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Threats to the Boundary Waters
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and it’s a place that changes lives. People who visit often return home with a greater understanding of the value of the outdoors and the need to protect it. It’s also America’s most visited wilderness with over 1 million acres protected. As far as canoeing, it contains over 1,000 lakes and over 2,000 campsites. The lakes are connected by portage trails. It’s not exaggerating saying that for canoeing, the Boundary Waters is the most important area in the world. It is in trouble. With the new administration taking power in the…
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Turn Your Sunglasses Into Readers
Back when I was younger, I don’t think that I would have expected to ever write this post. But I now need readers to read maps when canoeing and kayaking. In that past in order to read the maps, I’d take off my sunglasses and put on a pair of readers. Or if I was lucky, I could squint in just the right way and maybe get lucky. I didn’t want to spend the money on sunglasses with readers built into them, so I just made do. Earlier this year, I decided to drop $20 on a pair of StickTite Lenses and I’m glad I did because it turned my…
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Sawyer Squeeze End Caps
One of my frustrations with the Sawyer Squeeze is that they aren’t shipped with caps that close both ends, such as the ones on the Platypus QuickDraw. Light Up Outdoors has solved the problem with its Sawyer Squeeze End Caps. This is one of those inexpensive products that make you wonder why it hasn’t existed before. The Cross Contamination Problem In the past, to avoid cross contamination when transporting a Squeeze, there would need to be cap on the output. That wasn’t a big deal when using it only for squeezing. It now ships with a cap. The cap it comes with doesn’t solve the problem if the Squeeze is…
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Average Canoe Paddling Speed
If you’re planning a canoe trip, you might want to know what an average canoe paddling speed is. Knowing this will help you potentially plan daily paddling distances or calculate the total number of days needed for a distance. There may be other factors that slow you down such as wind, current, and portages. Here are a few general rules of thumb for estimating paddling speed. Average Canoe Paddling Speed Rule of Thumb If you’re looking for an easy rule of thumb, then I’d suggest that on a loaded trip when making distance from point to point that you’ll likely be paddling a tandem tripping canoe at about 3mph (5km…
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The North American Odyssey Book Release
Back in 2010 shortly after Amy and Dave Freeman got married, they left on a three-year honeymoon odyssey across North America. They called it the North American Odyssey. They recently completed writing a book about the trip. It’s title shares the expeditions name, North American Odyssey: 12,000 Miles Across the Continent by Kayak, Canoe, and Dogsled. The book, their second, documents the trip across the continent by sea kayak, backpack, dogsled, and canoe. The trip started in Washington on Earth Day and took them by sea kayak up the Inside Passage to Alaska. From there they backpacked and canoed north to the Arctic Ocean. They then switched to a dogsled…
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Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp For Sale
This Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp – SilPoly is a nice shelter for backpacking if you use trekking poles. I don’t backpack much—I thought I was going to start again when I bought this—and the shelter isn’t working for me on biking trips or paddling trips. I used it on one trip of 10 days. I used it with a short pole set from Yama Mountain Gear. I wish I would have gotten the longer poles, because at that height when using trekking poles it works really well. Ideally if you want one, you’ll use trekking poles or get the longer pole set. I’m selling mine with a Yama…
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Edscanoe Yoke Center Seat
On day two of a recent solo trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a south wind was funneling down Wanihigan Lake, a narrow north-south. The tops of the pines whipped back and forth in the wind. The low water from months without rain made entering my canoe at the normal put-in spot after the portage impossible. I balanced my Northstar Magic on the shoulders and stepped over a blowdown that reached up to my crouch. The wind caught the canoe and twisted it, but I managed to return it into the wind. The only way to launch was to set my canoe next to a floating log that…
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Saying Goodbye to Freedom: Garmin inReach Shifts Subscription Services
Today Garmin inReach Freedom plan subscribers received notification from Garmin that it is discontinuing the Freedom plans. With Freedom plans users would pay an annual $34.95 at sign up and then once a year. They could turn off their service and start it up whenever they liked without having to pay an activation fee. They could choose from three different plans when they reactivated the service. Now, Freedom plans are discontinued. Current Freedom subscribers will be migrated over to the new plans starting December 2024. The New Enabled Feature – $7.99 a month Instead of being able to completely suspend your service, Garmin now offers a $7.99 per month enabled…
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Caribe: a New Kayak Design
Marcelo Rossi returns to the pages of PaddlingLight with a new kayak that he designed: A couple of years ago, a friend from the group of paddlers that we meet with on Saturdays told me that more and more new people are joining the group, so why don’t you design a kayak for beginners? It should have a wide and low rim so it’s easy to get in and out, and flat at the stern to make re-entry easier, as stable as possible, the length of an average car, for paddlers up to 85 kg (187 pounds), with hatches to carry water, food, a change of clothes, etc. I got…
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DIY Gravity Water Filter System Update
A few years ago, I wrote about using a Sawyer Squeeze as a DIY gravity filter. Simple modifications using CNOC Vecto bags reduced complexity but filter one less liter per fill.
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What to do with the canoe and kayak plans?
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been punting on a decision about the canoe and kayak plans. I haven’t been able to decide whether or not to remove them from my website. I’ve made the decision. The sales of these plans is leaving PaddlingLight. What I haven’t decided is, do I continue to sell them at all? There are various reasons that I’m doing this, but the primary one is that I don’t want to have to handle all the payments, orders, problems, etc. of running an online store anymore. I’m just not interested in doing it, and the revenue has dropped significantly in the last couple of years.…
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Kayak Skeg Stuck? A Simple Fix
If your sea kayak skeg gets stuck, use a cord to free it; alternatives include wire or household items. It's a simple fix that should be standard on sea kayaks. Act Now and Get the Fix.
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Eezycut Trilobite Knife First Look
The Eezycut Trilobite Knife is an effective, easy-to-use tool for cutting ropes and webbing, offering safety and versatility.
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KÜHL’s The One: Best Jacket for Canoeing?
I find KÜHL The One jacket incredibly versatile, comfortable, and well-insulated, suitable for many activities and weather conditions, and highly breathable.
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Guide to Staking Out Tents on Rocky Ground
Camping on rocky ground is possible with the right preparation. Use durable cord for the stake out points and utilize rocks for secure tent staking.
