Double Poling

Viveka Fox

Stout ski poles offer a way to move upstream in the shallows while kneeling rather than standing in a canoe.

Poling is the age-old technique for propelling a canoe against rapids or up shallow streams where paddling is ineffective. Standing in the canoe, the paddler uses a straight pole, often 12′ long, to push against the streambed; a skillful poler can make this look graceful and effortless.Preparing for a 2013 through-paddle of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) in a 14′ solo canoe, I was in the midst of making a two-piece pole when I accepted that standing in a small, narrow canoe in rapids was probably a recipe for disaster. I adopted instead to adopt a technique suggested by my wife the previous summer. Progressing up an Adirondack stream too shallow to plant a paddle blade in and with no long poles on hand, she suggested using a pair of sticks in double-poling fashion like cross-country skiers do. It worked astonishingly well, and immediately entered my repertoire of skills.