Teaching the next generation of adventurers
Dan Norman spends his days helping others discover the outdoors –ย and spends his own time putting those skills to the test on the water.
The Trips That Shaped A Lifetime
The first lessons often begin quietly. For Dan Norman, they began in a canoe at seven years old, somewhere among the lakes and rivers that would shape a lifetime outdoors. Those early wilderness trips became whitewater runs as a teenager, and eventually sea kayaking along the intricate coastline of British Columbia.
Over the years, those early canoe trips naturally evolved into a lifelong pursuit. Whitewater kayaking offered challenge and precision, while sea kayaking opened the door to exploring the intricate coastline of British Columbia – waters that continue to shape much of his time today.
A Classroom Without Walls
For the past twenty-five years, Dan has led the Outdoor Pursuits Program at Brentwood College, helping generations of students discover the outdoors through kayaking, hiking, canoeing, paddle boarding, and backcountry travel. The work extends well beyond school walls. Each spring, he organizes a youth whitewater program that introduces roughly seventy young paddlers to moving water with the support of dozens of volunteer instructors.
For Dan, outdoor education is about much more than learning to paddle. Every trip offers an opportunity to build confidence, develop judgment, and encourage curiosity – whether students are navigating a quiet bay, learning wilderness skills, or simply experiencing the outdoors in a new way. That philosophy has become the foundation of the Outdoor Pursuits Program, where each season brings new adventures, practical learnings, and simply time out in nature.โ
Photo: Dan Norman, courtesy of the Outdoor Pursuits Program. Featuring MAPTATTOO Classic.
Always Another Adventure
His calendar rarely stays empty for long. He paddles year-round: usually several days every week. Rivers one day; ocean the next. This season includes another school expedition, another personal journey, another opportunity to explore the coastline he has spent decades getting to know.
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Among those adventures, one remains especially vivid: a ten-day sea kayak expedition through Haida Gwaii (British Columbia, Canada) that he simply calls “off the charts amazing.” For someone with thousands of hours on the water, it’s telling that excitement still outweighs routine.
A Kayak for Every Journey
After decades of paddling, Dan has built a fleet that reflects the diversity of waters he explores: “I have a lot of kayaks that I personally own and many more I have use of through the school program. I use different boats for different purposes.”
One of his favorites is a Necky Nootka Outfitter Plus tandem kayak, which he and his wife use for long expeditions along British Columbia’s rugged coastline: “I love the Necky tandem Nootka Outfitter Plus as it takes my wife and I on epic sea kayak trips all over the BC coast.”
When it’s time for moving water, he reaches for something different: “I have a SOUL Fanatix whitewater C-1 I use on the river a lot.”
A New Tool on the Water
Dan first received MAPTATTOO Classic in January, just before taking his Outdoor Pursuits class on a kayaking trip. There wasn’t time to read the manual. So they tied on a lanyard, launched, and figured it out on the water.
Over the following months, the device became part of both his own paddling and his students’ outdoor education. One of his favorite moments came during a canoe outing on Mill Bay.
“The students really liked the speed over water feature as they could see how fast they were going and challenge themselves to paddle harder to drive the numbers up. They found it easy to use the toggles.”
And after the paddle, the trip statistics sparked conversation:“We liked the info tab where we could see how far we went, how long we were moving, and how long we just sat and enjoyed the sunshine. I’m enjoying the device, and really enjoying seeing my students explore navigation using it.”
Coming from a background rooted in paper charts and compass navigation, Dan’s perspective is a thoughtful reminder that technology is most valuable when it supports good decision-making rather than distracting from it. For him, the appeal is in its elegant simplicity, providing useful information available when conditions demand it.โ
“It is quite intuitive, and it is becoming even more helpful as I gain familiarity with it. The icon which shows your position in real time is also helpful and I anticipate in difficult navigation situations it would be especially useful. The heading feature and speed feature are aspects that I have never really had accessible when using paper maps, and these features are helpful.”
Still Exploring
| Whether he’s leading students on their first paddle, organizing youth programs, or setting off on another expedition along the British Columbia coast, Dan’s enthusiasm for being on the water remains remarkably unchanged. And just maybe, that’s the common thread running through decades of paddling. The destination changes, the boats change, and the tools improve. But the reason for launching remains remarkably constant: there is always another shoreline worth discovering. |
