Canoeing - Maui Style

Canoeing, Maui style, is a complicated feat indeed.

Over the past couple of summers, we learned that Maui desperately wants to be in or on the water when we are, and will go to great lengths to ensure this happens. Us on the water without her, is a no-go, and causes all kinds of anxiety and crazy behaviour. I fully expect one day, being left on shore will lead to drowning in an effort to "save us"

Under these circumstances, Mike has taken her canoeing a couple of times (go Bone Island!) and we knew moving to Whitehorse we would take her again.

Not the strongest swimmer in the world, we opted for a doggy life jacket and, after FINALLY buying a canoe, took her out. By and large, Maui is pretty good in the canoe. For more than 90% of the time, she sites perfectly still and unmoving. Great, yes? Well, sort of. More often then not, that 100 lbs of perfectly still weight is entirely on one side or the other of the canoe. Imagine offsetting that kind of weight while still trying to paddle on the Maui side! It adds a certain amount of, umm intrigue, to the canoeing process. I actually think we're going to start packing stuff - any stuff so long as it is heavy and shiftable, just to make our treks a bit more balanced.

Fun as the off-setting is, that is nothing compared to when that little girl of ours moves. Even the slightest head shift can send us wobbling like crazy. On open water, with some significant headwinds, this is a little bit terrifying - especially if you are in front of her with no idea of what she is up to until the canoe has gone sideways under you!!

Thankfully, despite Maui's best efforts, we didn't tip the canoe. Especially thankfully because it was a glacier lake! It was a most beautiful couple of days on the water and I really hope we get to go again before the season ends.