In today’s newsletter, a quick-thinking kayaker rescues a stranded bald eagle from the icy waters of Lake Michigan, while a century-old mystery from Canada’s Barren Lands is finally brought to light.

We also examine the dangerous psychology of “get-there-itis,” the cognitive trap that often turns determination into disaster, and tap into Olympian-level advice to sharpen your SUP stability.

From rescue to resilience, history to high performance, there’s plenty here to inspire your next paddle.

When a bald eagle was adrift and in distress on a chunk of ice in Lake Michigan, a veteran kayaker jumped into action.

A reinvented classic, built to expand your horizons on the water. The new Echo 2.0 builds on the spirit of the original model, loved by paddlers for its agility and responsiveness. But it goes even further. With an additional 1.5 inches of depth, it now delivers greater load capacity, while maintaining its efficiency, lightness and maneuverability.

This refined design also gives the Echo 2.0 enhanced whitewater capability, offering paddlers increased dryness and confidence in more demanding conditions. Whether tackling technical runs or carrying more gear, it delivers durability, performance and reliability. Learn More

I have tendonitis. My brother has plantar fasciitis. My 97-year-old dad has endocarditis. Here’s what I know: ailments ending in ‘itis’ are not good.

Get-there-itis is no exception. Known formally by psychologists as plan continuation bias, it’s a cognitive trap widely studied in aviation—pilots and kayakers discuss it because it contributes to accidents. Folks generally don’t even know when they have it.

Get-there-itis happens when our original goal blinds us to new information, making us ignore better choices as they arise. It manifests as an overpowering drive to complete our original plan of action, even when it becomes clear a new and alternate course of action would be safer or smarter. A particularly nasty symptom of plan continuation bias is it intensifies the closer we get to our goal.

Here’s a common scenario: despite deteriorating conditions—building headwinds, increased swell and mounting fatigue—we continue for hours, struggling through the last desperate push to our destination. After all, we came so far, worked so hard and we’re so close. Of course, if we turned around and went with the swell and wind instead of fighting it, we could quickly retrace our steps and return to the sheltered bay we started from within 30 minutes. But we seldom do. Instead, the farther we get into our planned route, the more committed we become…

One of the great salmon rivers of the Pacific, the Stikine River drains a vast tract of Canada’s undeveloped wilderness in the heart of Tahltan and Tlingit Indigenous Territory. The icy scenery of the glacier-blanketed Coast Mountains in the Tongass National Forest are reason enough to paddle this great mother river. Learn More

When a husband-and-wife paddling team set out on a 1,000-mile, 64-day unsupported canoe trip through Canada’s northern Barren Lands to solve a century-old mystery, they knew success would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

One hundred years prior, John “Hermit of the North” Hornby and British financier John Critchell Bullock set out on a bold expedition. Their goal was to paddle into the Barren Lands and capture the first motion picture footage of muskoxen, believed to be extinct back then.

By the expedition’s second summer in 1925, their trip had turned into a fight for survival. The men were exhausted, starving and still 500 kilometers from the nearest outpost. In desperation, they decided to lighten their load.

“On a small island in the middle of the Hanbury River, we dumped 10,000 feet of unused motion picture film and a £1,000 movie camera,” Bullock wrote. “We were too starved to carry it.” He snapped a photo of the cache: a mound of rocks against a barren landscape.

Then his journal disappeared for 85 years…

Whether you want to paddle fast or far, it all starts with good balance. Coach Larry Cain shares essential tips to help you improve your balance. Learn how to enhance your SUP stability with these expert tips.