Like many others, I started as a Boy Scout. Our troop rented Grummans which we bounced off the banks of the C&O canal near DC. Eventually we learned how to make them go straight, more or less. Of course there were canoes at summer camp as well.
The troop progressed to canoe camping trips on the South Fork of the Shenandoah. The first time I dropped over a tiny 6 inch ledge, I was hooked. In those days we could stop and camp most anywhere without getting busted for trespassing, One night we camped in a pasture along the river. We awoke to see a line of cattle grazing their way toward us, and broke camp in a hurry. I was always good at camp cooking. One of my best dishes was corned beef with instant mashed potatoes, cooked in the rain on a Sterno stove under a railroad trestle.
Paddling was interrupted starting in my junior year of high school by girls and college. (No, wait, there was one episode with a girl and a canoe....)
After college, one day I saw a C-1 that a guy had built in his basement. My mom encouraged me to buy it, and I have had at least one boat ever since. My house mate and I were working as letter carriers. We would go to work at 6 AM, hike around toting mail bags, and get off work at 2:30 PM. That left plenty of time in the summer to hit the river until dark. I was in really good shape back in those days.
In grad school I paddled with the university outing club, and was introduced to the streams and mountains of eastern West Virginia. Fast forward to work as a juvenile probation officer, which included running a part time Hoods in the Woods program. I even wrote a grant that enabled the probation office to purchase two canoes and a pile of camping equipment. At least a couple kids in that program were diverted from a life of crime.
I have been paddling ever since with friends, family, and a canoe club, and am now retired. This summer we had a vehicle fire that melted two canoes stored nearby. One was a Mohawk Solo 14, so that was a real tragedy. The good news is that the insurance paid for us to replace the two damaged boats. Having learned that his-n-hers canoes are the key to a happy marriage, we now have two solo boats plus a tandem for river camping. Also, there is a Grumman which is mostly used for hauling tires in the annual river cleanup. There is an 8 foot sailing dinghy hanging in the garage, and a 15 foot Chesapeake crabbing skiff under construction. I'm happy.
