Page 78 - 2022-08-01 Paddling Magazine

CANOEING

HURTS SO GOOD.
PHOTO: DAVID JACKSON

TUMBLEHOME
The Joy Of (Self-Imposed) Suffering

Why the trials and tribulations of the trail are so good for the soul by james raffan

THERE’S A STORY CIRCULATING about a guy who until Starkell’s ankle bone was visible in the crater. Israeli self-help sage Yuval Noha Harari in his book,
accidentally zapped his manly bits with bear spray. Lest you get the idea this behavior is a uniquely 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.
How these two items came into communion boggles male predilection, recall the story of Victoria Jason, Immersed in nature in an unmediated encounter
the imagination. Being naked on a campsite is under- who had the notion kayaking through the Northwest with the weather, the world and your frailties, a canoe
standable, but being naked with the bear spray safety Passage would be a good idea. In cutting the corner trip is uniquely poised to do all Harari says, while also
off? Maybe there was a bear who got left out of the from Naujaat to Uqsuqtuuk in arctic Nunavut—a nurturing growth through the many possible trials and
story. Either way, the image of randy chappie doing 450-kilometer drag in winter conditions—her body tribulations of the trail.
the danse frénétique about tents and guy wires with consumed every scrap of available fat. It then started One of the best things about paddling trips is taking
a capsicum inferno raging just south of the equator devouring muscle, which affected her entire frame, what you think you might need to solve the problems
does nicely open the topic of self-imposed suffering including her heart. This left Jason so compromised she of the days ahead and committing to the process of
and canoe trips. had to take a couple of seasons off to regain strength testing the idea by crossing the threshold between the
In 1980, Don Starkell packed up his two sons and before returning and completing the trip. relative safety and predictability of home to the rela-
paddled 12,000 miles from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Jason and Starkell—I don’t know about fireball guy— tive risk and unpredictability of the wild. Often things
the mouth of the Amazon River. Son Jeff had the good have since passed of causes unrelated to their paddling don’t go quite as planned. Enter discomfort, difficulty,
sense to bail in New Orleans, but son Dana went the journeys. However, when either wrote or spoke about a little self-imposed suffering, and a lot of learning.
distance and lived to tell the tale. Along the way, as their expeditions, they both often said tough conditions This can happen on trips of any length, of course,
recounted in Starkell’s classic Paddle to the Amazon, are the crucible of character formation. And they’re but the longer, the merrier. Experiencing a variety of
the lads had a dizzying variety of close calls, including not the only ones. topography, watersheds, weather conditions, and even
a mock firing squad execution enacted by a bunch of Wise men and women of every tradition claim suf- the moods of travel mates all increase your chances
bored Central American guerillas. fering can bestow clarity. “If you want to know the of earning a hard-won lesson. But, if ever this seems
However, the tribulation lingering in my mind is truth about the universe, about the meaning of life, too arduous or time-consuming, you can get naked,
an ankle scrape, exacerbated over time by saltwater, and about your own identity, the best place to start is pull the safety pin off the pepper spray and find the
malnutrition and exhaustion that roiled and festered by observing suffering and exploring what it is,” writes meaning of life.

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