Canoe Nova Scotia Canoe Touring

Touring Class of 1992

Way back in 1992 I had the pleasure of attending the Canoe Nova Scotia Senior Instructors Canoe Touring School.
Staffed by some of the best paddlers and instructors this province has to offer, it was a 7 day course that covered everything you could think of that involved canoe touring/tripping. Right from the start I was impressed by the caliber of instruction.

It took place on Gillfillan Lake in Quinan, Yarmouth county about 1 mile down the road from my home. We had the use of Maple Lodge, a nice large camp with full kitchen and large dinning area as well as a very large covered verandah. Group dynamics was covered very well as well as menu planning and ecological camping practices. There was much discussion on this subject and considering the caliber of students present (All applicants had to have a level 4 / instructor or senior instructors certification in one of the following disciplines, Flat Water or Moving Water.)everything was covered. From where to make latrines and what kind to make depending on how many in the group and the length of stay in the area to how to properly construct and dispose of a fire pit.

Menu planning proved to be interesting. We were broken into two groups. Seven in my group and six in the other with three instructors per group. We were given a budget of $650.00 per group to buy all the food for the group (including the instructors). Nutrition was extensively covered. I guess the instructors wanted to make sure that they didn't starve on the five day trip. Any way Richard Clark and I were nominated to do the grocery shopping after our group had decided what to take along for food. Off we trot to town and begin our shopping spree. For some reason I thought we had only $350.00 to spend on groceries so I was careful to buy no name brands and bulk articles where possible. I started to sweat a little as the bill seemed to add up in a hurry. Here I was adding all this up in my head as we went along and I was saying to Richard "No not that much it's to expensive", or "Heck only half that much will be enough." By the time we finished we tallied up a bill of about $325.00. "Whew... Just under the wire." I said. "What do you mean Just under the wire? We had $650 bucks to spend!" says Richard. Meanwhile group #2 spent almost every cent they had. We on the other hand had enough left over to buy the booze for the party at the end of the course.
When we got back with our booty group #2 looked at our stash and commented "Jeez.. You guys are gonna starve !." We started to have doubts about weather we had enough but one fellow in our group who happened to be in the armed forces assured us there was plenty. Fernando Fernandes was his name and he volunteered to be the cook although everyone had to cook at least two meals on the trip.

Group #2

Front Row: Steve Cook, Kevin Mathewson, Eric Flanders, Melbourne Muise, Peter Rogers and Carrole McCormick. Front row: John Lowe, Milton Vacon and way over to the right in red white and blue coat is George Doucette.

The First night we had chicken stir fry. One of our instructors, Jerry Oikle, looked in the fry pan and had a concerned look on his face. I don't think he thought there was enough for all of us but as it turned out there was plenty and some people had seconds. By the way it was terrific. About the only problem we had with food was the peta bread we had bought already frozen. When it thawed out it turned out to be stale and mould was starting to form on it. Group #2 brought a lot more meat than we did but they also had to bring about 100 lbs of ice as well. Must have been a real drag when it came to portage.

Here they come down the Tusket to Duncason's Island. A little wet and late but no worse for the wear.

The two groups were split up and we started at Quinan Lake while the other group started on the East Branch of the Tusket River. They had almost all river runs while we had mostly lakes the first two days. This was a great advantage as the water level was extremely low and the rivers were boney as hell. Guess those guys could have used wheels on their canoes from what I heard.

During the course each of the candidates was responsible for two presentations,each lasting from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour long. We were told what the subject matter was to be a couple of months prior to the course so we had adequate time to prepare. Some of the subjects were weather forecasting, given by Joe Doucette, Tree identification and outdoor ethics given by me, wild life identification (Jeff Purdy), campsite identification and a host of other topics that I can't quite remember as it was quite some time ago and I am getting long in the tooth but short on memory. As a group we were responsible foe everything from pre trip planing, campsite selection ( all except one spot which was the designated meeting spot on the third day where we were to meet group #2, equipment to be taken along or left behind. Beautiful weather graces us for the first two days but on the third day it started to rain to beat the band. The plan was to meet on Duncason's Island on the Tusket River at three in the afternoon. Looking at the map we figured that we would be there right on time but behind group #2 as they had mostly river to cover and should be there well before us. This meant that we would not have the choice camp sites on the island. Two thirty in the afternoon we were at the main bridge in Quinan and right on schedule. As we approached d the island we looked for the other group's canoes but saw none. GREAT ! we thought, we have the choice sites. Sure enough we beat them to the island and set up camp. Tents were pitched and a fire started in the fire pit ready to cook supper when at about four thirty or so we saw group #2 paddling down the river. It was raining quite hard and the wind had turned cold. They did not look like they were having fun. No smiles could be found on their faces that's for sure. This is where we learned about the rocky ride down the Tusket. The river from Quinan on was good because that is where the Quinan River flows into the Tusket and the river level rises somewhat. Guess that ice must have weighed a little bit dragging those canoes over the rocks eh guys? Thank goodness for ABS and Royalex canoes. From here on in the two groups banded together and we traveled as one rather large crew.
At day three all candidates were evaluated by their perspective instructors. We were told where we excelled as well as where we could use improvement. This gave us a couple of days to bring ourselves up to the expectations required to be a senior instructor in canoe touring. At one point in time everyone had the opportunity to be group leader, either with their own small group or with the larger group after we had met on Duncason's Island. I had the joy of leading this fine band of fellows (oh... mustn't forget Terry. She was the only woman amongst us and was one of the leaders in our group. ) For half the day on day four. About 1 hour after leaving the island in the morning we came to Grid Iron rapid. I was designated leader and was therefore the first to scout and shoot the rapid. I scouted only because I had to follow proper procedure but had done this rapid many times before and knew just how to run it. At the bottom we set up stations with throw ropes just in case someone dumped.
On the last day when we had come just about to the last of our journey we had lunch at the Tusket Dam. When low and behold someone from group two, I can't quite remember who but someone came over and asked us if we could spare a little bit of hot soup. " Say what???" "Didn't you guys buy enough food?" guess we had enough anyway didn't we? Why we even had enough for two day emergency rations.
On the other side of the dam the river becomes a tidal river and it came abundantly clear to those of us who had never paddled in salt water that this was a completely different game. The river seemed to be much more of a living entity. The swells from the tide going out lifted the canoes and shoved them forward faster than we could paddle ourselves, and the water was very cold. Even in summer this would not be a nice place to dump. The current and the temperature together would make for a deadly combination if you don't have a wet suit.
Paddling in the ocean will be another story for later.

Touring Class Instructors of 1992

From left to right : Steve Cook, Melbourne Muise, George Doucette, Terry Swan (Classen), Gerry Oikle and Tom Vitello. All a great crew and exceptionally skilled people whom I will always be glad to call my friends.

One observation I had was that because we had one woman amongst our group we all seemed to be well mannered despite the fact we were a bunch of men out in the woods. There was none of the usual goings on that an all male crowd usually do and I feel that it seemed that our somewhat civilized behavior was a subconscious effort on our part as we tried to treat her as an equal or "one of the guys if you will." Some anthropologists and / or psychologist would probably have had a field day observing how we conducted ourselves with Terry around.
All in all this was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my life. It ranks right on up there with the ten grueling days I spent at Canoe Nova Scotia's Flat Water School a couple of years earlier. But that's another story.

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