Why Go on the He-Man Canoe Trip?

by Bob Clark (2008)

The people: old friends, new rookies, learning, teaching, competing, laughing, differences, working together.
The environment: beautiful, isolated, animals, weather, untamed, hard and soft.
The water: narrow, shallow, deep, wide, fast, calm, obstacles, waves, dangerous.
The challenge: physical, strength, endurance, pain, mental, technique, experience, personal.
There's nothing else like it.

He-Man Rap

by Boyd Roloff (2007)

Paddlin for beans
Paddlin to beans
Paddlin on beans
Paddlin in beans

Cook more beans
Eat more beans
Get more beans
Drink more beans

Beans beans beans....

He-Man Paddle, Go

by Karl Feind

Cross the water where lake trout swim
He-Man paddle, go.
Up the stream, winding and thin.
He-Man paddle, go.
Beaver dams crossed and portages made,
Set up camp and slow the pace.
Do the silly island race.
He-Man paddle, go.
Down the River Manitowish.
He-Man paddle, go.
Filled with schools of sucker fish.
He-Man paddle, go.
Pause at Boulder, line up boats.
When we race we feel our oats,
Every bit of speed we coax.
He-Man paddle, go.

Paddle to camp, put in the hours,
He-Man paddle, go.
Evening contests of skill and power.
He-Man paddle, go.
Last night in the wilderness,
With muscles sore settle in to rest.
Reflected sun sets in the west.
He-Man paddle, go.

Paddle on through lakes and up the stream.
He-Man paddle, go.
Countless clamshells brightly gleam.
He-Man paddle, go.
Frigid wading, pull canoes.
Maneuver the tunnel with push poles used.
An icy swim--are we confused?
He-Man paddle, go.

Why do we go year after year?
To push our limits, see the wild, drink some beer?
It's an imagined voice that whispers in our ear--
"He-Man paddle, go."