Solo canoe whitewater training - Part One

In July of 2021 I went to Madawaska Kanu Center (MKC) near Barry's Bay, Ontario, Canada to take 5 days of white water training in a solo canoe. My initial motivation was to learn some whitewater related safety and paddling skills. My longer term motivation was to gain the skills so that one day I could go paddle a more wild river then what you find in Algonquin Park. Of particular interest to me is the Steel River which is located just north of Lake Superior. I watched a video on Youtube by Backcountry Angling Ontario/Lost Lakes which really stoked my interest in wild rivers. In this first part you will see me discover some initial limitations. Some were physical, others missing skills and finally just dealing with the unexpected (like discovering a completely different feeling type of canoe). I apologize if this first part seems a bit grim. You will discover in the next part that things dramatically improved as time and practice occurred.