Adirondack Canoe Classic. We rent a cabin every year which is where the finish is on our beach on the first day.
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Two things, @Topher kind of indicated these Clippers were pretty rare and there is a whole bunch of them or similar boats, the other thing is @Topher âs boat is Kevlar and weighs 185 lbs., a regular glass lay up is 845 lbs., I have a hard time imagining that.
The Adirondack Classic not only involves open water paddling, but sections are fairly winding streams with beaver dams to negotiate. In addition there are a number of carrys or portages between lakes, some over a mile in length and some over rough ground where wheels are not that usable.
With an 845 lb. boat?
The weight of 845 lbs seems high, unless itâs massive long. Iâd expect a boat in the 25 ft range to weigh under 300 lbs. Crew powered canoes would be a blast to paddle with an experienced crew. Itâs frustrating with paddlers who canât sustain the cadence in a tightly packed canoe, which is the problem with tandem kayaks. A two person canoe doesnât present the same problem because because each paddler has separation and can paddle opposite sides.
All of the 8 person canoes that I saw appeared to be Kevlar or Kevlar/carbon fiber. One of the teams let me pick up one end of one. I would guess it weighed around 175 lbs or so and they have 8 people to carry it. I donât think anyone in this race is trying to do it with an extremely heavy boat, although the race is to commemorate the past when trappers and fur traders used very heavy and heavily laden boats. Of course, they were not racing.
Race rules stipulate that whatever you start with on a leg, you must finish with. If a paddle breaks, you better have a spare or be able to fix it. If a set of wheels breaks, you canât toss it out, even though it is no longer usable, but must carry it to the end. If wheels are used, they must be carried all 3 days. If a teammate becomes sick or injured they canât be swapped out or left behind on any leg. There are cut off points along the course each day. If you fail to qualify on any day, you are disqualified for the entire three day race, No outriggers permitted.
There are probably some rules that I am not familiar with. I have never taken part in this event although I have witnessed the first day finish for over 20 years. With the carries, it seems like more work than fun and now I am way too antique to consider it with my kayak.
Hats off to our ancestors. We are so fortunate.
My apologies somewhat, I swear I saw that figure somewhere, 845 lbs. for some type build, but that doesnât sound right. Clipperâs 25â6â Voyager in glass is only 255 lbs. None the less, there are portages of a mile long? Got to be verybinteresting.
There are quite a few 2 mi portages in the BWCA and Quetico. The Grand Portage mentioned earlier was just shy of 9mi and quite steep in some places - and that was done with multiple 90lb. fur bundles. The leading cause of death among voyageurs was untreated hernias. These were some tough hombres.
As jyak says, âHats off to our ancestorsâ.
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Must be nice scenery to do that today.
The view back from the portage trail to L. Superior and the encampment is spectacular as are the falls on the Pigeon River that the portage goes around. The view was, no doubt, spectacular then as well, but it would be working like the devilâs slave for a passing glimpse of heaven to the voyageurs.
They intentionally recruited (or even âimpressedâ, as navies in those days did) small men who couldnât swim, to leave more room in the canoes for cargo and to bring on people who feared running rapids that might risk the load or get the furs wet. And there were races over incredible distances to get to market, particularly between the North West Company and the Hudsonâs Bay Company. The winners got the best prices for their cargoes. And there was some piracy of cargoes, as well. Wild times.
It seems strange to me that in our American psyches we have so celebrated the cowboys - how many westerns series have we seen growing up and even in reruns now - yet never was there a single series (to the best of my knowledge - correct me if Iâm wrong) set in the fur trade era.
But I gottaâ run. Canoecopia beckons.
Davy Ctockett and the River Pirates was set in the fur trading dsys. I was 7 yo and loved that series.
Even Mike Fink, the bad guy, was memorable.
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Plenty of movies with stars like Michael Douglas, John Wayne, Brian Keith; How the West was Won has a segment woth Pioneers. Jerimiah Johnson with Robert Redford; Last of the Mohican from the 30s and then with Daniel Day Lewis; the Mountain Men; the Revnant with DiCaprio to name a few. Series like Davie Crocket with Fess Parker; pioneer series, Centenial dealt with the 1700s and trapping. As you mentioned, not as many as cowboy westerns.
I heard the third day was cancelled this year due to cold and the risk of hypothermia.
Still, I miss living there some days.
Kind of puts things in perspective, doesnât it.
Weâre old and still have good memories.
Well, it certainly puts my film knowledge in perspective. Iâve never been a movie buff. When I wrote that I was thinking of all those old TV series - there must have been at least fifty of them.
I think Iâve seen a couple of those films years ago and they are indeed set in the era, but I donât recall any dramas played out on the portage trail or set on epic fur trading trips as was done with cattle drives or wagon trains. And then there was the movie Gray Owl with Pierce Brosnan. I guess the last days of the fur trade were pretty central to that movie.
Rough times, rough men.
Didnât see that one. Yes good memories, but far more cowboy tales by the same performers.