In the Croton-on-Hudson Municipal Building’s Community Room on January 15, local resident Bobby Nolan knocked the proverbial socks off the attending public’s attentive feet when he shared about his 42-day, Spring 2023 adventure canoeing the wilderness along the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT).
His unforgettable May-June journey along the 740-mile NFCT followed historic waterways from the western Adirondacks in Old Forge, New York, crossing through portions of Vermont, Quebec, and New Hampshire before rounding out in Fort Kent, Maine. Listeners soon learned that it proved to be an adventure like none other for a man at the dawn of his sixth decade. He sought to mark that milestone for reasons akin to a quote from the American naturalist and essayist Henry David Thoreau, which he included in his presentation.
“I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” — Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Nolan prefaced his talk graciously, granting credit to his audience by acknowledging that “we all have our journeys.” But on hearing how canoeing rapids would be a first for him as of the year 2020, when he had pinned his sights on doing the solo exploratory canoe tour (which would include canoeing river rapids), a few audience members gasped. He admitted that in the early, trial-and-training stages of preparing for his journey, there were moments when he questioned whether he could accomplish his goal of traversing this historic trail once used as a trade route by the Iroquois people.
It was indeed a given, after all, that along the way he would encounter not only rapids, but also upstream currents (which would require immense strength and stamina), portages (unnavigable portions of the river route where he would have to be carry his canoe and gear on varying land surfaces), locks (portions of waterways gated on either end that facilitate moving boats to different water levels), encounters with wildlife, risk of bad weather, capsizing and more.
Nolan cited exemplifications of risks he faced as a solitary traveler on the NFCT. The locks, which he likened to “an elevator for boats raising and lowering the water level where there would otherwise be a steep drop or waterfall,” left him feeling a weight of responsibility. There was nobody but him anywhere nearby to handle any unexpected mishaps (imagined or real) that might occur once he would initiate the water-flow process by the mere push of a button.
Another risk he cited was the possibility that he could lose a paddle, supplies or more, which could greatly impinge on his ability to complete his mission. A canoe feature came in handy time and again. “Everything gets strapped to the boat,” he said, which helped immensely when he capsized in freezing temperatures and the current forcibly dragged him for half a mile along rocky surfaces for uncomfortable durations. Eventually, he came upon a safe stopping point where he could assess the damage and refocus, but at this juncture he had only completed some 100 miles of the 740-mile journey. Times like these, Nolan said, left him feeling defeated but in the end always brought him to reaffirm his commitment to complete the journey. “Even at the worst moments,” he said, “I knew I couldn’t bring myself to quit, and I considered the potential consequences of that.” Knowing his family would be awaiting him in Maine come Father’s Day, he said, helped spur him.
Not surprisingly, conditions proved rugged. He camped out in his tent at night when at times the temperature hovered at 35°F. When out in the middle of Lake Champlain in Vermont, he gained a keen sense of just how quickly a serene moment can be overtaken by dangerous, unruly winds. Whenever his clothing became wet (which was most of the time), he would hang it out to dry at his campsite, only to find that the items froze. When starting out in the wee hours most mornings, the clothes he would usually be donning were still wet. Luckily, the food he had mailed ahead to himself, as adventurers often do, reliably reached the five post office destinations at points along the way by the time he arrived for it. Any physical aspects, like infections, he had to deal with as best he could.
Sometimes, conditions were such that he had to make executive decisions weighing out time and effort versus safety. “When a thunderstorm moved in,” Nolan said, for example, “’smart Bob’ wanted to get off the water and ‘dumb Bob’ wanted to continue. Fortunately, ‘smart Bob’ won those arguments.” Other times, he experienced the kindness of strangers when he could not have imagined any better solution than what they provided. Nolan encountered wildlife that was unaccustomed to human presence, like the mother moose who, out of concern for her calf’s safety, simply would not allow Nolan and his canoe to pass.
In addition to the many stories and photos Nolan shared from his journey, reading from the journal he kept also enhanced his account of the trip, which was replete with geographical, historical and natural facts. Despite experiencing the sense that his body was breaking down the more the adventure continued, this natural storyteller shared that he just wouldn’t quit, even though there was no guarantee how it would all end. At certain points, like when he caught a particularly exquisite sunrise thanks to a persistent squirrel about to steal his breakfast, or when he would receive his self-addressed food supply renewals, or when he perchance crossed paths along the way with the celebrated canoeist and paddler mentor Peter MacFarlane (see photo below), Nolan said he realized, “This is fun!”
And—perhaps no spoiler alert needed—in the end, he made it to the goal location in Maine, where his family was indeed awaiting his arrival. His NFCT mission was a wrap.
Nolan had said of his beloved canoe, which he named after his beautiful mother who also withstood great challenges, “She was made for this!” One wonders if perhaps he was, too.
The lecture was sponsored by the Croton Recreation Department.