I had the honor of paddling with Clint Waddell yesterday. For those not familiar with Clint, he is best known for the Cross Continent Canoe Safari trip that he and Verlen Kruger completed in 1971- 7000 miles from Montreal to the mouth of the Yukon River.
Summary of the Cross Continent Canoe Safari
Clint and Verlen also hold the fastest recorded time paddling the border route from International Falls to Grand Portage on Lake Superior- a feat that motivates many (me) to follow their route. Clint was also known as a good professional canoe racer in the '60's and maybe the early '70's competing in the big races of the day such as the Au Sable, Aquatennial, and Atikokan.

I first met Clint this past winter at his home where we spent most of a day talking about canoe adventuring and specifically about the border route and their record. We hit it off well and we agreed we should get together for a paddle sometime.

Well I took him up on his offer and decided to meet at his place yesterday 10am. I was thinking paddling Lake Mille Lacs but he thought that a little boring and instead suggested we go to the Rum River/Lake Onamia for more scenery. OK with me.

We get to Lake Onamia and he looks at me to ask who gets the stern? Before he could finish his question, I quickly said, "I'll take the bow", knowing he spent most of his thousands of canoe miles in that position.

Off we go into the open waters with him saying "hup" in racer talk for switching sides. And switch we did, often, he yelling hup every 3-8 strokes and me digging the paddle in putting as much power to the paddle as I could. We followed the open water until that disappears into endless wild rice stands and lillypads so thick it was hard to put the blade into the water.

He yells up front to me, "Verlen, which way do we go, what does the map show?", knowing full well I didn't have the map. This is a joke in reference to the fact that Verlen used to navigate from the bow. We struggle for a couple miles until finally finding the Rum River channel and then fight the strong current of the river as it spills out of Mille Lacs Lake. Up the river, across Lake Shakopee, a short rest to stretch our legs, and back down the way we came.

Thirteen miles later, three miles of which was rice and weeds almost too thick to move, we approached within 100' of our takeout point and Clint yells, "BeaV, you can quit paddling so hard now!" That made me smile as he hadn't acknowledged my pushing the pace the whole previous thirteen miles. And I smiled because the whole time, he kept pace with me at 50-60 strokes per minute. Did I mention he is 83 years old? He is.

well, that sounds amazing. did you get a photo of the two of you? since their IF to GP record is for a tandem trip, you planning to find a partner and try to match that record? does he have an interest in doing that route again, even if not as a race?
83 is quite the age to be paddling like a mad man! glad you got to meet him and spend some quality time.

Awesome. I would have loved to hear the conversations that took place in those 13 miles.

"We get to Lake Onamia and he looks at me to ask who gets the stern? Before he could finish his question, I quickly said, "I'll take the bow"."

This is akin to Ruth and Gehrig asking who gets to bat cleanup....

Cool! I'm sure you enjoyed it :)

Few of us get to meet and spend time with our Heros / inspiration, and the older I get the fewer there are. You are a lucky Duck!!
Must have been nice for him too to paddle with a kid. :0

Speaking of the 7000 mile paddle--

Never Before Never Again Trailer

Beav- have you seen this documentary?

A couple of years ago, I had the honor of paddling with BeaV. I took the bow.

Mocha: "well, that sounds amazing. did you get a photo of the two of you? since their IF to GP record is for a tandem trip, you planning to find a partner and try to match that record? does he have an interest in doing that route again, even if not as a race?
83 is quite the age to be paddling like a mad man! glad you got to meet him and spend some quality time."

Sorry no photo, I just wanted it to be 2 guys paddling. And I expect we'll be on the water again together and a photo may seem more appropriate then.

Future record attempt- hmmm.....only if it's meant to be. At our first meet up last winter, Clint got a big smile on his face when he tells me "BeaV, feel free to try to beat our record". I wasn't even thinking about it, exactly, but he gave me permission. A good paddle partner would be needed to try.

Not sure if he would paddle that route again. He is still a very active paddler...heck when he opened his garage door, there's his cedar strip canoe strapped to his truck all ready for the next paddle.

Thanks Mocha.

WhiteWolf: "Awesome. I would have loved to hear the conversations that took place in those 13 miles. "

Mostly talked about the present, I suppose, enjoying what we were doing, appreciating the feel of the paddle, and the things around us. We couldn't care less if we didn't know where we were at or how fast we would know. Enjoyed jumping ducks, checking the ripeness of the rice, and seeing the first beginning of fall color in the trees.

WhiteWolf: "Speaking of the 7000 mile paddle--

Never Before Never Again Trailer

Beav- have you seen this documentary? "

Yes, I own a copy on VHS and I have the book Verlen Kruger coauthored. Clint doesn't much care for either- this was a Verlen thing. But without these works, not much would be known of that massive undertaking of a canoe trip.

I like the trailer. And for those folks who don't know, Clint is the taller blond haired guy in the stern or carrying the packs. Verlen was the bowman and always carried the canoe on portages.

I think I could keep up with 50-60 strokes a minute. I would just need to paddle stern so you wouldn't see me skipping every other stroke.

Glad you had such a great time and will be doing it again.

andym: "I think I could keep up with 50-60 strokes a minute. I would just need to paddle stern so you wouldn't see me skipping every other stroke.


Glad you had such a great time and will be doing it again."

I'd just need to sing loudly in the stern so BeaV wouldn't hear the outboard engine I'd be using to keep pace with him.

Remember the Ely April fools that was an electric motor mounted on a paddle? One of my friends has it. Maybe I could borrow it.

andym and missmolly- you'd be hard-pressed to fool me with your trickery. I'd say just give your paddle to Clint if you get tired.

And speaking of getting tired and trickery....after Clint and I battled with the Rum River current, we entered a small lake called Shakopee. Moderate quartering from behind tailwind so we didn't have hardly a chance to switch sides for another mile til we hit the other end of the lake. The wind was strong enough that Clint chose to paddle into the wild rice at the far end of the lake to avoid going broadside to the waves. I knew my partner could probably use a little break and a snack. We approached where the Rum River entered this lake through a box culvert under a county road.

Funny how we saw the current pouring through the culvert and neither one of us even had a second thought of avoiding it, tired or not. In we went and popped out the other end and only then decided for a break. Sitting on the bank Clint says "I'm sure we're getting pretty close to Lake Mille Lacs" as a reason to keep pushing upstream. Being a man much like he, I wasn't fooled by his optimism. I turned on my high-tech phone to peek at google earth. We were roughly six miles away and only half the distance from where we had already come. So I say "nope, it's a little more than that but we're over half way". Two can play at this game!

I could see we were on the verge of accepting the next commitment and also knowing impending thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon. When we reach Mille Lacs, I could see Clint saying something like "pretty sure we're not to far from the north end" even though it's a far unprotected paddle of 10 miles to Garrison. I'd have to up him and off we'd go.

I decided someone had to put an end to this way of thinking. No one would care when I made it home, but Clint has a wife, and I figured Bev might get mad at me if we didn't make it back until well after nightfall and hours after a severe thunderstorm had passed. I am fairly wise for a young'un so I say "let's head back and do some more of that paddling in the weeds thing?" This guise worked and we agree to head back but Clint sensed a weakness in my armor so he says "maybe we better paddle the long way around Shakopee Lake to stay out of the wind?" just to test me. Ha! I say "I know my canoe and she'll handle these sized waves no problem, let's go right into them and straight across the open!" It worked! I saved face and Bev still likes me.

Wow BeaV... Like a dream... I love Verlyns books...
To meet Clint would be so great... Glad you could do it...

You are the tricksy BeaV!

That is very, very cool. A day you'll never forget. Keep in touch with him.

nctry: "Wow BeaV... Like a dream... I love Verlyns books...
To meet Clint would be so great... Glad you could do it..."

Thanks Ben. Funny thing about Verlen Kruger's books in regards to this border route....he has the year wrong. It didn't happen in 1969 like everyone now seems to think because of his books.

I stumbled on a trip report (don't ask how) written by Clint Waddell in 1968 and published in October of that year shortly after they completed their paddle to Lake Superior. The trip report also gives some route descriptions that were not known to me until now. When I gave this trip report to Clint to read on Sunday, his face lit up as he remembered the experiences that had happened and that he had briefly put into print way back when.

nctry: "Wow BeaV... Like a dream... I love Verlyns books...
To meet Clint would be so great... Glad you could do it..."

Well you got your dream. Clint joined us at Grand Portage to celebrate and retell stories of old. Here's a pic...Clint is in the blue and center of photo surrounded by fellow paddlers.

As I read BeaV's original post, I was thinking how I was going to post a reply... then I read this from WhiteWolf.

WhiteWolf: "We get to Lake Onamia and he looks at me to ask who gets the stern? Before he could finish his question, I quickly said, "I'll take the bow"."

This is akin to Ruth and Gehrig asking who gets to bat cleanup...."

I was going to say, one is a legend and the other is legendary. The problem is deciding which one is which. Ruth and Gehrig deciding who's going to bat cleanup... LOL... good analogy.

I loved reading this thread. Does anyone have an idea on how to find the movie on VHS or even just watch the movie? I would love to see it. Thanks for the stories. This had to be really neat.

Super cool day - super cool stories. Thanks for sharing and bringing a lot of smiles.

I chatted with Clint and Bev this afternoon. It is Bev's 91st birthday! They are wonderful humble people. I reminded Clint that he is one of the paddle world's super stars and that he should not be surprised if I mention him in an article I am writing. He laughed. Great folks, I am so privileged to have spent time with them.

Has anyone seen this movie or know how to find it?

Never Before Never Again

fadersup: "Anybody ever seen this movie or know how to find it?


Never Before Never Again "

If you can't track one down in a week, I'll send you mine, just have to send it back its a DVD and in Duluth, I won't be back there until Oct 9th.

LindenTree3: "

fadersup: "Anybody ever seen this movie or know how to find it?



Never Before Never Again "

If you can't track one down in a week, I'll send you mine, just have to send it back its a DVD and in Duluth, I won't be back there until Oct 9th."

That is generous LT3! I'll let you know, would love to see it.

BWPaddler: "Super cool day - super cool stories. Thanks for sharing and bringing a lot of smiles."

You're welcome and glad you enjoyed.

I found my copy of Never Before Never Again on Amazon a few years ago. I just checked and there is one there but asking price is a staggering $150. As far as I know, checking the internet is the only way to purchase one.

BeaV: "I found my copy of Never Before Never Again on Amazon a few years ago. I just checked and there is one there but asking price is a staggering $150. As far as I know, checking the internet is the only way to purchase one."

Thanks BeaV, I think those $150 movies are supposed to include popcorn, ribeyes and cocktails for two.