What is whitewater canoeing?

Paddling whitewater

So the simple definition of whitewater canoeing might be something like, “Intentionally paddling a canoe through rapids.” And "whitewater tripping" is when you do that with all the stuff you need to camp in your canoe. 

But why do this? The majority of canoe trippers don’t run rapids and they have enviably light canoes. If they come across a rapid on a river trip, it’s an annoyance that needs to be portaged around. For the whitewater trippers, this is the reason they are there. Now it’s not all about the whitewater. The whitewater folks also enjoy all the other aspects of canoe tripping—being out in the wilderness, the views, joys of camping, campfire cooking, all the things. But, we choose where to paddle for the whitewater and we love it. 

Think you're into it?

It is possible to dabble in whitewater, to some degree. But if you want to get to the point where you don't just get through rapids, but you get in the 'flow' where your skill meets the demand, you feel in control and are having a blast within the chaos of the water, that takes some work. 

Canoes aren't actually the easiest kind of boat to get down a rapid. If you want a cheap thrill experience of whitewater without the work or the sense of control, go on a whitewater rafting trip. In those boats, you can be a passive passenger and paddle along and enjoy some drops and splashes. Nothing wrong with that. Doing that in a loaded canoe that you are responsible for steering, now that's something else. We find something incredibly rewarding about packing up everything you need into a boat and heading down a river into the wilderness, and through wild water to reach our destination. If you think that's also you, you could be in for some exhilarating fun, but recognize that you've got some learning to do. Not everything about paddling in whitewater or canoe tripping itself is intuitive—and it won't just come with practice. 

Where this handbook can help

This handbook is intended to help ease you into the world of whitewater tripping with information that we have gathered over two decades of whitewater paddling. While canoe camping is our thing, most of this content will also apply to day tripping with unloaded boats. 

If you’ve read this far, you’re already demonstrating an important learning stance regarding whitewater. That is, there's some stuff you gotta learn. Whitewater canoeing isn’t a sport where you can just jump in and figure it out. There's some work ahead learning how to paddle in whitewater, how to limit risks, how to read rapids, and what kind of gear you’ll need and how to use it, along with plenty more.

You can take expensive courses in whitewater paddling and squeeze all the learning into a few days, but this handbook is meant to help you learn the content without or alongside that—as long as you’re with someone who does know what they’re doing. And maybe, if you don’t have anyone in your circle that can help you learn, you and your paddling crew can ease your way into whitewater canoeing with this information. 

We highly recommend watching the videos over in our Paddling skills section, especially the Bill Mason videos. They’re definitely old, but they are still the best. Bill, in his short cut off jeans, ran some incredibly large rapids in a wooden canoe. That’s really something. 

There’s so much that you’ll need to learn on the river, but perhaps, through a site like this, you’ll be able to fast-track your learning of whitewater. We designed it to be something we wish we had when we first started paddling whitewater.

The mindset you'll need

Perhaps the biggest first lesson for canoeing in moving water is that it’s not all up to you, the paddler(s). You need to get over yourself a bit. The river has its own desires and will push and pull your boat in ways that you won't expect, and often can’t overcome. If you try to paddle a rapid like you would a car on a road, you’re in for a humbling experience. Many novices are frustrated by the canoe not responding as they think it should and find themselves being pushed around at the whim of the seemingly arbitrary and absurd forces of the river. 

However, if you learn to approach the river with a respectful understanding that you have to work together with the river and its forces, and work within the limits of what the river will permit, you’ll feel a great deal of control over your boat and will have a great time paddling. But to have this sort of 'conversation' with the river, you need to learn about those forces.  We'll cover that too. 

Understanding the risk

Before going any further, let's be clear—to get into this activity (I don’t like calling it a “sport” since for us it is not competitive), you need to understand that being in whitewater means you're at risk. It's inherent in the activity itself, not just your behaviour in it. You have to take that seriously. Granted, risk can still be a part of the thrill, but we still need to accept it and let it guide us to good decision-making. There's a whole section on this later, but if you're not up to take on some calculated and careful risk-taking, this activity is not for you.

Good luck!

If you think whitewater tripping might be your thing (though be careful of the bug!) read on and enjoy. We hope that you find this information useful.