Verlen Kruger and his partner Steve Landick wanted to take a canoe trip that would surpass all others, and they did. Paddling their canoes or carrying them on the connecting land passages, they toured North America, from the Arctic Ocean to Baja California, from New Orleans to the coast of Maine, crossing the USA from south to north and west to east. They mastered wild storms on the ocean, often paddled 75-100 miles or more in a day, shot through deadly rapids going downstream, and paddled up several major rivers, reaching the climax by going up the Grand Canyon. Again and again they were warned, "It can't be done" or "You'll never make it", but each time they rose to the challenge and kept going, finally competing a canoe trip of 28,000 miles that lasted three and a half years and was appropriately named The Ultimate Canoe Challenge. This is the story as Verlen lived it.

A stunningly illustrated book detailing the world′s most breathtaking on–water adventures Whether it′s paddling down mountain chasms or exploring rugged coastlines, navigating a canoe or kayak counts as one of life′s indescribable joys. And in this memorable collection of 100 extraordinary on–water experiences, armchair adventurers and avid water sport enthusiasts are given a taste of canoeing and kayaking in every climate, condition, and geographical location. From the frozen wastes of North America, the rivers and seas of Europe and Asia, to the stunning waters of the Far East and Australasia, each paddle stroke is brought to life. With something for everyone—from the white water adrenalin junkie to the extreme sea kayaker—Ultimate Canoe and Kayak Adventures offers true–life adventurers useful, detailed information telling you exactly how, where, and when to attempt any on–water expedition yourself. The three co-authors are highly experienced paddlers from both sides of the Atlantic. Eugene Buchanan is editor-in-chief of Paddling Life, Jason Smith is editor of Canoe & Kayak UK while James Weir is a prize-winning paddler and journalist who still leads extreme paddling expeditions worldwide. Striking full–page photographs are matched with lively text that bring 100 adventures to life Offering a rare, inside look at living the life of adventure in every climate and latitude, this spectacular album of memorable canoeing and kayaking experiences is an ideal gift and a must for those who wish they′d been there—and those who already have.

Parks and Recreation actor and Making It co-host Nick Offerman shares his humorous fulminations on life, manliness, meat, and much more in this New York Times bestseller. Growing a perfect moustache, grilling red meat, wooing a woman—who better to deliver this tutelage than the always charming, always manly Nick Offerman, best known as Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson? Combining his trademark comic voice and very real expertise in woodworking—he runs his own woodshop—Paddle Your Own Canoe features tales from Offerman’s childhood in small-town Minooka, Illinois—“I grew up literally in the middle of a cornfield”—to his theater days in Chicago, beginnings as a carpenter/actor and the hilarious and magnificent seduction of his now-wife Megan Mullally. It also offers hard-bitten battle strategies in the arenas of manliness, love, style, religion, woodworking, and outdoor recreation, among many other savory entrees. A mix of amusing anecdotes, opinionated lessons and rants, sprinkled with offbeat gaiety, Paddle Your Own Canoe will not only tickle readers pink but may also rouse them to put down their smart phones, study a few sycamore leaves, and maybe even hand craft (and paddle) their own canoes.

Backpacker brings the outdoors straight to the reader's doorstep, inspiring and enabling them to go more places and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's Editors' Choice Awards, an industry honor recognizing design, feature and product innovation, has become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are measured.

One man, one canoe, five solo journeys to five remote wilderness regions in Western Ontario, Canada. Can you imagine being retired (over 60), healthy and determined to research and travel alone for three weeks or longer on numerous wilderness trips into areas that you know little about? Can you imagine not being in verbal or social media contact with anyone for over one hundred days of travel? What does it take to be self-sustained and responsible for all of one's actions and decisions? The solo canoe journal stories are a combination of the day to day excursions and decisions that a solo paddler must make to successfully navigate from one lake or campsite to another and to another and so on while managing to stay safe and to not get lost in the wilderness. The journal stories are also filled with very real and personal insights into the mind frame of the author who attempts to relate to the reader the intense feeling of what wilderness, or solitude or fear or a number of intimate emotions means to him in the moment. Alone in a Canoe also includes detailed gear and food lists and trip statistics. The stories are inspiring. It is a must read if you ever dreamed about what it would be like to be alone in a canoe in the wilderness for any length of time. The book is printed in an 8 1/2 by 8 1/2 format to enhance the more than 200 color photos documenting the journeys. People who Paddle a Canoe, Outdoor and Wilderness Enthusiasts, Backcountry Educators, Adventure Advocates, Future Campers, Fisherman, Recreators, Dreamers, Individuals who Cherish Solitude, and Folks who enjoy great Nature Photography will enjoy this book.

New in this edition: Ten new routes, 64 added pages, updated text -- an essential purchase of a revised classic. Review of previous edition: The book is much more than a trip guide. Callan weaves in anecdotes from his own trips, so there's all the nuts and bolts info but with some good stories thrown in. -- The Journal of Canadian Wilderness Canoeing Ontario's Algonquin Park is one of North America's foremost canoeing destinations. Only a day's journey from the Great Lakes and much of the Eastern Seaboard, and 200 miles from Toronto, it's a paddler's paradise of spectacular lakes, rivers and marshes surrounded by maple hills and rocky ridges. The only way to explore the interior of the park is by canoe or on foot, where you will be rewarded with a chorus of wolves howling and the echoing call of loons. You may also see more of the abundant wildlife that call it home: moose, white-tailed deer, beaver, black bears, and more than 300 bird and 30 reptile species. This revised and updated edition of A Paddler's Guide to Algonquin Park has 64 more pages, 10 new canoe routes for a total of 35, new photographs by Callan, and detailed redesigned maps showing portages and permitted campsites. Callan has chosen routes of varying difficulty and experience, from easy to deep backcountry. Along with updates of information according to changes in park conditions, regulations, closed routes and so on, the book includes this essential information: Route difficulty Portages Campsite locations Put-in and take-out recommendations Alternative access points Updated list of local outfitters and guides Updated web sites and more. Kevin Callan has paddled Algonquin Park for three decades. His practical advice and lively descriptions are like having him sitting in the lead canoe -- and that would be an adventure.

Winner of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario's 2016 Young Authors Award Winner of the 2017 Louise de Kiriline Award for Nonfiction The age of exploration is not over. When Adam Shoalts ventured into the largest unexplored wilderness on the planet, he hoped to set foot where no one had ever gone before. What he discovered surprised even him. Shoalts was no stranger to the wilderness. He had hacked his way through jungles and swamp, had stared down polar bears and climbed mountains. But one spot on the map called out to him irresistibly: the Hudson Bay Lowlands, a trackless expanse of muskeg and lonely rivers, caribou and wolf—an Amazon of the north, parts of which to this day remain unexplored. Cutting through this forbidding landscape is a river no explorer, trapper, or canoeist had left any record of paddling. It was this river that Shoalts was obsessively determined to explore. It took him several attempts, and years of research. But finally, alone, he found the headwaters of the mysterious river. He believed he had discovered what he had set out to find. But the adventure had just begun. Unexpected dangers awaited him downstream. Gripping and often poetic, Alone Against the North is a classic adventure story of single-minded obsession, physical hardship, and the restless sense of wonder that every explorer has in common. But what does exploration mean in an age when satellite imagery of even the remotest corner of the planet is available to anyone with a phone? Is there anything left to explore? What Shoalts discovered as he paddled downriver was a series of unmapped waterfalls that could easily have killed him. Just as astonishing was the media reaction when he got back to civilization. He was crowned “Canada’s Indiana Jones” and appeared on morning television. He was feted by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and congratulated by the Governor General. People were enthralled by Shoalts’s proof that the world is bigger than we think. Shoalts’s story makes it clear that the world can become known only by getting out of our cars and armchairs, and setting out into the unknown, where every step is different from the one before, and something you may never have imagined lies around the next curve in the river.

After his astounding 12,000-mile canoe trip from Winnipeg down to the Amazon (recounted in his bestseller Paddle to the Amazon on page 48), Don Starkell decided to paddle a kayak from Hudson Bay 3,000 miles through the Northwest Passage. This is Don's diary of this journey from Churchill, Manitoba, to Tuktoyaktuk, close to Alaska, a voyage by kayak (paddled on water or dragged on a sled over the ice) that took him three Arctic summers and almost cost him his life. Through this compelling book we find ourselves sharing his blazing, driving determination to reach his goal, as he closes in on his destination, with his supplies running out and his ocean highway freezing over, making death a near certainty. Armchair travel at its best.

Detailed plans and instructions on making, finishing and repairing wooden canoe paddles.

In the summer of 1962, Frank Brown and “Big Willie” George launched a 133-pound motorboat—with no motor—into the San Marcos River and headed for the Texas coast. Over the next three weeks they paddled downriver, wrestling through log jams and fighting off mosquitoes on their 337-mile journey to Corpus Christi. The following year, Brown staged a canoe race that followed the same route, billed as “The Texas Water Safari—The Toughest Boat Race in the World.” Contestants had to carry all their provisions with them from the start and could receive no assistance during the competition. One hundred and twenty-six men and one woman, all Texans, lined up for the grueling race. Some boats sank at the start, others were wrecked on the river, and some people dropped out from exhaustion or injury, while others failed to make the time deadlines and were disqualified. Of the 58 vessels that started the race, only two arrived at the finish line in Corpus Christi. The now-famous Texas Water Safari has since attracted thousands of competitive and recreational paddlers from across the globe who line up every summer in canoes and kayaks to carry on a tradition now in its 60th year. In Texas Water Safari: The World’s Toughest Canoe Race, veteran racers Bob Spain and Joy Emshoff chronicle the winding history of this epic competition, documenting the many changes to the racecourse over the years, the evolution of competition vessels, and the influx of national and international racers. Drawing upon the record books, Water Safari lore, and their own experiences, the authors have compiled a collection of stories, statistics, and photographs that celebrates and preserves the history of this Texas river tradition.