 The
Canoe-A Canadian Icon
Nominating the canoe as one of Canada’s wonders, is
as Canadian as “fresh water’. Canoe to water, wood to paddle,
birch bark to cedar and portage to carry-- the elements that came together
to provide the resources to traverse one of the most daunting natural
transportation systems in North America. First Nations traded canoes and
provided early European visitors with the means to explore the vast regions
of North America. The canoe is a gift to all Canadians from our First
Nations-truly the Canadian Icon.
Take your family canoeing and paddling this summer or fall.
Experience one of the many canoe
and kayak getaways north in Ontario.Combine a fall canoe trip with
one of our fall colour road trips.
 My First Canoe
My first recollection of a canoe experience was when my
brother found an abandoned fiberglass canoe (in need of serious patching)
along a river in the Algonquin Park area. He was into canoeing, and I
was into boating (with a motor), a much less arduous task, but as I was
to learn, not as pleasant. We used that yellow canoe for a number of years,
and patched it many times. On a blustery November evening, a car skidded
on the ice, went off the road and hit our free canoe and destroyed not
only the canoe but also our dock, a tragic end to many days of pleasure.
Many memorable canoe trips in Algonquin
Park followed, usually with rental canoes for day trips and overnight
camping, including the infamous portage from lake to lake.
Largest Canoe in Canada
On a trip to the Golden Lake area, I recall visiting one
of the local pubs, where hanging on a wall was a black and white photo
of the “Largest Canoe in Canada” and the many builders proudly
surrounding the canoe. The pub owner had been a boy when he assisted in
the building of this canoe, which I believe he said was created for a
special exhibit in Montreal. The Canoe then was sent to the Museum
of Civilization in Ottawa.
According to the Museum website, “This canoe was full-scale
replica of a canôt de maître or a Montreal Canoe which the
early fur-traders used. Made by Chief Matt Bernard and his kin in 1957
on the Algonkian Indian Reserve at Golden Lake Ontario.” View
this Canoe. The canoe combines many of the natural products from the
Canadian forests, a birch bark hull, cedar ribs, spruce gum, white ash
and spruce roots. This would be of the type that Samuel de Champlain used
to come down the French River into Georgian
Bay in 1615.
The Museum of Civilization in Canada’s Capital, Ottawa
has a significant discussion on the website where they categorize 4
types of watercraft used by First Nations in the various regions of
Canada. The four types of watercraft are the kayak, the umiak, the bark
canoe, and the dugout canoe.
Canadian Canoe Museum
The Canoe Museum in Peterborough
Ontario claims to house the world’s largest collection of paddled
watercraft, and should be a must visit for all Canadians. More than 600
canoes await the visitor, along with special events including canoe workshops,
learning to canoe courses and more canoe artifacts. Current activities,
exhibits, and programs can be viewed at the Canadian
Canoe Museum web site.
Canoe Events In Historic Huronia
The annual Paddlefest will take place at Sainte
Marie among the Hurons during the last week of July where the history
of paddling is celebrated from 1639 to the present. Visitors can see canoes
being made, apply pitch to seal a canoe, and see the locks entrance system
used for safety and protection as voyageurs went in and out of this 17th
century Jesuit Mission. Next door the Wye
Marsh offers real canoe trips into the wetlands surrounding what used
to be called “Fort Sainte Marie.” Options for half hour canoe
trips or the three-hour canoeing-hiking wildlife viewing eco-tour are
available.
Canada’s Seven Wonders
When I read the CBC website and see the many good reasons
for the “Canoe” as one of Canada’s Seven Wonders I can
feel my paddle slipping into the water, hear the splash, taste the spray,
see the horizon, experience our Canadian natural world, and imagine how
it must have existed at a time before Samuel de Champlain, the Jesuits
and the Voyageurs.
Take your family canoeing and paddling this summer. Experience
one of the many canoe and kayak
getaways north in Ontario.
Ron Taylor
Publisher
400ELEVEN.COM
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