He does often use a bent shaft paddle. I’ve never used one so I don’t know if it’s possible to J-stroke with one.
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Outdoor confidence
- Thread starter Blukanu
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He does often use a bent shaft paddle. I’ve never used one so I don’t know if it’s possible to J-stroke with one.
It is very possible to J-stroke with a bent shaft paddle. It is not quite as efficient or pretty as with a straight blade, but it does work. It is tough to do an effective Canadian stroke, but it can be awkwardly attempted. You can't do the Indian box silent stroke with a bent, or any other stroke that requires a palm roll rotation to the opposite power face.
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I just watched few minutes of a Matt Post video. My guess is that he considers himself more of a videographer than a canoeist. It's OK to switch sides, but what I saw was a guy who put very little thought into his paddling. Even his posture in the boat didn't look like that of a paddler to me. That being said, from the little I saw, I think he has worthwhile content and is probably entertaining too, so I'm going to check him out.
Just watched some BWCA video from some ‘adventure’ YouTubers that apparently aren’t very wilderness savvy.
They brought 4 fuel canisters along but three were used and had less fuel than expected. A third of the way through the trip they had 3 empty canisters. They were rationing the final fourth and eating cold soaked meals since there was also a fire ban. They constantly had trouble finding an available campsite due to crowding and spent one night at a bushwacked campsite. They were talking about hearing wolves the whole trip. Later confessed at the end of the video that it was actually loons they were hearing, not wolves.
Seems that BWCA has become too well known as “the” place to canoe camp that you end up with so many casual users. Guess thats kind of a double edge sword.
They brought 4 fuel canisters along but three were used and had less fuel than expected. A third of the way through the trip they had 3 empty canisters. They were rationing the final fourth and eating cold soaked meals since there was also a fire ban. They constantly had trouble finding an available campsite due to crowding and spent one night at a bushwacked campsite. They were talking about hearing wolves the whole trip. Later confessed at the end of the video that it was actually loons they were hearing, not wolves.
Seems that BWCA has become too well known as “the” place to canoe camp that you end up with so many casual users. Guess thats kind of a double edge sword.
BWCA is remote, but it is well traveled with plenty of help. The water is warm in summer with minimal and well known rapids and falls. The wind can be a challenge on the larger lakes. The portaging can wear people out. It is a lot safer than big fast and cold rivers.
Confidence is kind of a delicate topic. It is easy to get too much of it, and not having enough of it is even worse. It is important to instill confidence in newbies by teaching them the skills. The over confident newbies are dangerous and the first ones to need a throw rope.
I used to paddle with a guy that was highly confident. He did no reading or taking of classes. He believed the way to paddle a canoe was to stay in the current and paddle hard. He had some embarrassing mishaps over time. He famously cracked up his fiberglass canoe on the John Day River in Oregon and sank it after a rapid with big haystacks. He outfit floated down river and was not tied in. We dragged his boat out of the river and pounded his boat back into shape with some big rocks and taped it together with duct tape. Walking out to a road was about 20 miles at least. We got the boat home with some bailing. We found most of his stuff in eddies along the way. It shaped him up somewhat after that. I finally gave up on the guy after being friends for 25 years. He was a moocher.
Confidence is kind of a delicate topic. It is easy to get too much of it, and not having enough of it is even worse. It is important to instill confidence in newbies by teaching them the skills. The over confident newbies are dangerous and the first ones to need a throw rope.
I used to paddle with a guy that was highly confident. He did no reading or taking of classes. He believed the way to paddle a canoe was to stay in the current and paddle hard. He had some embarrassing mishaps over time. He famously cracked up his fiberglass canoe on the John Day River in Oregon and sank it after a rapid with big haystacks. He outfit floated down river and was not tied in. We dragged his boat out of the river and pounded his boat back into shape with some big rocks and taped it together with duct tape. Walking out to a road was about 20 miles at least. We got the boat home with some bailing. We found most of his stuff in eddies along the way. It shaped him up somewhat after that. I finally gave up on the guy after being friends for 25 years. He was a moocher.
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Yeah, or at least Outdoor Competence
But according to the Dunning-Kruger there’s a fascinating relationship between competence and confidence.
Another way to look at it is the competency model that looks at ability vs. difficulty - in this case paddling, but could be other outdoor activities.
You can look at it individually - so for me the difficulty of trips that I can do decreases based on the type of paddling I am doing and my capability in that discipline.
You can also look at it based on the skill level of individuals in a group, and what could potentially happen if conditions change and the trip gets more difficult.
Of course, the model requires that you have an accurate understanding of your abilities, the abilities of the group, and the difficulty of the trip. That's where "wisdom" from the Dunning-Kruger effect comes in.
You can look at it individually - so for me the difficulty of trips that I can do decreases based on the type of paddling I am doing and my capability in that discipline.
You can also look at it based on the skill level of individuals in a group, and what could potentially happen if conditions change and the trip gets more difficult.
Of course, the model requires that you have an accurate understanding of your abilities, the abilities of the group, and the difficulty of the trip. That's where "wisdom" from the Dunning-Kruger effect comes in.
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My most immediate issue is adjusting my plans to account for an age-related decline in ability. I know what I'm doing, I have the experience and knowledge. I'm just not as capable as I used to be. Getting old sucks.
Mark makes a good point. Everything becomes more challenging, and even dangerous because we are just not as strong or as brave as before. Happened to me recently on a river. Very discouraging. We have to set our sights lower and do easier runs now.
Yep. And just as I was getting good. 
Yup. My deep wilderness far off-trail bushwhacks with a heavy backpack trips that I used often do in my 20s-40s are well behind me. but I can at least now use one of my several accumulated canoes to do those heavier water based trips with relative ease. Sure, getting old sucks, but some will say that it beats the alternative of not getting old at all.
A life well lived involves some risk. I have had a lot of injuries, some of which took a long to recover from. Being injured is psychologically a lot like aging. You have to learn to focus on what you can do and appreciate it and stop worrying about what you can't really do.
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