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Max Finkelstein: Ottawa’s Paddling Guru

By Allen Macartney

FROM SPRING break-up until the day winter ice clogs the Ottawa River, you can’t keep Max Finkelstein out of his canoe. He’s paddled across Canada following voyageur riverine trails; he’s canoed across the Arctic, among icebergs, and up the Fraser and Mackenzie Rivers.

When he’s not paddling, he’s either talking about rivers to large groups across Canada, or writing canoeing books. His fi rst book, Canoeing a Continent: On the Trail of Alexander Mackenzie, has registered strong sales. His second canoeing book is forthcoming, while a third is in the works. Max is a communications offi cer for the Canadian Heritage Rivers System.

After following in Max’s wake for some months, Ottawa Outdoors OOM: How did you fi rst get interMagazine fi nally caught up to him esting in canoeing? just long enough to ask about his padMax: I bought my fi rst canoe dling experiences. when I was 18, and then bought Bill

OOM: Canoeing is a magical Mason’s book, Path of the Paddle as experience for you. Can you describe soon as it was published. Together, the passion? they taught me how to paddle. I also

Max: To a large extent, canoelearned about paddling from canoe ing and camping have defi ned who racing. If you can paddle a racing I am, and what I want from life. canoe (18 1⁄2 feet long and 27” wide Those realizations have come through with very little freeboard) down rapids long canoe trips – life-defi ning trips. and keep the open side up, it makes They’ve helped me get to know paddling a normal canoe feel easy. myself better, and learn what makes Racing also taught me how to paddle me happy. I do a lot of camping, but effi ciently. That’s important when you it’s never enough. I feel most comgo on a three or four month wilderness fortable and at home on the water, trek. and sleeping under the stars. OOM: You’ve gone on several long canoe trips – ones that take many months. What draws you to that type of solitary experience?

Max: A long canoe trip gives you time to focus on what’s really important in your life and what isn’t. During some canoe trips I start to notice the common things that I miss when I’m not on canoe trips, like a night sky full of stars, the smell of spruce, and the call of a loon. But mostly, I go because it’s really pretty out there.

OOM: Did your cross-Canada canoe trip take lots of planning?

Max: It began at Britannia in the Ottawa River on a windy, blustery day. I was bouncing around on the choppy water doing a television interview, but I just wanted to leave. Finally, I was able to start dipping my paddle and begin the trip. The fi rst year I was on the water for three months. From Ottawa, I paddled to the Mattawa and

Max: Actually it happened suddenly. I was doing an exhibit on the fur trade for my job. I wondered, “What would it be like to follow the voyageur route?” It was a dream that evolved quickly — no life-long passion. I just wanted to do something really different. It just started with me wanting to go on a long canoe trip. I also love the voyageurs. They were such colourful, self-reliant and dramatic people. They’d wreck a big birch bark canoe in a rapid, then go into the forest and, several days later, have a new canoe to continue their voyage. Incredible! They did it without mosquito repellants, Gore-tex ™ , fl eece and rip-stop tents. Every day they made Olympic-level achievements and thought nothing of it. I wanted to have a taste of that excitement.

OOM: Can you describe the trip?

French Rivers, then into Georgian Bay and Lake Superior to Grand Portage, which connects to the Boundary Waters. That takes you to Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, Winnipeg River and Lake Winnipeg. From there I took the North Saskatchewan River, which leads to Cumberland House. That’s what I paddled during the fi rst year – the standard trans-Canada fur trade route.

OOM: How did you train for the trip?

Max: Actually, I didn’t do too much training. I just got in my canoe and paddled away. However, I do a lot of paddling, and am pretty fi t. After the fi rst few weeks I was in even better shape, but very, very tired. I probably pushed too hard that year. Ottawa to Saskatchewan is a long way!

OOM: What was your most ambitious canoe trip before retracing the voyageur route?

Max: I canoed with a friend (David Kippen) on a 75-day trip across the Western Arctic, ending in Inuvik. We were trying to follow the route of a Hudson Bay Company fur trader. Also, we followed traditional Inuit and Gwich’in routes. It was a great experience packed full of adventure.

OOM: What are your favourite paddling spots in our area?

Max: I love the Deschênes Rapids around Britannia. In August, during low water, I sometimes paddle into them, and have a picnic right in the middle of the rapid rock garden on the fl at rocks. It’s beautiful with water splashing, fi sh jumping, and blue herons wading nearby. Very peaceful. But you have to be careful going there. It can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Another favourite place is Constance Creek right where the bay meets the Ottawa River. The creek is a big hardwood swamp that is alive with ospreys, horned owls, mink and beavers.

OOM: During long canoe trips you’ve developed a philosophy of life.

Max: Yes. During my months of paddling – often alone – I’ve come to understand life in more simple terms than I do when surrounded by city deadlines and schedules. The pulse of the city can make you think less important issues are vital, when they aren’t. All the peace and quiet on a river or lake helps identify the really important things in life. One of the lessons I cherish most is this…. Don’t waste your time looking for happiness where you know you won’t fi nd it. Look for it where it might be found. In practical terms it could mean not staying with a job that provides lots of money, but little or no satisfaction. Is money worth years or decades of ho-hum existence? Perhaps there’s another job you could get that would provide less money, but lots more satisfaction. If you made the change, your quality of life would go way up. But why are we so reluctant to make changes? When I’m in doubt, I take a long canoe trip.

Find out more about Max Finkelstein’s cross-Canada paddling adventure. Check out his book, Canoeing a Continent: On the Trail of Alexander Mackenzie. — Allen Macartney is Managing Editor of Ottawa Outdoors Magazine.

Wilderness Paddling

Following are some ideas Max refined from many wilderness canoe trips: • Don’t be afraid to quit your job and go paddling every now and then. • Listen to the burbling of running water; it’s a sure cure for sadness. • Paddle alone whenever you can; paddle a long ways alone sometimes. • Long canoe trips make ordinary things seem miraculous. • Anything that keeps you away from your canoe and water should be used in moderation. • Whether you paddle a rapid successfully or dump, learn why. • “Conquer” rapids with humility; dump graciously. • Long canoe trips are completed one paddle stroke at a time. • Beware of obsessions about possessions. Having too much stuff can keep you from paddling. • If you’re lost, wet, and the rain is turning to snow, sit down and make a cup of tea. • No canoe trip is perfect. There are cracks in everything; that’s what makes life so rich. • Be polite to the rivers, lakes, land, people and critters you meet, and always say, “Thank you.”