The PaddlerUK magazine September 2015 issue 4 | Page 61

Top tip: Herbs – keep a stash of simple herbs and spices to add flavour to your recipes and food food. Top tip: Make cooking part of the magic rather than a chore. It’s a real social activity and something positive long after the memories of cold or rainy days has passed. On some expeditions we have eaten dehydrated Be-Well Expedition Foods and packed Mountain Fuel drinks for additional energy. These options only need simple cooking facilities such as an MSR reactor stove. On less remote trips then we might opt for a cooking set and create culinary treats as part of the joy of camping and sharing good times with your paddling group. A bottle of Tabasco, some Parmesan Cheese and a few herbs makes a real difference. Developing your adventure and paddling skills It is incredibly rewarding to develop and use practical and adventure skills on your canoe trips and journeys. It provides a real sense of satisfaction to tie the appropriate knot, put up shelters, light fires with flint and steels or cook a feast on the campfire or stove. Similarly developing your canoe skills to include lining and tracking if there are whitewater sections or poling shallow sections can be great fun. Sailing your canoe is also a different challenge with either a formal rig or impromptu sail made from a tarp or emergency shelter. Often when you look back at trips it is these bits that spice up the tales of ‘daring do’ and fond memories of time in the great outdoors. It is also worth developing your canoe paddle skills on moving water particularly if kayaking is your normal preferred paddling option and canoeing a rare outing. Surfing a canoe on moving water or breaking in and out of eddies is equally fun and uses many of the same principles and paddle strokes. For me personally, learning to solo a canoe in different conditions and learning the ‘song of the paddle’ has been great. PADDLERUK 61