Upstream Travel: How to Pole a Canoe Upstream

Canadian author Adam Shoalts discusses how to pole a canoe upriver. His new book, Beyond the Trees, is about his nearly 4,000 km solo canoe journey across Canada's Arctic, which involved hundreds of kilometres of upstream travel. His canoe is a 15 foot prospector made by Nova Craft Canoe, out of their TuffStuff material, a composite of basalt and Innegra fibers. See adamshoalts.com/ for more.

[@canoepoler]

Finally someone with street cred... canoe cred? who is willing to tell people that, not only is it ok to stand in a canoe, but that poling is a very valuable skill. Thank you!

[@trishaharrison6183]

You make it look so easy. Reading Beyond The Trees right now. What an amazing adventure you took us on. I also bought the movie. Thanks for sharing these with us🥰

[@fishpants3877]

Adam! I just finished "10 Maps" and am about three quarters through "Beyond the Trees". Excellent read! My son, Noah recently completed a canoe crossing of Labrador. He recommended your books (one of which was a significant inspiration for his travels). Thanks for being a modern Voyageur!

[@TOOZECRUISE]

Mr. Booth! Big fan of your son! Love NORTHERN SCAVENGER. That was an epic crossing Noah and the boys did. Proud of your boy I bet! One of ,if not my favorite series on KZbin. Adam inspired him, Noah inspired me. It's what it's all about!

[@prayfornathannatureshow]

Nicely done. Thanks for demonstrating, now time to get out there and give it a try.

[@lisaspagnuolo8930]

Beautiful Adam! I really loved this video! Well done!

[@Gillesgip]

Nice!! Thanks for sharing!

[@KayakFishing2021]

We love your videos. Keep up the great work! 👍

[@dondiego124]

great video thanks

[@cadd5574]

Amazing!

[@jmpattillo]

I just finished the beyond the trees audiobook. It was a lot of fun to follow your journey using Google Earth. Your descriptions made it so I could usually figure out where you were.

[@sandral2824]

"Now get out there and have fun!" (picture of Arctic expedition) lol

[@analreviews5742]

Haha if only I’d seen this sooner. And awesome idea with the camera while you put the canoe up

[@wolfoutdoorscanada]

Awesome dude 😎

[@JonPaddles]

Awesome, I'm booked to learn this skill this summer. Though 59 lbs isn't what I would call light for a canoe.....

[@nula.moonsnail]

So bad ass!

[@aglanfield]

Subbed! Looks great Adam! It’s fun watching your adventures. I’m terrible at balance though, I’m pretty sure I’d just fall in haha

[@markwilliamson4628]

Hi Adam, Interestingly, I'm just reading about your poling exploits on the Mackenzie and Hare Indian rivers. Thanks to your demo, I can now see how this would work, but man, so much would depend on the depth, bottom type and especially your ability to keep the momentum up. Were you able to train for this before setting out? It also suggests to me that SUP boarders might have an advantage going upstream if they used their paddle as a pole, especially given that their balance problems might be less than in a canoe...

[@Grey000]

I could never pick this up in the Allagash Waterway. Had to fight my way paddling upstream.

[@MrLeonightis]

Just watched your journey wow , that was incredible ! One heck of a solo trek ! Did you ever get your canoe or did you donate it to the village ?

[@kevinrjr79]

Thanks! Looks easy, how long did it take you to master this technique?

[@dondiego124]

Very much like a gondolier from Venice Italy

[@AlexA-jn3gg]

Books are great. But you should really consider developing your youtube content. Like or not but that's the medium where most of reach is done nowadays. Will help funding more travels. Good luck

[@timberdoodles4647]

15 feet is a nice solo size boat, I run a Swift Prospector carbon fiber, 15 feet and in many tight streams the extra 2 feet on a 17 foot boat is too much between the obstacles, being rocks and tree logs etc.

[@AKLAZARNA]

Three "dislikes"...WTF?!?

[@Aaron-nj8xj]

How do you keep the canoe from spinning in the current?

[@adamshoalts]

You brace the canoe by pushing down with the pole and touching the bottom. That and the forward momentum from the thrusts is enough to keep the canoe going forward.

[@Drozey710]

Although I'm always happy to welcome new people to the outdoors, I just can't wait for the plethora of newcomers brought on by the pandemic to lose interest. Littering, vandalism, theft, and new restrictions is usually what comes with the masses who don't have respect.