278 
The Pleasures of a Canoe Trip Vacation 
American and Canadian Rivers and Lakes Offer an Endless Opportunity for the Amateur 
By “Old Camper” 
HE one great interesting thing 
about canoeing is that you 
need not go far away for your 
vacation. Far from it. As a 
matter of fact, right close to 
your home grounds and terri¬ 
tory you will find scenes of 
natural perfection such as to 
satisfy anyone. My purpose is to deal impar¬ 
tially with both near to home camping and ca¬ 
noeing as well as the wilderness feature and its 
so-called more brilliant invitation. I shall ad¬ 
dress myself also to those therefore who can¬ 
not find the time or the money whereby long 
trips into wild places may be taken. To these 
our civilized waterways and lakes will give a 
measure of appeal that can only be indulged in 
to be thoroughly appreciated. As a matter of 
fact, the man who enters the wilderness leaves 
behind him places where he might get his sup¬ 
plies. The canoeist and camper within the bor¬ 
ders of civilization can always have access to 
places where provisions may be laid in, before 
entering upon another stretch of water. He 
may take his time. Our rivers, our waterways, 
afford limitless proportions for study and con¬ 
templation. The trouble is that we are deceived 
by thinking they are uninteresting. And yet 
along many of these one may travel for days 
and only occasionally be bothered by the ad¬ 
vances of man. Lightness and compactness are 
prime requisites, both in the matter of a canoe 
and the tent outfit. If you outfit poorly—and 
think by so doing that you are going to save 
yourself some money, you may have to pay 
double in experience for your lack of thought¬ 
fulness. The lighter every individual particular 
of the outfit is, the more things you can bring 
along to make up for it. A little attention to 
this feature in the beginning will save you a lot 
of needless exasperation and give you relatively 
more pleasure as a consequence. 
I shall first bear mention upon the purchase 
of your canoe. If in the past you have been the 
owner of a canoe that turned out in the middle 
of your vacation to be as heavy as lead you will 
know now why the desire for lightness should 
be given heed to. Lightness is essential. Many 
men who undertake the matter of a trip into 
the wilds strike out for the nearest point of 
civilization on their route, and there procure 
their canoe from some outfitter, whose busi¬ 
ness is to supply the needs of the pleasure- 
seeker. The one big obstacle in waiting to buy 
your canoe at one of these posts, or edge of the 
wilderness settlements is that you may not be 
able, through some unforeseen circumstance or 
another, to get just the right sort of craft you 
desire. As evidence of the truth of this many 
of these wilderness outfitters will tell you that 
you had best select your own canoe before you 
start and ship it. 
There is something about the canvas-covered 
canoes that just exactly seems to hit the right 
spot. They are wholly efficient and, as a rule, 
under careful hands, they are dependable. The 
fact that they are taken in a serious light is 
proven by the fact that any number of thorough 
woodsmen of the north are owners of such. 
Such canoes, of the right sort, have a perfectly 
elevated bow and a stern relatively notable, and 
they are sufficiently proportioned of beam to as- 
