tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135394449426882820.post6878234754131284158..comments2023-11-02T06:43:47.267-05:00Comments on Discover Yourself Outdoors: Why don't more Missourians paddle?Adventurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01121296008147783494noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135394449426882820.post-42692460704736499832010-03-05T12:39:35.681-06:002010-03-05T12:39:35.681-06:00Two reasons:
1) Missouri lacks lakes for beginner...Two reasons:<br /><br />1) Missouri lacks lakes for beginners to cut their canoeing teeth on. I had canoed for years but was ill prepared for the first time I canoed the Current downstream of Baptist camp. Ninety-degree bends into cliff faces with strainers is intimidating to all but the drunk college students in the summer. It was not until I took the white-water classes from the MWA that I felt comfortable on Ozark streams.<br /><br />2) Most streams in Missouri are not very canoe friendly. Especially for families or those seeking solitude. Unless it is a very small stream with limited access, inevitably canoeists are sharing the rivers with john boats and jet skis. Sometimes in very limited quarters. I did the majority of my Missouri paddling in the late fall, winter and spring to avoid the crowds. Perhaps you could have a class on winter canoeing to introduce people to a new side of the rivers.<br /><br />After 8 years in Missouri, I have moved and have enjoyed 154 continuous months of canoeing outdoors in Wisconsin. For my February canoe, my wife, daughter and I canoed a small spring fed stream while beautiful snow flakes fell.Bill in Wisconsinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14663125833198882857noreply@blogger.com