• Paddling near one of the many small arches and caves along the Lake Superior Water Trail.
    Articles,  Tent Bound

    Telling a Good Canoe and Kayak Adventure Story

    Years ago, I took time to analyze the story structure of different types of canoe and kayak adventures that were published in various magazines. I wanted to be able to pitch the types of stories that the editors were buying, and I wanted to be able to do it in the formats they were accepting. I ended up identify three different types of stories: Trip Reports, Autobiographical Trip Reports Focusing on a Global Issue, and a Biography. There were more types of stories, but these three were the most interesting to me. I outlined each of the different scenes that were used to tell the story. I’ve used these outlines…

  • Articles,  News

    Paddle and Portage: a New Website for the Boundary Waters

    This is a quick bit of interesting news for Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness lovers. Paddle and Portage is a brand new website devoted to telling stories about the Boundary Waters and Quetico. It launched in January 2024. The website is founded by Joe Friedrichs, formerly of the radio station WTIP and WTIP’s Boundary Waters Podcast. Matthew Baxley is also joining Friedrichs’ new adventure as part of the new Paddle and Portage Podcast. Baxley was Friedrichs’ co-host on WTIP’s podcast. He’s also a talented filmmaker and good host. He interviewed me about my Following the Winchell Expedition trip for a past episode of the Boundary Waters Podcast. WTIP’s Boundary Waters…

  • The new Minnesota state flag on a paddle
    Articles,  Equipment,  Tent Bound

    Sanborn Canoe’s New Minnesota State Flag Paddle

    If you haven’t heard, Minnesota recently finished the process of redesigning its state flag. The old flag was of the “state seal on a bedsheet” type. It also redesigned the state seal — and decided on an epic canoe country inspired design. THE BEST STATE SEAL IN THE NATION. You can learn about the redesign at the Minnesota Historical Society’s website. Even though some polls might say that the new state flag looks like “Sky Camouflage,” the new flag looks great when put on merch. I expect this will become a profitable market to be in over the next couple of years. You should expect it to see it on…

  • a loaded bikepacking bike leaning against a bridge
    Articles,  Reviews

    Bikepacking Gear is Nearly the Same as Canoe Camping Gear

    If you’ve followed this blog for awhile, you’ll know that in addition to canoeing and kayaking I love biking and specifically bike touring or bikepacking. You may even remember the April’s Fools joke that I did on this topic. The joke was that this website was going to change to a biking website, but I digress. This year, in leu of a big paddling trip, I did a long bikepacking trip across the proposed Minnesota ORV Border to Border Route. I basically used the same gear for this trip as I would have for canoe camping. I made a video about the gear that I used. There were a lot…

  • Articles,  Equipment

    Improve Bear Bagging with This Cord Winder

    For years I’ve been stuffing my bear bag rope into a stuff sack or throw bag for storage or winding it around my hand and then placing it in in the bag for storage. At the next campsite, it inevitably becomes tangled as I take it out. I’ve discovered a product that prevents the tangly mess of bear bag ropes. It’s the Cord Winder by Hilltop Packs. The best part is that it is only $5. I bought two for reasons explained below. The concept is simple. Take the idea of line winders for kites and apply it to bear bags. That’s exactly what Hilltop Packs did when making the…

  • Articles,  News

    Fake Thermacell Mosquito Repellent Refills Sold on Amazon

    I recently received an email from Amazon saying that they found that one of the sellers using their platform had used it to sell counterfeit Thermacell Refills. It’s scary that they didn’t list the chemicals found in the counterfeit product and scary to hear that a chemical pad that’s burned to create a vapor that wards off mosquitoes could be counterfeit. If you ordered replacement Thermacell Refills from Amazon, make sure the check your order to see if it was sold by this company. Here’s the email I received. Dear Customer, We’re contacting you about order #xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx for the following item(s): Thermacell Mosquito Repellent Mat Only Refills; Compatible with Thermacell…

  • three kayaks sitting on a beach next to a tent
    Articles,  Build It Yourself,  Kayak Plans,  Kayaks

    A Special Siskiwit LV Built

    Back 2020, Jan picked up a Siskiwit LV Sea Kayak Drawing and decided to build a modified sea kayak from the drawings. He recently wrote about what he did and how it turned out: “At the beginning of the pandemic I bought the plan from you. Although you did not recommend modifying the sizes, I tried it anyway. Today I am very happy that I did. I shortened the kayak to 82% by reducing the distance between the stations and decreased the plan to 90%. This resulted in a kayak with 4.3 m (14 feet 1 inch) and 49 cm (19.3 inches) wide at about 16 kg (35 pounds). Usually,…

  • A moose in the woods
    Articles

    Spring Thaw and Moose Poop

    Note: this is an old essay I found in a notebook that had been stored for years. That notebook was from back when I first started PaddlingLight (called Nessmuking at the time). It’s paddling adjacent. I write a lot of these personal essays, but I don’t have a place to post them. So, you’re getting it here. In northern Minnesota, many Forest Service and lake access roads are left snowed in for the winter. So, when spring hits it feels almost like a treasure hunt to try and get back into places with a car. Every year starting with the last week of March, I’ve driven up the Gunflint Trail…

  • custom NOAA chart showing the shoreline near Grand Marais, MN
    Articles,  Technique,  Tutorial

    Custom NOAA Charts for Free

    One of my personal dreams has been to have a free tool for creating custom NOAA Charts for sea kayaking. In the past, I spent weeks downloading charts, converting charts to an image file, editing them for printing and then printing a custom chart. Now you can bypass that by using NOAA’s Custom Chart tool. The tool itself is easy to use. I figured it out in a few minutes and had a custom chart of my home port printed shortly after that. If you want to watch a video, NOAA offers a tutorial video on how to make a custom chart. How To Make the Charts The basics of…

  • A tent and red canoe next to a river on a misty morning
    Articles

    The Triple Crown of Paddling

    In other outdoor activities, such as backpacking and bikepacking, participants have a set of three inspiring trips known as a triple crown. For example, in backpacking there’s the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. For bikepackers, there’s the Arizona Trail, Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and the Colorado Trail. Although I suspect that Eastern Divide Trail will boot the Colorado Trail from the list. But there isn’t solid Triple Crown of Paddling, yet. It’s about time that changes. Triple Crown of Paddling Criteria Before establishing potential routes in a Triple Crown of Paddling there needs to be criteria. These are what I’d suggest: Possible Routes I…

  • Two Nitecore NB10000 Power Banks on a wood table. One is black and one is silver
    Articles

    Nitecore NB10000 Power Bank

    With more paddlers carrying electronic devices on their trips, there’s a need for a lightweight and small power bank that can charge a phone or other devices several times. If that’s you, then you may want to check out the Nitecore NB10000 Gen 2 Power Bank (also available from Garage Grown Gear). It weighs only 5.4 ounces. Nitecore claims it is the world’s thinnest and lightest 10,000mAh power bank. In the past it only came in black, but it now comes in silver, too. I’ve been using the Nitecore NB10000 for several years and have found it a lightweight and reliable piece of gear. When in the field, I’ve used…

  • A photo of a solo canoeist paddling on calm water. Warm sunlight makes the background and the reflections of the boreal forest glow yellow.
    Articles,  Canoes,  Technique

    Stabilize a Tippy Solo Canoe

    It’s spring in the northern hemisphere and paddlers are itching to get out on the water. Recently, I heard a comment that someone found their solo canoe a bit tippy this spring. While that’s likely normal, there are a few steps that you can take to make your tippy solo canoe feel more stable. First of all, if the boat felt good at the end of the season last year, it’s likely going to feel fine again. You just need a little seat time. Go out and paddle it. Lower and Upper Body Separation If that doesn’t work to solve your tippy solo canoe problems, the main tip is to…

  • A photo of a black box of First Ascent Coffee sitting on the table with the four different roasts next to it.
    Articles

    First Ascent Coffee Review

    After hearing about First Ascent Instant Coffee blasting into space to quench the thirst of decaffeinated astronauts aboard the International Space Station, I was super excited to try their instant coffee. It isn't widely available, so I felt lucky when First Ascent Coffee sent me a sample pack to review.

  • Paddling near one of the many small arches and caves along the Lake Superior Water Trail.
    Articles,  Paddles,  Technique,  Tutorial

    Kayak Paddle Size

    Kayak paddle size can be personal, but it’s an important consideration if you are going to get the most out of your kayaking. Many stores end up sizing paddles too long, and you want to avoid that if you don’t want to have to buy two paddles — one the right size and the other too long. The below image in this article is an example of a store that got it wrong. The problem with paddles that are too long is that they are harder to get into the right positions for some strokes — particularly any strokes that require a vertical shaft such as draws. Longer paddles also…

  • The form of a kayak covered with white silk and wax.
    Articles

    Kayaks As Art

    Last year, fiber artist Moira Bateman purchased the drawings for the 1888 West Greenland Kayak. Her plan wasn’t to turn the drawings into a usable kayak. Her plan was to turn it into art. The artwork that she created is on display in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA until April 8th, 2023. The silk and wax kayak is called Vessel No. 1. It was made with two long strips of birch for the gunwales to support the silk and waxed fabric. Bateman creates her works from waxed silk that you stains using sediments from various Minnesota waterways. On her website, she writes: I create assemblages from silk that has been stained with…

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