Path of the Paddle: An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Canoeing

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, Japan Foundation Fellow 1991-92, and the author of
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Home and As Though Life Mattered:
Leo Kennedy’s Story.

Bill Mason, an award-winning NFB filmmaker well-known for his Cry of the
Wild and the Path of the Paddle film series, has become a household name
to canoeists and conservationists. In his foreword, Pierre Elliott
Trudeau describes his friend as “a genial fanatic on the subject of
canoeing, a man so enthralled with the sheer joy of guiding a canoe
through challenging rapids in the early spring, so awestruck by the
beauty of nature as seen over the bow of a canoe ... that he cannot
understand why every man and woman on earth does not share his
passion.” For those who do share Mason’s passion, this revised and
updated classic is both a philosophic reflection on the art or “way”
of the paddle and a detailed instructional guide.

Topics include whitewater maneuvres (alone and with a partner), modern
rapids running techniques, running “haystacks” and rollers, and
recovering a pinned canoe. Scores of small black-and-white photographs
illustrate the instructions and advice. Responsibility and respect for
the land—the book’s underlying philosophy—are reinforced in the
concluding essay. Sixteen full-page color photographs capture incredible
moments and dramatic scenery. A further-reading list and index complete
this invaluable guide.