Up the Creek: True Stories of Canoeists in Trouble » (First Edition)

Doug McKown is former director of the canoeing program at the Banff National Army Cadet Camp. He is a certified canoe instructor and experienced canoe tripper living in Alberta, Canada.

Instructive tales of mishaps, near misses, and disasters in the wild

Nothing brings you closer to the awesome beauty of nature—and its perils—than a wilderness canoe trip. Trouble can strike at lightning speed and make quick work of the unprepared, inexperienced, or unobservant paddler. In Up the Creek, experienced canoeists confess their mistakes in true tales of hypothermia, near drowning, close encounters with rapids and wildlife, strandings, injuries, and more.

You'll meet the canoeists who shoved off without one of their paddles and were quickly swept into roaring, rock-strewn rapids; the couple who tried to run unfamiliar rapids in a new and untested boat; and the cook who nearly drowned after preparing Thanksgiving dinner. These real-life stories drive home the importance of safety issues and what can happen when they are ignored.

• True tales of injury, fire, equipment failure, bear encounters, violent storms, and more
• Entertaining and instructive stories from accomplished canoeists
• Insights on how to anticipate and avoid canoeing mishaps

The foundation principles of canoeing safety and judgment emerge from these stories, whose contributors include Mel Baughman, Tom Brown, Jim Buckingham, Toni Harting, Cliff Jacobson, Sara Seager, Hap Wilson, and many others.

Doug McKown is former director of the canoeing program at the Banff National Army Cadet Camp. He is a certified canoe instructor and experienced canoe tripper living in Alberta, Canada.