PADDLER 74
Words & photos: Nicole Jackson – Outdoor Learning Teacher at The Keystone Academy
PADDLER 74
CHASING THE
MID WINTER
AND FOUR OTHER REASONS TO GO WINTER CANOEING
CHASING THAT MIDWINTER SUN
With limited light available each day, our expedition goals become much more simplified than our mid-summer expedition jaunts, which can very quickly become fleeting as we chase our tails – chasing kilometres, rapids and over-exerting ourselves with lengthy portaging and a‘ pushing-on’ mindset.
Words & photos: Nicole Jackson – Outdoor Learning Teacher at The Keystone Academy
1. WINTER IS DARK, AND IT’ S COLD
It’ s more consequential – but it’ s simple. Naturally, winter is a time of preservation. We, too, must preserve. We know that we can’ t run any rapids that may be too consequential. One swim in freezing temperatures, as opposed to summertime, is the difference between being damp and uncomfortable at relatively comfortable temperatures to being near-hypothermic, needing to cut a multi-day trip to an immediate halt.
At camp, we rise before sunrise, aiming to drink our coffee and eat breakfast as we watch the sunrise; our canoe is nearly fully packed and primed, eager for an early( ish) start for a short day, continuing to chase the sun.
Chasing the sun can feel like a game in winter. It’ s utterly illusive. The sun was nearly always lurking behind the mountains on this particular Loch Shiel trip. If and when it ever did show itself, it felt like basking in pure shimmering gold – its absence making our hearts grow stronger for summertime warmth!