Kevin Callan - Dazed but Not Confused: Tales of a Wilderness Wanderer

Copyright Kevin Callan, 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

Editor: Jenny Govier

Design: Jennifer Scott

Epub Design: Carmen Giraudy

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Callan, Kevin

Dazed but not confused [electronic resource] : tales of a wilderness wanderer / Kevin Callan ; foreword by James Raffan.

Electronic monograph.
Issued also in print format.

ISBN 978-1-4597-0749-8

1. Callan, Kevin--Travel. 2. Adventure and adventurers--Canada--Biography. 3. Outdoor life--Canada--Anecdotes. 4. Wilderness areas--Canada--Anecdotes. 5. Canada--Description and travel--Anecdotes. I. Title.

GV191.52. C34A3 2013 796.5092 C2012-904607-8

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and Livres Canada Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

J. Kirk Howard, President

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• Foreword: More Prophet than Pornographer, by James Raffan,
  Executive Director, Canadian Canoe Museum
  
• Introduction
  
• Part One: Life as a Wilderness Pornographer
  
• 1: Writing with a Humble Pen
  
• 2: Im an Idiot
  
• 3: Moose Radio
  
• 4: Boston Rob versus The Happy Camper
  
• 5: The Canadian Flag Canoe
  
• 6: Portaging Parliament
  
• 7: Awkward Moments on Stage
  
• 8: Misadventures as a Wilderness Guide
  
• 9: Carry on Glamping
  
• 10: Adventures with Speedo Man
  
• 11: Wilderness Pornographer 55
  
• Part Two: Playing in the Woods
  
• 12: Kayaking the Abitibi
  
• 13: Paddling Leopolds North Country
  
• 14: Midges up My Kilt
  
• 15: Family Time on the Ottawa
  
• 16: Kopka River to Lake Nipigon
  
• 17: Algoma: Where It All Started
  
• 18: Paddling Back in Time
  
• 19: Bragging Rights
  
• 20: Christmas in Killarney
  
• 21: Silver Peak Almost
  
• 22: Searching for Solitude
  
• 23: Evil Camp Girls on the Sturgeon
  
• 24: Cats and Dogs
  
• Part Three: Wilderness Philosophy
  
• 25: Sympathy for the Devil
  
• 26: Wilderness Values
  
• 27: Dog Paddling
  
• 28: Bear Stories
  
• 29: My Addiction to Camp Gadgets
  
• 30: Teaching Misfits
  
• 31: Walking in the Woods Can Be a Good Thing
  
• 32: The Times They Are a-Changin
  
• 33: Time Is of the Essence
  
• 34: One Lifesaver at a Time
  
• 35: Lost Canoe Routes
  
• 36: Hermits of the North
  
• 37: The Real Danger of Wilderness Travel
  
• 38: Canoe Culture on Zumbro River
  
• 39: Making Love in a Canoe
  
• 40: An Ecological Masterpiece: Woodland Caribou Park
  
• 41: Dazed but Not Confused
  
• Notes
  
• Bibliography
  

More Prophet than Pornographer

W hether he is trying to outwit Boston Rob in a pseudo- Survivor challenge at a Toronto adventure trade show, deep-freezing his toes in pursuit of an outdoor Christmas in Killarney, staring down a bear on an ancient portage to Winawashingmachine Lake, suffering the brunt of his own calculated stupidity on the trail, or sitting in a doctors office seeking solutions to his struggle with benign positional vertigo, there is a little of Kevin Callan in all of us. Most of us harbour a yen to venture. And we all love a story. And thats what my friend The Happy Camper delivers in this contagious new book.

There was a time when we might have read Kevins books for where-to or how-to information about canoeing in backcountry Ontario. And while his remarkable canon now numbering fifteen books is still one of the very best sources of information about canoe routes and camping techniques, more and more Ive been drawn to his writing for the stories, knowing that his goofy joie de vivre and his effervescent enthusiasm for swamp muck and the road less travelled always bring with them a smile and a reminder that the natural world is something we should cherish from campsite rather than couch.

Anyone who follows Kevin and with his regular work in print and on the radio and television airwaves, that is increasingly hard not to do will likely have heard some of the stories in this book before. But they all bear retelling, and, when stacked up one after the other in this handsome volume, they achieve a cadence and rhythm to the telling that evoke something of the essence of one of Canadas great campfire raconteurs. Settling in with this book is a bit like pulling up a log near the crack and spit of a driftwood fire while The Happy Camper himself holds court. Hes funny. He is inclusive. His timing is superb. Hes self-deprecating. He teaches. He encourages. He explains. And, yes, he challenges, if ever so gently. And thats what youve got to love about Kevin Callan.

Bill Mason, an example for us all, always said that good storytelling should be ninety percent story and only ten percent message, lest an audience feel hectored or set upon from on high. This recipe is part of the magic of Kevins storytelling as well. There are messages here, as there are in all his presentations and communications, about the values of wilderness and the importance of advocacy, but they are so nicely swirled into the narrative of his misadventures that a reader hardly knows that mixed with good dollops of entertainment is a serious call to action: Do try this at home. Pack your pack. Load your canoe. And get out there. Its not that hard (and it will make the world a better place).

One of the most endearing aspects of Kevin and, ultimately, what makes his stories accessible to such a broad audience is his self-deprecating humour. He can be very hard on himself. In most instances, this approach is funny in a slapstick kind of way. But Kevin on Kevin is also what propels us to read on, because you just never know what The Happy Camper is going to put his paddle or his foot into next. In this book, Callan strides headlong, like a fox, into the quagmire of the debate on whether he or anyone should be in the business of publicizing backcountry canoe routes. Waist-deep in that muck, he picks up the moniker wilderness pornographer, given to him by a reviewer wanting to decry and denigrate his books for making hidden curves and alluring nooks of wilderness accessible to the masses, complete with logistical details of put-in and take-out points. Its a catchy term, to be sure, but I think Kevin is being too hard on himself in this instance.