The differences we found between the UK and US whilst paddling the Northern Forest Canoe Trial (NFCT). Hopefully this article will help those from the UK travelling to the North East USA, as well as those from the USA looking to have an adventure in the UK. Some of these differences may not be obvious before you travel, so we hope that some of these differences we’ve noticed can help you before you go.

On our thru-paddle there were more bugs that wanted to drink our blood than you could shake a stick at. So with more biting bugs around us during this adventure than we have both likely seen in our lives, this article will let you know what we were up against, how we tried to reduce our chances of being bitten, what we did once we’d been bitten, and all the other tips and tricks we found to live with them.

Each and every piece of equipment we took on our through-paddle of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT). It’s quite a long list, but if you’re looking to paddle the NFCT (or complete a long distance paddling expedition of your own) then we hope you enjoy looking through our full kit list, and that this can help you when deciding what to pack yourself.

Where do you get a canoe to thru-paddle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) with? Especially when you’re not from the area (or continent!). And once you’ve finished, what do you do with them? They don’t exactly fit in hand luggage. Here’s how we sourced our canoes and the other options we considered, as well as what we did with them once we had finally reached Fort Kent.

What we did to prepare for thru-paddling the NFCT. We knew from exposure to USA-based content from outdoor enthusiasts that the rivers, land, flora and fauna would all be very different from what we have in the UK. We also knew that canoeing was a bit different from kayaking, so we would need to familiarise ourselves with a new mode of water travel.

When we went and thru-paddled the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) we were told by many people “This trip is going to be life changing, and you will feel like you can accomplish anything after this!” Here’s what we have found to be the case instead, and how we’re going forward. If you have any thoughts on this, or if it resonates, we’d love to hear from you, as it’s not easy to find others to chat with about these experiences and feelings.

Trips have a habit of not going to plan. We started our Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) thru-paddle as a group of six, but finished with a group of four as two dropped out. This article is about how things changed, and how we carried on.

Trail Angels are people who voluntarily assist adventurers along the trail in the form of direct kindness and generosity. They are literally the most amazing people, and we were lucky enough to bump into a fair few of them along the NFCT. This is our thank you to them!

Water is one of the key things our bodies need and when canoeing is no different. Here’s what we used and how we made sure we always had enough drinking water on our thru-paddle of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

How we found travelling across the international borders along the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) as those who are not from the US or Canada. This article is intended to give you some confidence, and basic information for this potentially tricky aspect of the trial.

How we chose when to start thru-paddling the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT), including the factors we considered, and the choices we made. Hopefully we can help you decide when you’d like to begin.

One of the more logistically tricky parts of organising our Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) adventure was figuring out how to get to the start and how to get home at the end. Here’s how we did it.

If you are looking to paddle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) and want to know where you can find more sources of information, the this article will point you at a number of fantastic resources that covered all aspects of our trip, and hopefully help you plan yours

Once we had decided to do the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) we knew we would need the right equipment to make it possible. Here are some of the key factors we took into account when selecting our kit.

There was no way we could carry all the food and consumables we would need from start to finish. Here’s how we ended up resupplying along the way.

When asked “is there anywhere new we could paddle?” whilst paddling with friends on our local river, Robert replied “Well, I did find an interesting trail online...”

Responses to common questions we’ve been asked since we got back.