantimprovement over the 70+ pound canoe they were using,given the many times per day it needed to be lifted andcarried.

For more information on this program, and other initiativesby the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, see:www.vtecostudies.org/

Below, Lauren Schramm sets out nest warning signs.Right, Eric Hanson pulls the canoe to shore.

Vermont Loon Recovery Project

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HarbourfrontCanoes

For those of you in or near Toronto, Ontario,we will once again be supplying HarbourfrontCanoe and Kayak Centre with demo canoes.

Simply contact Souris River Canoes to reserveyour spot, and you may test any of several of ourmost popular models at Harbourfront, free ofcharge. See our website,www.sourisriver.com/harbourfront.html for moredetails, and a map.

Harbourfront is located at: 283A Queen’sQuay West, off Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto. Visittheir website at www.paddletoronto.com.

We currently have one Prospector 17.5 from2012 at Harbourfront for sale. Contact SourisRiver Canoes for details.

About Canoe HeadCanoe Head is published quarterly, or

whenever we get around to it by Souris RiverCanoes. If you are reading a borrowed copy, go towww.sourisriver.com/perks.html to sign-up andreceive your very own.

Souris River Canoes builds high qualitywilderness tripping canoes made from Kevlar andepoxy resin.

Visit our website at www.sourisriver.com

Or, contact us at:

Souris River Canoes106 Reid StreetP.O. Box 1116Atikokan, ONP0T 1C0Tel: 807-597-1292E-mail: sales@sourisriver.com

Todd Sellick

Trade Show TourWe will once again be hitting the road in early 2014, on theTrade Show Tour. Visit our booth at one of these shows, andsee what we have to offer.

Toronto Sportsmen’s ShowFebruary 6 - 9, 2014Direct Energy Centre, Toronto ONwww.torontosportshow.ca

Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Sports ShowMarch 5 - 9, 2014Wisconsin State Fair ParkWest Allis, Wisconsinwww.milwaukeesportsshow.com