Celebrating 25 Years of Canoeing, Friendship and Adventure in the Distant North
This site was developed in concert with a book entitled Sing Louder, Paddle Harder – Canoeing Wild Arctic Rivers in the Company of Friends. Both celebrate in words and pictures, 25 years paddling distant rivers in the far north.
Craig Oliver and Tim Kotcheff
Craig Oliver and I began canoeing together in 1974 and later enlarged the group to include many other like-minded people who shared our love of the wilderness. You can read about the genesis of our trips in The Odyssey. As for how it all ended – turn to the Last Hurrah.
The book and this site feature stories, anecdotes and photos provided by members of the team who shared our adventures over the years and reveal the unspoiled splendour of the barren lands. It’s also about friends – the bonding, the achievements, the failures and sometimes the humour of a disparate group of busy city guys plunked down in the midst of the vastness and solitude of the magical north and…survived to tell the tale. I hope you enjoy your experience.
This website would not exist without the enormous contribution of the masterful Ben Block the talented multimedia instructor at Sheridan Colleges. His guidance and assistance have been invaluable.
Tim Kotcheff – Webmaster
Bill Fox & Ted Johnson on Lake Hazen
Running the Ruggles
The Ruggles is the most northerly canoeable river in the world. We were the first to take it on but getting there was another matter. We were presented with a rather formidable and totally unexpected challenge. It is not for the faint of heart. 8 men tackle the remote Ruggles River on Ellesmere Island. John Godfrey, Ted Johnson, Bill Fox & Ross Howard tell the story. More.
Pierre Trudeau
Paddling With Pierre
Just after Trudeau and the Liberals lost out to a minority Conservative government in 1979, Pierre accepted an invitation to join our canoe team for an expedition down the Hanbury-Thelon rivers in the Northwest Territories. He accompanied us on two more trips – the Stikine River in British Columbia in 1994 and the Petawawa in 1996. Here are the stories about those expeditions as told by Tim Kotcheff, John Gow, David Silcox and Ted Johnson. More
Top of Virginia Falls – Nahanni River
The Dangerous River
The Mighty Nahanni. One of the wonders of the world. Majestically beautiful. Ever perilous. Headless Creek, Deadmen Valley, Funeral Range and Hell’s Gate are evocative of the many Nahanni legends. Two greenhorns challenge this storied and iconic waterway, which marked the beginning of their Arctic Odyssey. More..
