THE 2nd Annual (Registraton for this Event limited to 24 participants)
CLIFF JACOBSON WILDERNESS CANOEING & CAMPING SCHOOL
Five days of learning, practicing and having fun!
Want to become proficient in the wilderness and be able to confidently handle your canoe without spending years to develop your skills? Then this new (first of a kind!) wilderness canoeing and camping school may be right for you. Taught at well-known camp DuNord outside Ely, Minnesota by the master himself, the program provides personalized, hands-on instruction in all facets of wilderness canoe travel (tandem and solo) and backwoods camping. Emphasis is on making a wilderness canoe trip on a remote river where help is an airplane ride away. The expedition-oriented procedures you’ll learn are equally useful on easy local rivers and lake-country routes like those in the BWCA. There is something here for everyone who loves wild places and the magic of canoes. Enough down time is provided to practice, question, socialize and paddle.
WHEN ? May 18-23, 2008. Five days of hands-on instruction. Arrive at Camp DuNord by 8 pm, Sunday, May 18. Instruction begins Monday, May 19 and ends 5 pm Friday, May 23.
WHERE ? Camp DuNord—an elegant YMCA camp in a wilderness setting near Ely, Minnesota.
WHAT IS PROVIDED ? All equipment, including canoes, paddles and PFD’s. Piles of hand-outs and resource guides plus all food (there’s a mess hall and professional cook) and on-the-lake cabin accommodations. The cabins have electricity and are heated (all have fire places or wood stoves).
WHAT TO BRING ? A clothing and suggested equipment list will be sent when you register.
SEE ITINERARY below.
THE INSTRUCTORS
Cliff Jacobson is a contributing editor for Canoe & Kayak Magazine and the author of more than a dozen top selling books on canoeing and camping. He has outfitted and guided scores of wild Canadian rivers, many above the Arctic Circle. In 2003 the American Canoe Association presented him with the “Legends of Paddling Award” and inducted him into the ACA Hall of Fame.
Jim Mandle (one of my long time canoeing buddies) is a registered New York State Adirondack guide and an ACA certified instructor in FreeStyle and Wilderness Canoeing, plus a Canadian CRCA Classic Style Paddling Instructor. Jim has extensive experience organizing and leading canoe trips and has canoed several wilderness rivers with Cliff.
COST: $1,295.00 per person plus tax. $400.00 Deposit Required.
Contact: Piragis Northwoods Company. Drew Brocket 1-800-223-6565
Sign-up soon!
A note to would be participants: The emphasis of the CJ program is canoe camping skills—the things you need to know to make a successful canoe trip beyond the beaten path. There is heavy emphasis on navigation, equipment, foods and cooking, storm-proofing your camp and foul weather fire-making. These skills are at the heart of canoe tripping. To break up the intensive week participants will receive four hours of on-the-water instruction with Jim Mandle, a certified American Canoe Association instructor and registered Adirondack guide. Jim will teach paddling basics, that’s all. If your goal is to improve your paddling technique then the Cliff Jacobson Canoe Camping School is not for you. Better to sign up for one of the many on-the-water paddling schools that teach these skills. The bottom line is that this school is about the “nuts and bolts” of canoe tripping; it is not a place to learn how to canoe.
COMPLETE ITINERARY FOR THE WEEK BELOW:
CANOE CAMPING SCHOOL SCHEDULE 2008
*Schedule subject to modification depending on weather. Timing is approximate.
Sunday, May 18
3-5 pm: Welcome, sign-in, cabin assignment. Coffee and smiles.
6:00 pm: Supper is served at Camp DuNord.
7:15—9:00 pm: Introductions, social.
*(Divide into 3 groups—A, B, C. See schedule for May 19-20)
Monday May 19, Tues. May 20:
7:00—8:00: Breakfast is served.
Monday/Tuesday events: divide into 3 groups; see below:
*Navigation: Basic essentials of map and compass. We begin at square one. Maps and compasses are provided. Feel free to bring your own orienteering style compass.
*Canoe instruction: Learn basic strokes and paddle techniques—Jim Mandle.
*Portage & canoe outfitting: Pick a paddle, learn how to outfit your canoe with yoke, spray cover, knee pads, lining holes, tracking lines and foot braces. Learn portage procedures and practice portaging canoes. Canoe storage, maintenance and repair techniques. ( ) Denotes approximate number of participants per group.
*Orienteering Event: Locate and punch controls—practical, using map and compass. Self-timed; start 5 minutes apart. Prizes!
|
Mon. May 19 |
Mon. May 19 |
Tues. May 20 |
Tues. May 20 |
|
Cliff |
Jim |
Cliff |
Jim |
8 AM
to 11:45 |
Groups A,C (16) Navigation |
Group B (8) On-the- water canoe instruction |
B (8) Navigation
C (8) Orienteering event, on your own |
A (8) On-the- water canoe instruction |
| 1 PM to 4:30 |
A (8) Orienteering event—locate and punch controls, on your own.
-----------------------
B (8) Canoe outfitting, portage canoes. |
C (8) On-the-water canoe instruction |
B (8) Orienteering event—locate and punch controls, on your own.
------------------------
A,C (16)
A(8) Cliff—outfitting canoes—classroom
C(8) Jim—practicum, portaging, outdoors |
Jim helps Cliff with portage and canoe outfitting instruction.
(8) Jim—practicum, portage canoes.
Groups change location—90 minutes
|
Monday, May 19 (evening)
7:30-9:00 (Canoeing in Canada (slide show/30 minutes) / socialize.
Tuesday, May 20 (evening)
7:30-9:00: Hands-on knife sharpening session for those who are interested. You’ll learn how to sharpen a knife to a razor edge. You must have your own knife to sharpen if you wish to join this session. A variety of sharpening stones, courtesy of Smith Abrasives, will be available for you to use. Why not bring those dull kitchen knives and have at it?
Please sign up for May 21 evening canoeing session tonight.
Wednesday, May 21
7:00 - 8:00: Breakfast is served
8:30 -12:00 (Choose 1, 2 or 3).
1) GPS instruction with Cliff. Learn the UTM coordinate system and how to program and use a GPS. Use a GPS to locate Orienteering markers. GPS units provided by Garmin, Inc.
2) Canoeing with Jim (recreational or personal instruction). Please sign-up for canoeing, Tuesday evening.
3) Relax and read a book. Check out Cliff’s personal canoeing and camping library, on display. You may remove books from the center if you choose this session. Please return books to the center by lunch time today.
12:00—1:30: Lunch
1:30—2:00: How to choose edged tools—knife, saw, axe.
2:00—3:30: Build a one match fire. Practical; everyone builds their own fire.
3:30—5:00: Demo: Personal clothing and footwear for canoeing. Nose to toes, what you need and how to wear it. Rain gear and wet/dry suits. Tips for drying wet clothes when the sun isn’t shining.
6:00—7:00: Supper is served
7:00 till Dark: Recreational paddle or relax and socialize.
Thursday, May 22
7:00—8:00: Breakfast is served
8:00—10:30: Choose one:
Make a fitted leather sheath for your knife, axe or multi-tool/$10 extra cost (Cliff)
Canoeing with Jim/recreational or personal instruction.
Locate orienteering markers with compass and/or GPS.
Relax and read a book. Check out Cliff’s personal canoeing and camping library. Please return books at 10:30.
10:30-12:00: Foods, planning canoe trip menus, cooking tricks. Cookware and modifications, cozy cooking, health and sanitary procedures. Divide into groups, pack food for cookout.
12:00—1:30 Cook-out. Taste, compare and rate different meals. Discussion.
1:30—3:00: Knots and hitches. Learn and practice 5 essential knots and hitches.
3:00—4:30: Stormproof your camp. Rig single and twin rain tarps. Set-up tents and compare features.
4:30—6:00: Free time, recreational canoe, sharpen knives, complete leather sheath project or walk Orienteering course.
6:00—7:00: Supper is served.
7:30—8:30: Bug-proofing your camp: repellents, body nets, philosophy and more.
Friday, May 23
7:00—8:00: Breakfast is served
8:00—9:00: Clean cabins, pack cars
9:00—10:15: Demonstration—Packs and packing: How to select hard and soft packs, pack a pack, and waterproof your gear for rain and rapids.
10:15—10:45: Free time.
10:45—11:45: Lecture/discussion: Safety precautions. Water treatment/filters, purifiers, chemicals. Signal gear: sat. phone, VHF radio, CB radio, mirror, smokes, solar chargers.
12:00—1:00: Lunch is served
1:00—2:00: Lecture/discussion: Bearproofing your camp
2:00: PROGRAM ENDS. Evaluation.
6:30: Dinner at the Chocolate Moose for those who are interested.
Daily Schedule 2008 all photos Used with permission, Larry Ricker, copywrite 2007