Don’t be put off by the immensity of the 1,506,539-acre Everglades. A 99-mile Wilderness Waterway from Everglades City to Flamingo Island hops along isolated sandy cays before heading inland via mangrove swamps, back bays, and creeks.  If your canoe starts to rock, slap your paddle firmly against the water. This usually scares off alligators and those doe-eyed West Indian manatees. Everglades National Park rangers lead four-hour guided canoe trips on Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays through mi-April from the Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City. Guided overnight camping trips are led by North American Canoe Tours, also located in Everglades City. 
 

Every newspaper, magazine, and website seems to be picking their top (fill in the blank) of the past year, so I’ve decided to give you my favorite adventures of the year. In early October, when the leaves on the maples were turning yellow, I had the good fortune paddle down the West Branch of the Penobscot River following in the current of the great naturalist and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau. Our guide was Kevin Slater, a legendary Maine paddler and dogsledder who learned these rivers and how to carve his own canoes and paddles from his mentor who he simply called “the Old Timer.” We spent four glorious days on the water, with few other paddlers, spotting moose, bear, loons, and osprey. In the backdrop was mighty Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The story will appear in an upcoming issue of Sierra Magazine, the publication of the Sierra Club. If you want to paddle with Kevin Slater on the Penobscot, you can contact him via his website.
 

Grafton Ponds is best known for its mountain biking and cross-country ski trails. See the story I just wrote in this past Sunday’s Boston Globe. Yet, Director Bill Salmon is also happy to guide folks to his favorite local fly-fishing streams, mountain hikes, and coveted paddling spots. Tell him to take you to nearby Lowell Lake, whose hillsides are brimming with color this month. Backed by the Green Mountains, you’ll paddle around the perimeter watching turtles catching rays on floating branches, and, if Indian Summer weather prevails, jump into the refreshing water for your own version of a Vermont baptism. 

 

September is my favorite month to travel. University students who spent the summer backpacking Europe are back in class or looking for a job, while the Europeans are back from their summer trips. On the American coast, the beaches are far less crowded, but the waters are just as warm as summer. And in Eastern and Southern Africa, the summer high peak safari season is over, yet the summer rains won’t arrive for a good six weeks, so there are a lot of deals to be found. Yet, arguably my favorite place to be in September is inside a canoe, paddling the tranquil rivers and lakes of the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota, Wabakimi Wilderness in western Ontario, the Adirondacks in upstate New York, and the Maine woods, where I’ll be paddling later this month. Those nasty mosquitoes and black flies are gone, foliage color is already starting to appear, and moose are lining the shores in heat, more talkative than Bullwinkle. So grab a paddle and find your own placid retreat.

Remarkably, even today, the best way to savor this wilderness is to jump in a boat and canoe up to 120 continuous miles of waterways. Starting from the southwest corner of the park in Old Forge, paddlers can follow a sinuous blue line all the way north to the Saranac Lakes. However, the word portage (or carry, as New Yorkers say) better be in your vocabulary. The countless rivers, lakes, and ponds are connected by short trails, resulting in a seemingly endless combination of canoeing options. So pack lightly, get ready to throw your canoe on your shoulders, and venture to these pristine waters for an improvisational or pre-planned journey lasting anywhere from one day to three weeks.

St. Regis Canoe Outfitters in Saranac Lake, New York, will provide all the necessary amenities for a canoe trip including canoe, paddles, food, maps, tents, backpacks, and sleeping bags. Owners Dave and Kathy Cilley will also go over suggested routes (ask about the 4-day loop that includes eight ponds and the Upper and Middle Saranac Lakes) and provide a shuttle service to drop you off at outlying waterways. Their put-in at Floodwood Pond is located approximately 3 to 4 hours northwest of Albany, New York, off Route I-87.
 

Starting on September 14th, 2009, Boston joins Chicago and New York as hubs for Canada’s budget airline, Porter Airlines.  Round trip flights to Toronto start at $198 Canadian.  Why should you care?  Because early Autumn is not only a great time to see the striking new Frank Gehry addition to the Art Gallery of Ontario, but arguably the best time to paddle Ontario’s bounty of lakes.  A mere three hour drive north of Toronto, Algonquin Provincial Park provides paddlers with a seemingly endless connection of waterways snaking through forests of tall pines, birches, maples, and cedars.  Moving at such an unhurried speed, it’s very likely you’ll spot moose and hear the call of wolves, especially in September when moose are in heat. Voyageur Quest, a Toronto-based outfitter, offers guided trips to Algonquin through October 4th, including canoes, food, tents, and transportation from Toronto.  Cost of their weekend trips, leaving Friday, returning Sunday, are $580 Canadian per person. Porter will also be flying direct to Mont Tremblant for winter skiing, so you won’t have to drive the extra two hours from Montreal.