Outdoor confidence

A few years ago a casual acquaintance asked me about doing a BWCA trip because he knew I was into canoe camping. I started asking questions about his plan and it was obvious he didn’t have one. The more I asked it was apparent he really had no clue what he was doing. He wasn’t a regular camper nor a paddler. I left him with suggestions on local areas he could get his feet wet if he’s serious about wilderness canoe camping. Not sure if he ever followed through.

This makes me wonder how many people attempt some sort of big trip like this and get totally in over their head? Not talking about learning curves like packing an extra meal or something. Talking about cutting a trip short because they completely over estimated their abilities.

A friend took a trip on Georgian Bay and cut it short because the guy was totally inept. Guy couldn’t paddle and had no camping skills.

I started a trip on the Machias and bailed halfway through. I was paddling with a friend I had paddled with before in less challenging waters. We planned a route through a rapid where we needed to catch an eddy and she actively paddled away from the eddyline. “I don’t like to turn in current,” she explained. She wouldn't paddle stern. So I told her, okay, you’re in front, just decide where you want the boat to go and start paddling for it, get the bow there, and I’ll make the stern follow. She agreed. A bit later we were heading for a mid river outcropping and I was waiting for her to go left or right. Either would have worked, but we smacked the rock dead center. Asked what happened, she explained she couldn’t see it. We survived the day and camped.

I was thinking we were in trouble. She wouldn’t take commands from the stern and couldn’t see to avoid large obstacles. Then it rained overnight. Next morning, she wouldn’t come out of the tent because her tent leaked and she was wet and cold. She told me all she brought to wear was jeans and cotton sweat shirts which were wet. Rain was in the forecast. The day’s paddling plan included some Class IIIs. Trip over. We were near a road. I paid a guy to drive me back to my truck and returned to pack up our gear.

In retrospect, I think there were some mental problems playing out that manifested as passive aggressive behavior. Years earlier, the brother of the woman had told me he’d never again paddle in the same boat with her. I didn’t understand it at the time, but I’ve never paddled with her since that aborted trip on the Machias.

Maybe the title of the thread should be "Outdoor Incompetence."

There is an old adage that says "Big expeditions are conducted by only two kinds of people, the experienced that know exactly what they are getting into, and the inexperienced who really have no idea."

Some people have plenty of confidence, bravado even, but they can't back it up. Real confidence comes from experience. As a trip leader you have to learn to tell the difference.

Last year, we ran the Klamath River in northern CA in snowmelt. My brother and I brought our drift boats. After a big snow year, the river was big and pushy. We are both in our 70s and had trouble rising to the demands of such a trip. We got off the river after 2 days instead of the 4 we planned on. We could have handled the trip okay 20 years ago. We had the experience to realize something bad could happen. I dipped a rail and half filled my boat in a little side channel. There was so much current, all of the little mistakes were really magnified.

Put your ego aside and consider the safety and morale of your trip members, especially the weaker ones.

I'd guess almost all of us started off by getting in over our heads and biting off more than we could chew.

Some people get discouraged and some people use that as a platform to learn more and improve.

The BWCA seems like a good place to start for a newbie.

Alan

For many years I was an instructor for an 8-day BSA trek leader guide certification training program. Before coming to the course, prospective students (typically of college age) were given a questionnaire about their perceived abilities and experience. The natural tendency is to exaggerate self-worth, which was well proven out when some began the training. One particularly bad year we had a 50% failure rate out of 25 students. Fail the training and they get offered no summer guide job at a BSA resident camp. Maybe they can teach the Indian Lore or basket weaving merit badge instead. While there are certain stated guidelines for passing, among the instructors in our own minds, our primary justifiable criteria was: "Would we trust this person to safely take our own child into the wilderness for a week and return unhurt and having had a good outdoor experience?”. If not, then they got a thumbs down with a detailed debriefing of why and an offer to return when more ready.

I have been canoeing and wilderness backpacking/camping since I was in my teens (during my Boy Scout days). Later I did my own high adventure mainly Adirondack backcountry trips. I started canoe racing the Adirondack 90-miler with colleagues from work when I was 46 years old. Eleven years later in the fall of that year I was invited to race as bow paddler in the 440 mile Yukon River Quest for the first time in a 7 -seat 34’ voyageur canoe. Our “Captain” and canoe owner required every paddler to train, either with the team or separately, or on a paddling machine during winter for the equivalent of 500 paddling miles before traveling to the Yukon River nine months later. The next year we returned to race in the first ever Yukon 1000-mile race, followed two years later by another Y1K, then three more 440-mile YRQ races. Each took considerable dedication and experience with more training to be successful and to finish at or near the front of the race pack.

Separately, I have taught land navigation for my state homeland security and emergency services agency for several years. Students were from law enforcement and other state and local professional emergency agencies. A number of students in each course said they had previous military experience. But when asked, many of them said they understood land navigation but "were a little rusty on procedures". Code words for "I never understood and still don't know how to effectively do it". But we do get them through the training one way or another. It is not a fail type of course.

Alan Gage said:

I'd guess almost all of us started off by getting in over our heads and biting off more than we could chew.

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Everyone knows the old adage of "how do you eat an elephant? - You do it one bite at a time. Approach high adventure or difficult activities the same way. Just make it to crest the next hill, or the next bend in the river, then look for the next one just ahead and do the same.

It's been a LONG time since I read it, but in Canoeing With the Cree, weren't both youngsters best described as greenhorns (noobs to the younger set) but somehow, they made it.

Talking about cutting a trip short because they completely over estimated their abilities.

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The BWCA seems like a good place to start for a newbie.

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Although I was reasonably confident in my abilities, the worry that I was getting in over my head was a very real consideration when I re-entered canoe tripping a few years ago. As stated in my first TR, I deliberately planned my route so that I could bail out early if I had, indeed, bitten off more than I could chew.

As it turned out, I found the BWCA to be very forgiving, I completed the loop, as planned, in its entirety and I agree that the BWCA is an excellent place to start out but any of the more heavily traveled parks (ADKs, Algonquin, Killarney) would probably be similar.

Now, as I plan a Wabakimi trip for 2025, I'm still a bit concerned about getting in over my head (mostly because I have limits on my time away from work) and I am still planning accordingly; looking for ways to bail out early if it seems that I won't finish in the amount of time available.

I'm really looking forward to retirement when I can simply drop off the grid all summer (or maybe even longer).

Guess this comes down to peoples personalities.

On one side you have those that don’t think too much about things and figure they’ll improvise along the way. Then you have the opposite side who overthinks and obsessively plans every detail. I fall into the later group. I don’t want surprises and need to know exactly what I’m getting into.

Some of my favorite YouTubers illustrate this spectrum.
Matt Posa - crude, often disorganized, seems to be winging it on every trip. Often running late, paddling in the dark, desperately searching for a campsite, making dinner at midnight and sleeping in til noon.
Then Jon from Lost Lakes. He always has maps with notes. Completely scouts out his plans before the trip on satellite views. Seems to follow an itinerary, religiously keeps tabs on the weather. Always has a plan with contingencies. He does more off the beaten path stuff so that plays a part.

BWCA is a great place to paddle. But its remoteness can present challenges for newbies.

What I've noticed is that you can spot a newbie easier on the portage trail than on the water. At any rate, you can tell who didn't read a book or get any training.

I’m surprised more people aren’t hurt or killed in BWCA. I did see a rescue office (last month) on Gunflint Trail that I never noticed before. I wonder how many rescues happen during a season. It’s painful to see kids in canoes with novice parents making questionable decisions, a delight to see wise choices. 20 years ago, it felt more remote, but it can still kill you. The constant procession of campers is probably a saving grace, from a SAR perspective. But, I’m reminded of Henley’s line from The Last Resort: Call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye.

Black_Fly said:

I’m surprised more people aren’t hurt or killed in BWCA.

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This is what I was wondering myself. How many trippers have grandiose expectations and leave humbled.

During covid times everyone figured they’d try some outdoor recreation. Lots of these places got slammed with first timers Suppose some found a new passion, others dumped a lot of money on gear that may never be used again.

We all start somewhere. Some are lucky enough to know people that can mentor them into the hobby. Some of us were the noobs that got sneered at who eventually figured things out.

Blukanu said:

During covid times everyone figured they’d try some outdoor recreation. Lots of these places got slammed with first timers Suppose some found a new passion, others dumped a lot of money on gear that may never be used again.

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I wonder if that is why I'm seeing way more nice newish canoes on the used market than I used to.

lowangle al said:

What I've noticed is that you can spot a newbie easier on the portage trail than on the water. At any rate, you can tell who didn't read a book or get any training.

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To me, nothing says "newbie" more than observing a paddler wildly switching paddling sides with lots of splashing as the canoe zigzags while making little obvious progress in determined direction of travel. A few loud curse words complete the picture. Only slightly less activity sccreaming "newbie" is using a bent shaft paddle being used backwards, as if it is meant to be used as a scoop during forward travel.

yknpdlr said:

Only slightly less activity sccreaming "newbie" is using a bent shaft paddle being used backwards, as if it is meant to be used as a scoop during forward travel.

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I've actually seen some fairly experienced paddlers doing that. Had to correct them.

Speaking of correction, but not talking about those I just mentioned.....some adults don't take it well. Worse than overconfidence is the guy who responds to correction with "I know how to paddle a canoe!"
You don't want that guy on any trip.

yknpdlr said:

To me, nothing says "newbie" more than observing a paddler wildly switching…

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Interestingly enough the YouTuber Matt Posa I mentioned in a previous post paddles like this. Baffling how an extremely seasoned tripper hasn’t just instinctively developed a more efficient technique.

Steve in Idaho said:

I've actually seen some fairly experienced paddlers doing that. Had to correct them.

Speaking of correction, but not talking about those I just mentioned.....some adults don't take it well. Worse than overconfidence is the guy who responds to correction with "I know how to paddle a canoe!"
You don't want that guy on any trip.

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when I was teaching wilderness skills and paddling to youth, this was a far too common problem with the parents! I've used a tried and true method for almost 50 years that was taught by my father, who also used it for decades- starting with a little info session with the group followed by a screening of Song of the Paddle, and a general rundown of their future "graduation" trip to whet their interests, next would be sessions learning about the safety, parts, and physics of the canoe and paddling with lots of dryland paddling time, a swim test, and a discussion at the end of each session, this would be followed by some actual on-water paddling and instruction (usually done over a weekend or two), and only after all that would discussions about an upcoming trip and the requisite planning begin, all this was done alongside of wilderness camping skills.
I've been accused of not knowing what I was doing (although I held over a half dozen certificates), my route, which I had done previously with kids as young as nine several times, that my boats (6 expedition kevlar Kippawas) were unsuitable for tripping, and that I was "reckless" with hundreds of trips and only ONE serious incident-a youth refused to follow saw safety rules, did not reach through the bow, and immediately filleted his thumb- that took 3 stitches
The most hilarious one though was the time we (my team) were told we had no experience- myself with literally decades of paddling experience and certifications in everything from a Scouts Canada water-charge and CRCA cert to DND medical first response, another trainer who was a semi-pro marathon canoe racer, an experienced wilderness paddler and white water instructor, and a provincially certified Conservation Officer, and others that came in as required...
Not one time did those same parents ever have any complaints AFTER the fact, but some did nothing BUT complain before the training...

Blukanu said:

Interestingly enough the YouTuber Matt Posa I mentioned in a previous post paddles like this. Baffling how an extremely seasoned tripper hasn’t just instinctively developed a more efficient technique.

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Maybe he's using a double blade when off camera?