This quote from the original article by Robert Sinclair, the CIA analyst, is one of the most profound things I've ever read.<p>"What do I get out of all this? For a moment, I get to evade modern man's almost complete dependence on secondhand information....We have come to rely on what others tell us about the world beyond our narrow boxes.<p>"The canoe commute does give me a first hand glimpse of what is going on beyond the various manmade containers I inhabit. I benefit from regular access to information that clearly is unmediated."<p>PDF of original article embedded here: <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/09/history-of-the-cia-essay-on-the-agency-s-canoe-commute-club.html" rel="nofollow">https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/09/history-of-the-cia-...</a>
Reminds me of the occasional stories about people commuting into Manhattan by canoe/rowboat/paddleboard because they're fed up with the poor public transportation.<p>Something I've noticed more often these days is people commuting from New Jersey into Manhattan via electric scooter.<p>This is done by first going to Fort Lee, crossing the George Washington Bridge, then down the Hudson bike path to wherever their office is. They say it's faster and less stressful than doing the traditional bus or train + subway commute. I believe them.<p>There is also the financial benefit which is you get to avoid paying to cross the Hudson River, which is expensive whether you cross by car, bus, train, or ferry.<p>Granted even before electric scooters became common, you could do this via traditional bicycle. But you'd arrive at the office all sweaty, and most people don't have the luxury of being able to shower at the office, not to mention rampant bike theft. Plus there is an abomination of a steep hill going up to the outbound George Washington on your way back home.
This is cool to see. I used to run past that island all the time whilst doing long runs on the C&O canal trail. I noticed the little ferry and always assumed there was something of interest on the island itself. I also never realized I was far enough north from the city to be directly across the river from the CIA.<p>On the CIA side of the river there's another trail (Potomac Heritage trail). I was always surprised that you could freely run in the woods there so close to the CIA but also that you could see no sign of their "campus" from the trail.
I spent some time in Basel, Switzerland recently where locals would travel via a lazy float down the Rhine. They'd tow along a floating "fish bag" which holds their clothes and equipment dry for the commute. Seems like a ridiculously pleasant way to start or end your day! I figure many cities in Europe do this, but I'm not sure I've seen it elsewhere.
I’d go running up the tow path along the canal out of Georgetown and always wondered what the hell this random cable connecting to a barrier island (as seen in the photo) was for. I figured it was a camp or club of sorts. I knew I was approximately abreast of Langley but definitely never guessed at this.<p>At last I have closure.<p>It’s a very pretty area, and I imagine made for one gorgeous commute.
Not a commute, but fwiw: My freshman college dorm was across the street from kayak club storage, and a block from a river dock. Supermarket was two busses plus several blocks walking... but across the street from a river park. The river being one side of a bus-bus-river triangle. I needed paddling time anyway, so picture a kayak with a row of inflated garbage bags towed like ducklings.
I had a chance to canoe to the office for 4 months. The place I was staying at was on the river and they owned canoes. I would pop out at the park, chain up the canoe, then a 3 minute walk to the office. Going to the office was downstream but going home was a workout at times.
Down the river, right after DC its the Naval Research Laboratory, in front of Alexandria. I worked there, and some crazy folks from Alexandria sometimes crossed the river in canoes to the NRL pier... That got terminated after 911, so they had to bike or drive all the way up around DC and down through Anacostia Air Force Base. Quite a much longer commute.
This depends entirely on your city, but it is a rare joy of mine that my 20km cycle commute into the CBD has a national park, a reserve, farm land and if I stretch my legs an extra kilometer, a ride next to a river.<p>I can resonate with many of the stated benfits from the canoe commute, but I will say that even just the city sections are a huge boon to my feeling of connection over taking a car.<p>Too many car commutes to an office can feel a bit surreal, like your world may as well be fictitious.
I was half expecting this to be related to the death of former CIA director William Colby, who was found dead in a marsh near his canoe in Maryland after a heart attack.
An enduring mystery: former CIA director William Colby's death in a canoe<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/b383af025d66de91e4688caf602e7253" rel="nofollow">https://apnews.com/article/b383af025d66de91e4688caf602e7253</a>
These guys were well known in the DC paddling community. Back then the Potomac also froze over regularly, so they couldn't commute year round by canoe (now you could). Security restrictions eventually stopped the practice.
Reminds me of this guy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-DLqc9Vplg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-DLqc9Vplg</a>
I am highly amused by this.<p>I lived in downtown Chicago for a bit, and did indeed consider buying a folding kayak to commute to work, since I worked in the Merchandise Mart where there was river access across the street.
Oh, this is fun. Not familiar with the area I tried to check it out via Apple Maps on my IPad Air (3rd Gen) with iOS 16.3.1 and as soon as I switched to the satellite view my Apple Maps App closed. :)
A friend of mine lived on one bank of the river and worked on the other bank a short distance away. She bought a kayak to commute with occasionally for fun.
This reminds me a little bit of the main character in KSR's "science in the capitol" book series who goes semi feral in WA DC for a while, living in a tree.
It would have been utterly impractical given, as I recall, the distance was about 40 miles and would have involved a few portages around dams. (So probably more than 12 hours even at a pretty good clip.) But I live within about 1,000 feet of the (North Branch of the) Nashua River which joins the Merrimack River in Nashua NH and, for about 8 years, I had an office right in downtown Nashua.
The Silicon Valley version of this is the SF2G (San Francisco to Google) bike route. <a href="https://sf2g.com/" rel="nofollow">https://sf2g.com/</a><p>Instead of riding miserable Caltrain or driving the 101, biking 40 miles with friends is an absolute pleasure, even if you have to start pre-dawn to get in the office on time.
It's great that these commuters were able to have a rich spiritual experience and a little exercise and fresh air on their way to the Dulles Memorial Society For Sociopathy.