Voices From the Present
Donald Haines Canoeist and Canoe Pavilion Coordinator

"You can't explain a passion for canoeing. People think that you are crazy when there's two feet of snow on the ground and you are getting ready to head off. Maybe they are right but if the cost of sanity is to never paddle along the snow covered shores of a lake or to slide your canoe across the portage as if it were a toboggan then the cost of sanity is too high."

"We live in a society where there seems to be a fundemental belief that technology will solve our problems and I see this applied more and more to canoeing. Just look at the high-tech canoes, bent shaft paddles, and the incredible array of lightweight gear and food that is availiable. What's missing is the basic understanding that when you are off on a canoe trip that you are living in the woods and not in the city. In the city your life is controlled by the clock, in the woods you have to learn to live with nature. If you try to live by the clock in the woods you will end up trying to fight nature and it's a loosing battle."


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