When John Muir came ashore in San Francisco in 1868 and asked for the quickest route out of town,
the question he got was simple: “To where?”
“ANYWHERE THAT'S WILD,” he responded.
That same principle guides what we seek at Gotham Canoe: Visions of the wild, wherever it is. From the schist boulders in Central Park to the trout streams of Patagonia. And that towering oak in your own front yard.
A Vagabond Fisherman Finds Harmony on a Treasured Virginia Creek
September 6, 2023Mike Tapscott Done with cancer and moving on with life, a Mississippi fisherman hits the road and finds layers of meaning along the way.
The Last Will & Testament of an Extremely Loved Cat
August 24, 2023David N. McIlvaney Wherein one proud and august cat, Pelburn Betula Birch, expresses her satisfaction at a life well lived and a mouse well stalked, and leaves behind her final testament.
Fresh Powder, Aging Legs: A Telluride Ski Legend Keeps it Young
June 26, 2023By Christopher Rhoads A chance encounter on a Telluride chairlift shows how a love for the rad and gnarly never dies.
Paddling the Seven Seas of Central Park
June 7, 2022By Neil King Jr. How a fixation on paddling all seven lakes and ponds in New York's Central Park turned into a magical , full-moon night of exploration--and a view of the city as never seen before.
A Vagabond Fisherman Finds Harmony on a Treasured Virginia Creek
September 6, 2023Mike Tapscott Done with cancer and moving on with life, a Mississippi fisherman hits the road and finds layers of meaning along the way.
Fishing Cape Cod’s Monomoy Flats in Beep’s Jeep
December 2, 2022By Peter Fritsch When my dad died with a few big dreams unmet, I jumped to fulfill one of my own in his honor. I bought a boat to fish the gorgeous shoals of Cape Cod's Monomoy Island.
To Norway, To Swim
February 6, 2022By Neil King Jr. What better way to celebrate a big life transition that several days of swimming, well before summer, in Norway's gorgeous but bracing fjords? That's what we did right after my eldest daughter graduated from college.
Nervous Dads, Friends, Siblings: Now Everyone is Stepping Up to Officiate Weddings
December 6, 2022Bob Davis I was hesitant and nervous about officiating my daughter's wedding, but got good advice: Know what's in her heart. In stepping up, I joined a boom in weddings without rabbis, ministers or priests.
Looking Back, Seeing More: The Rewards of Returning to Old Places
July 26, 2022By Janet Hook It's tempting, with the pandemic receding, to strike out for new, unexplored places. But surprises and new awakenings abound when you revisit destinations from your past.
Slowing Down, Taking Notice: How the Pandemic Opened My Eyes To Birds
December 19, 2021By Janet Hook This awful pandemic has had at least a few upsides. It has slowed us down and opened our eyes to new things. For me and millions of others, it has sparked a deep fascination and appreciation for birds, among the oldest of all living species.
The Last Will & Testament of an Extremely Loved Cat
August 24, 2023David N. McIlvaney Wherein one proud and august cat, Pelburn Betula Birch, expresses her satisfaction at a life well lived and a mouse well stalked, and leaves behind her final testament.
When in Iceland to Fish, You Fish, No Matter What.
November 11, 2022David N. McIlvaney Iceland is a Shangri-La for the flyfisher, but you can't be picky in your choice of fishing days. Sheets of rain? River flowing in a torrent? Gale-force winds? Just get to it. This is Iceland.
A Pilgrimage to the River Spey
September 20, 2022By Chris Santella For a week, I hurled flies into named pools along the storied River Spey, and it hardly mattered that I never landed a single salmon. Just being there, casting in such a place, was what really mattered.
GLEANINGS
Glean (verb): to gather leftover grain or other crops in the field after harvest.
Or, in this case, wonderful found objects from famous and lesser-known writers, all in the public domain.
Every Man a Ruler, And Yet Nothing Pleases
May 20, 2020By Emanuel Howitt Have we changed in 200 years in our rumbling, inchoate discontent as a nation? Not that much. In the fall of 1819, a 28-year-old Englishman named Emanuel Howitt came to the young United States to see if he might settle there. He didn’t much like what he found.
On Walking
May 11, 2020By Henry David Thoreau Thoreau was one of his era’s great practitioners of ecstatic walking and often sang of its virtues in his works, but nowhere so potently as in his essay Walking, published in The Atlantic...
