The Northstar Experience 2025

Spirits were high, water levels perfect, and the weather was subject to opinion as trip plans and possible hazards were sounded out to the gathering of Northstar faithful along the banks of the Kickapoo River in Ontario, Wisconsin. This was the location chosen for the 

2025 Northstar Experience is an annual affair for this esteemed customer-oriented canoe design and manufacturing company based out of Princeton, Minnesota. Northstar Canoes is owned and operated by renowned canoe builder Ted Bell, who started the famous Bell Canoe Works in 1988. Bell Canoe Works was sold in 2006, only resurfacing 

in 2013 with Northstar. Always known for innovative designs and materials, they continue to produce some of the best canoes today.

The Northstar Experience is a unique annual event hosted by the company and, according  to Northstar General Manager Bear Paulsen, “It was intended as a gathering to build community among dealers and people who own and paddle our boats.”  Bear went on to add, “We get such joy seeing the flotilla of Northstar boats moving down a river together.”

The event kicks off on the Friday night before getting on the river with dinner and entertainment. This year’s get-together was being held at Titanic Canoe, Kayak & Tube Rental in Ontario. I would have loved to have spoken to someone about how they came up with that name, but to no avail. As they always do, Northstar graciously provides camping, dinner, entertainment, and shuttle services. Dinner is attended by a who’s who of canoeing royalty, such as Cliff Jacobson, who can always be counted on for fascinating conversation and is filled with hugs, handshakes, and reminiscing. I have been lucky enough to attend several of these and have developed relationships and friendships that hopefully last a lifetime. I may get to see some of these people only once a year, but in a world that shines its brightest spotlight on our differences, the sense of community I feel among this group is something to hold on to and cherish. Nothing is discussed but canoeing and the rest of man’s problems slide down the stream. 

The evening was capped off by entertainment from Nashville singer-songwriter and fellow paddler Jerry Vandiver, who has written and recorded many boating-related songs, many of which are parodies of popular melodies ranging from hilarious to poignant. He 

has also co-written a song that reached number 2 on the Billboard Country charts. Jerry is always very engaging and an extremely nice gentleman. 

I became a participant in this affair several years ago by invitation from Northstar’s Technical Director, Charlie Thompson, whom I met at their Canoecopia display in Madison, Wisconsin. We discussed my desired migration from a Royalex tripper to something lighter, which led me to purchase a Northstar Northwind Solo. Mr. Thompson oversees 

production and design, and is referred to as the Mad Scientist around the Northstar production floor due to his extensive knowledge and expertise in composites. 

He has also been called on more than one occasion, the heir apparent to watercraft designer Dave Yost. If you have more than a passing interest in canoes and know who Dave Yost is, this is very high praise. I am fortunate today to call Charlie my friend. 

Saturday’s adventure involved paddling a 10-mile stretch of the Kickapoo. Bear Paulsen of Northstar provided us with the river conditions and paddling plan, while lead boat paddler Darren Bush, a self-proclaimed paddling evangelist and owner of Rutabaga Paddlesports in Madison, Wisconsin, related river history. Both are legends in the canoeing world. 

There were sixty-plus paddlers in forty-four boats with people from as far away as Michigan and Tennessee. We started in groups of ten with a lead and sweeper paddler. The Northstar group is very safety conscious, so everyone is required to wear a PFD. The day was overcast and cool, so folks were prepared with various outdoor gear, including 

drysuits, which always led to conversations regarding which item is better than the other or “Where did you get that?” It’s a great way to learn about gear you may or may not have heard of, mainly how it performs. Major discussions will arise around paddles, be they wood or composite, and which should be used in what type of situations. 

This section is very intimate, with ancient rock outcroppings, beautiful scenery, and enough twists and turns to be labeled one of the most circuitous waterways in the country. Water clarity was fantastic. Coming from central Illinois where mud-bottom creeks and rivers are 

the norm, paddling a rock and sand-bottom river is always a pleasure. The boats started to get some separation, and the river offered up some obstacles without incident, but I mostly found myself just admiring my surroundings.

Lunch was taken at a landing laden with muck, providing much more opportunity for trouble than anything on the river. As usual, everyone took it in stride and made the best of it. I know my boots still stink! There are usually quite a few solo paddlers in the flotilla, and the stop offers the opportunity to start a conversation with 

someone new. There is, almost without exception, a common place where we have taken our boats, usually in the Boundary Waters, and it is an absolute joy to see another’s face light up when you start to discuss those treks. 

When we took up the last run, it had warmed up a little, and people were shedding layers. Skills that had become rusty over winter became second nature again. The ten boat groups had now become one long, silent, smiling Northstar family, knowing that, if just for the moment, everything was right with the world.

At the takeout, boats and people were shuttled back to camp. Goodbyes were said, and numbers were exchanged, with the hope of seeing each other next year. 

To me, it’s a very humbling and awe-inspiring experience to paddle a modern craft that could easily be recognized by the same people who first made canoes over 10,000 years ago and to move that boat in a river that geologists claim could be the oldest active river system on Earth at 535 million years old. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to do 

that with these people. 

Thank you to Ted and Northstar Canoes for hosting this annual community-building event and to Charlie for extending that initial invitation to become a part of this valued community. What Northstar is providing is an environment for a regular Joe like me to be 

able to participate, however briefly, among a group of like-minded individuals and canoeing legends who you can overhear throwing out names of distant rivers like the Noatak or Bloodvein, the likes of which I will only see in pictures. It is also a place to discuss trips past and future and celebrate the camaraderie that only a shared love can bring. I am never more content than when I am in my canoe. Which, for me, is quite the experience.