I love Bill Mason's quote, "All my life people have been telling me you should never travel alone. But it’s interesting; I’ve never been told that by anybody who’s ever done it.” If you are going to tackle wilderness travel solo, you must be prudent in mitigating risk. There's no one to bail you out. Slowing down, paying attention, leaving your location and trip plans with someone, being extra cautious to avoid potentially dangerous scenarios are just a few. Some would argue that traveling solo could potentially be "safer" due to heightened situation awareness. Regardless, always calculate and mitigate risk.
Excellent video. We saw you Day 2 I believe. The weather was perfect (though as you noted, it was pretty chilly Sat morning), and we hit the trees just right as they changed during the trip. And yes, the water was very low, the lowest I've seen ever, and I've been canoeing this river since '69. Also hard to believe that just two weeks later, the river at Akers Ferry rose from a foot to a record 31 feet, 5 feet higher than the previous record in 2017!
Thank you for the kind words! I remember you guys! Enjoyed the conversation! I was thinking the same thing about the river flooding. It's ironic because while I was on the river looking at the remnants of the previous flood, I was thinking how no one paddles the same river twice. It's always changing.
@ actually that’s what started me watching your channel , we currently have kayaks but we are looking at a canoe for my wife and myself to paddle tandom or myself solo , both just paddle or fish small waters . I love quality and I’m leaning towards the esquif prospector 15 . The owner of Terrapin outdoor center in Alabama was sooo nice to talk to me on the phone for over an hour telling me about the canoes , he thinks the prospector 15 or 16 would be great for us in several respects . After watching several reviews and watching your paddles and rigging advise im pretty sure we will go this route . We hike mountain bike kayak and camp . I’m not cutting any brand down I’m just wanting the right canoe for us . Agian I want to thank you for your great videos , I cannot imagine how much time you put into your hobby just to share your love for what you enjoy with people like myself .
@gibtannehill9047 Esquif definitely makes awesome canoes. The esquif Huron is the same mold as the prospecteur but lower gunwales making it less suseptible to wind and it's lighter weight. If you don't plan to paddle white water and want a prospecteur style, might be worth looking at. As far as fishing, seems like I've heard good things about the scout as well. Yes, filming and editing these trips take a tremendous amount of time. I'm glad you have found value in them. My motivation for starting the channel was to take people along. Words can't describe these trips so now I'm trying to capture them on video. Turns out that's a whole skill to learn. 😆
@ the first esquif I ever saw was the Huron and after researching it is what lead me to the prospector 15. The Huron weighed in at 54 lbs +- , I just felt like the 2 3/4 in higher side wall might be better for my being not real verse on canoeing , I did like the less sidewall for wind . Any advise is appreciated .
What a sweet river to paddle on. Have you ever tried standing and poling your canoe? Perfect river for it. start slow and go down stream in easy stuff, take breaks it get easier every time. So good utube channels on it, Canoepoler is one, another is 3 Minutes with a Maine Guide, to start with. I like air pump
I've never technically poled, but I did stand occasionally on this river and use my cheap paddle, but it wasn't super efficient. I definitely need to learn because I hope to do the northern forest canoe trail, and I think it's required for some upstream travel.
@@REXpeditions The NFCT is a bucket list waterway I hope to have the opportunity some day. Take is slow, the poling and you will really enjoy the possibilities it brings.
@@REXpeditions A few month back I was looking into the Esquif Prospector and Huron and you channel came up, and thank you back for sharing your experiences. I'm now curious about their T-Formex Lite and how that will hold up to low water rocky conditions, most of what I get to paddle/pole in.
I'm very curious about the TFormex lite as well! I absolutely love my prospecteur! If you don't plan on running whitewater, the Huron might me a good choice. Lower gunwales so less suseptible to wind and lighter weight as well, but same mold as prospecteur.
@@REXpeditions maybe one day in the future when I get a license and a car probably maybe right now I work at Pizza Hut and I’m also trying to get into college so I can learn about criminal justice
I love Bill Mason's quote, "All my life people have been telling me you should never travel alone. But it’s interesting; I’ve never been told that by anybody who’s ever done it.”
If you are going to tackle wilderness travel solo, you must be prudent in mitigating risk. There's no one to bail you out. Slowing down, paying attention, leaving your location and trip plans with someone, being extra cautious to avoid potentially dangerous scenarios are just a few. Some would argue that traveling solo could potentially be "safer" due to heightened situation awareness. Regardless, always calculate and mitigate risk.
I love the current
@@MissAprilNinja it's an incredible place.
I love the scenery!
It's such an incredible place!
My man! Knocked it out of the park, AGAIN. 0:19 favorite part.
Thanks bro! The intro was your favorite part? 😆
Great video man! Thanks for bringing us along with you
Thanks bro!
I was shocked at the size of those springs. They make the ones around here seem so tiny
@richardlinton1544 bro there are quite a few up there. The river that drained into the current, jacks fork has springs on it as well.
Excellent video. We saw you Day 2 I believe. The weather was perfect (though as you noted, it was pretty chilly Sat morning), and we hit the trees just right as they changed during the trip. And yes, the water was very low, the lowest I've seen ever, and I've been canoeing this river since '69. Also hard to believe that just two weeks later, the river at Akers Ferry rose from a foot to a record 31 feet, 5 feet higher than the previous record in 2017!
Thank you for the kind words!
I remember you guys! Enjoyed the conversation!
I was thinking the same thing about the river flooding. It's ironic because while I was on the river looking at the remnants of the previous flood, I was thinking how no one paddles the same river twice. It's always changing.
Haven’t been watching your channel long , but Iv really liked all Iv saw plus I’m learning a lot . This video as awesome !
@@gibtannehill9047 Thank you! What canoe are you paddling?
@ actually that’s what started me watching your channel , we currently have kayaks but we are looking at a canoe for my wife and myself to paddle tandom or myself solo , both just paddle or fish small waters . I love quality and I’m leaning towards the esquif prospector 15 . The owner of Terrapin outdoor center in Alabama was sooo nice to talk to me on the phone for over an hour telling me about the canoes , he thinks the prospector 15 or 16 would be great for us in several respects . After watching several reviews and watching your paddles and rigging advise im pretty sure we will go this route . We hike mountain bike kayak and camp . I’m not cutting any brand down I’m just wanting the right canoe for us . Agian I want to thank you for your great videos , I cannot imagine how much time you put into your hobby just to share your love for what you enjoy with people like myself .
@gibtannehill9047 Esquif definitely makes awesome canoes. The esquif Huron is the same mold as the prospecteur but lower gunwales making it less suseptible to wind and it's lighter weight. If you don't plan to paddle white water and want a prospecteur style, might be worth looking at. As far as fishing, seems like I've heard good things about the scout as well.
Yes, filming and editing these trips take a tremendous amount of time. I'm glad you have found value in them. My motivation for starting the channel was to take people along. Words can't describe these trips so now I'm trying to capture them on video. Turns out that's a whole skill to learn. 😆
@ the first esquif I ever saw was the Huron and after researching it is what lead me to the prospector 15. The Huron weighed in at 54 lbs +- , I just felt like the 2 3/4 in higher side wall might be better for my being not real verse on canoeing , I did like the less sidewall for wind . Any advise is appreciated .
@gibtannehill9047 do you happen to live near North East alabama. You could paddle mine before you buy.
What a sweet river to paddle on. Have you ever tried standing and poling your canoe? Perfect river for it. start slow and go down stream in easy stuff, take breaks it get easier every time. So good utube channels on it, Canoepoler is one, another is 3 Minutes with a Maine Guide, to start with. I like air pump
I've never technically poled, but I did stand occasionally on this river and use my cheap paddle, but it wasn't super efficient. I definitely need to learn because I hope to do the northern forest canoe trail, and I think it's required for some upstream travel.
@@REXpeditions The NFCT is a bucket list waterway I hope to have the opportunity some day. Take is slow, the poling and you will really enjoy the possibilities it brings.
@downeastprimitiveskills7688 Thank you for the input!
@@REXpeditions A few month back I was looking into the Esquif Prospector and Huron and you channel came up, and thank you back for sharing your experiences. I'm now curious about their T-Formex Lite and how that will hold up to low water rocky conditions, most of what I get to paddle/pole in.
I'm very curious about the TFormex lite as well! I absolutely love my prospecteur! If you don't plan on running whitewater, the Huron might me a good choice. Lower gunwales so less suseptible to wind and lighter weight as well, but same mold as prospecteur.
Springfield Missouri yo I’m not that far from there cause I live in Iowa I’m like on the border kinda
You definitely need to visit the ozark scenic rivers!
@@REXpeditions maybe one day in the future when I get a license and a car probably maybe right now I work at Pizza Hut and I’m also trying to get into college so I can learn about criminal justice
Surprised you didn't stop at pulltie spring
I must have missed it!!! I just looked up pics. How did I miss that?!!!
@@REXpeditions There is an old cabin that some businessmen built in the early 1900's pretty incredible. Next time !!
Heyyy
👋