Category Archives: Paddle, Pole, and Portage

What Price Safety? Are Drysuits Worth the Cost?

Dressing for Success

What Price Safety? Are Drysuits Worth the Cost?

“What should I wear today?” For paddlers who find the lively music of meltwater-swollen rivers all but irresistible, this isn’t a frivolous question. It is — or can be — a matter of life and death. And for a while now, the gold standard in early season apparel has been the drysuit. It combines outstanding protection with pretty fair comfort. But “What Price Safety”?
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by Tamia Nelson | April 7, 2015

A Tamia Nelson Article on Backinthesameboat.com

Listen! Unless you live in the northernmost reaches of Canoe Country, chances are good that you can already hear the sound of rushing water, if only in your inward ear. The sun’s return has roused the rivers from their winter sleep. And the music of the moving water is calling to all paddlers.

But that newly liberated water is cold. Icy cold. Cold enough to kill an unprepared swimmer. Do I exaggerate? Not at all. Any paddler who’s dumped in frigid water will tell you that the experience isn’t something she’s eager to repeat. Even with proper clothing, an icy drench is a potent reminder of our mortality. And without proper clothing? The best outcome is a narrow escape. The … Read more »

Girl Talk: Going It Alone — Can You Solo Safely?

Girl Talk

Going It Alone — Can You Solo Safely?

Notwithstanding what some poets have had to say, there are pleasures to be had in solitude. Yet women who want to go into the backcountry alone often wonder if they’ll be safe. It’s easy to see why. Our fears grow fat on a constant diet of others’ misfortunes. But things aren’t as bleak as the newspapers make them seem. What about you? Are you wondering if you can solo safely?
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by Tamia Nelson | August 2, 2011

A Tamia Nelson Article on Backinthesameboat.com

My mother’s eyes still well with tears when she remembers the day I disappeared. She’d left me playing on the swing in our yard, but when she looked out the window a few minutes later, the yard was empty and I was nowhere to be seen. Mom feared the worst. Even though traffic hadn’t yet reached today’s febrile pace, the city street we lived on back then was a busy one, and I was only three years old. The story ended happily, however. My mother found me just down the block, safe and sound. I was triumphant. I’d made my first solo journey, venturing deep into unknown territory. The boundaries of my world had expanded. … Read more »

The Lady’s Not for Turning: The Extraordinary Story of Mina Hubbard

The Lady’s Not for Turning

The Extraordinary Story of Mina Hubbard

There were woodswomen long before “Woodswoman,” and one in particular stands out. In 1903, Mina Hubbard’s husband starved to death in Labrador. Two years later, his widow was leading an expedition along the same route, determined to finish the job her husband had left undone.
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by Tamia Nelson | November 12, 2002

Mina Hubbard on the Trail - 1905 - A Tamia Nelson Article on Backinthesameboat.com

Some of my happiest hours have been spent in library basements. Dark, dank, and neglected, they often house unexpected treasures: government reports describing the natural history of remote regions, bound volumes of nineteenth-century magazines, old books slated for “weeding” (librarians prefer to call this “de-accessioning”) … . What with one thing and another, trips into these dusty catacombs are always fascinating. Many turn into voyages of exploration among forgotten literary landscapes, with every shelf promising something new — and often delivering.

On one such expedition a few years back, I spotted bound volumes of Harper’s Monthly Magazine. Here was a find, indeed! Though not known as a sporting periodical — today’s Harper’s takes its job as a guardian of high culture very seriously — its turn-of-the-(last)-century counterpart occasionally printed articles about canoeing and kayaking. Ever hopeful, I lost no time … Read more »