Views from Canoes: What’s Special about Canoeing?

19 May 2016

Ask any canoeing enthusiast what all the hullabaloo is over paddling a canoe around a lake or down a river, and instantly a smile stretches across their lips and they get a distant look in their eyes. Call it hypnotic, or convivial, or revitalizing, for canoeing can be all of those things and then some.

Former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau was an avid canoeist. Long before his career as a politician, he wrote an essay entitled, “Exhaustion and Fulfillment: The Ascetic in a Canoe”. In it, he expounded the virtues of canoeing expeditions: “What sets a canoeing expedition apart is that it purifies you more rapidly and inescapably than any other … For it is a condition of such a trip that you entrust yourself, stripped of your worldly goods, to nature. Canoe and paddle, blanket and knife, salt pork and flour, fishing rod and rifle; that is about the extent of your wealth.”

Even recreational canoeing, Trudeau wrote, is a valuable pastime worth more than many others.

Before you follow an experienced adventure expert and canoeist into the bush for a long journey, take a casual paddle around a calm lake, or embark on a backcountry canoeing trip in one of Ontario’s provincial parks with friends, prepare accordingly and be mindful of canoe safety.

Wonderful Things about Canoeing

There’s much to relish about taking to the open water in a canoe. The sheer fun of it aside, there are physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits associated with canoeing, including:

It’s a time for self-reflection.

To better understand the world, you must turn away from it sometimes. Since canoeing is often a slow-paced activity, it can be a magnificent meditative experience which allows you to forget the hustle and bustle of daily life, relieve any stress you feel, and concentrate on the rhythm of your body while doing a little soul digging.

You can reconnect with nature.

Whether we’re cognizant of it or not, human beings long to be at one with the natural world. American author Richard Louv coined the phrase, “nature-deficit disorder.” He wrote people – especially children – who spend less time outdoors suffer from this condition, and it can result in all sorts of behavioural problems. Not only are meaningful experiences with nature good for our bodies and minds, but it also helps us appreciate and understand the importance of the environment, biodiversity, and why we must cherish and protect them.

It’s terrific exercise.

Canoeing merges physical exertion and the joys of discovering and experiencing nature in all its glory. It improves your cardiovascular fitness, hardens the muscles in your chest, back, arms, and shoulders, and it won’t aggravate your joints since paddling is considered a low impact form of exercise.

It promotes mental health and learning in youth.

Canoeing is inspirational. It invigorates the body and mind and helps you think more clearly. It is especially true for youth. A canoeing and camping trip helps the young develop confidence, build mental agility and resiliency, improve their social skills, and learn important life skills through unstructured play.

Are you keen to take to the lake and experience the joys of canoeing? Sign up for one of our guided canoe and kayak tours or upcoming events.

Explore the canoe’s incredible history and its importance to Canada’s cultural identity. See the Canadian Canoe Museum’s 1,500 square-foot exhibit at the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre. Call us at 1-705-528-2038 for details.