“That’s probably one of the biggest misconceptions of the sport,” says Norm Hann — that it’s relatively stationary, good for a sedate half-day on the lake. “You can run rivers on these things, you can surf, you can tour.” Hann was one of the paddleboarders who braved that first River Quest (in which the SUPers thrived, by the way, some finishing well ahead of more traditional paddlers). He’s a long- time guide in British Columbia, where he has paddleboarded through hundreds of kilometres of the Great Bear Rainforest and now offers SUP tours and training.

Hann credits paddleboarding’s deep- ening incursions into the backcountry to evolving design. Earlier stand-up boards were big, wide and stable. But as a racing scene developed, the boards got nar- rower, longer and deeper — and paddlers realized that these new boards were not only faster but also much more effi- cient, allowing travel over vast distances even with a pile of gear. Now there are boards built specifically for expeditions and touring.

Stand-up paddleboarding also offers convenience and a low bar to entry. “One of the great things about the sport is that it’s pretty user-friendly,” says Hann. “People can get into the sport and have success pretty early.” Inflatable boards can easily be packed into the wilderness by plane, by foot or even by bike.

“I think touring is going to be one of the biggest parts of paddleboarding,” Hann predicts. “It’s a pretty amazing way to travel.”

This story was originally published in our May 2017 issue.