-
What Iโd Bring on a Summer Canoe Trip
Over the years, Iโve written a lot about what I bring on canoeing and kayaking trips, and now that Iโve sold my kayak guiding business (blog post coming on why soon) Iโm really looking forward to canoeing more often. In fact, Iโve been in a canoe more often than Iโve been in a kayak this year. I havenโt been able to say that since 2006. Not only have I been canoeing more often than in past years, Iโm starting to think about a few new and interesting trips that I could take in the next five years by canoe. Iโm really excited about canoeing, so when Lisa, Community Manager at Saltโฆ
-
Watsonโs Merino Wool Long Underwear Review
Starting in late winter and early spring, Iโve been testing Watsonโs Merino 150 Wool Long Underwear. Watsonโs, a company I wasnโt familiar with, is part of Chateau Lingerie, a company based out of Quebec, Canada. While I used the long underwear mainly for walking around and on photography outings instead of paddling trips, I feel like Iโve used it enough to provide an honest review. For canoeing, it will function basically the same as it does for wearing around. For kayaking for me, itโs all about whether or not itโs comfortable under a drysuit (see below). The two pieces I was provided with for review were the Merino 150 Long Sleeve Top and theโฆ
-
What weighs 13.8 ounces and is made from wood?
Right now Iโm testing out a prototype wood canoe paddle that weighs 13.8 ounces on my scale. It feels feather light in the hand. Itโs stiff but has just enough flex to feel good. Plus it looks really sexy. More to come as I test this paddle throughout the summer. Here are a few pictures:
-
First SUP Crossing to and Circumnavigation of Isle Royale
I ran into an interesting post on a friendโs Facebook page the other day. He posted this cut from the Cook County News Heraldโs Cook County Law Enforcement briefs. Itโs from a call placed at 6:57am on May 5th. It said: Grand Portage: Caller said her husband paddleboarded out to Isle Royale and is now disorientated and canโt make it back. Now thatโs interesting. My knee-jerk reaction was that some idiot on a SUP did something stupid, and at least it wasnโt a โkayakerโ this time. Before I made a wise-ass crack on my friendโs wall, I decided to drop Rhonda Silence, the paperโs editor, an email to see if sheโฆ
-
Used Wilderness System Tsunami 175 and 165 Sea Kayaks For Sale -SOLD
SOLD โ All boats are sold. I have Tsunami 175s and Tsunami 165s for sale. These are used but in great shape. These are a great sea kayak and perfect for Lake Superior, the Great Lakes, oceans or inland lakes. Theyโre stable, handle rough water and work well for beginners and advancing intermediate paddlers. You could circumnavigate Isle Royale in this kayak or take off on a 20-day trip if you wanted. Theyโre also perfect for day trips and have excellent handling. All have rudders and upgraded seats for additional comfort. The seat is a $60 upgrade from the stock boat that youโd buy at a retailer. New they run $1685 plusโฆ
-
Skin-on-frame Tรชtes de Boule Hunterโs Canoe Built
Several years ago Alan Sinclair downloaded the free canoe drawings for the Tรชtes de Boule Hunterโs Canoe, a 9-foot, 8-inch pack canoe. A year or so later he sent in a contribution of $50 to help cover the costs of the time spent producing the drawings. Then he began construction with no clue how to do anything. He made it as skin-on-frame, regretting the departure from tradition, because he thought that would be simplest and would make a very light boat. Itโs taken a very long time but he finally got it finished. Alan sent several pictures and a thank you upon completion of the canoe: Thank you so very much for letting me get the plansโฆ
-
Website Note: PaddlingLight Got a Facelift
Just a note in case you havenโt clicked through to PaddlingLight recently: we got a facelift! After years and years of the old design, we updated the look and features. This was one of those things that was on the back burner, but with Googleโs recent changes to search we were forced to do it or risk losing our page ranks on mobile. Many of our readers are reading on tablets or smartphones, so it also made sense to make the change. The two goals with the redesign were: Make the website responsive for all screen sizes. You can see this in action by resizing your browser or surfing toโฆ
-
Wilderness and Public Lands: You Own Them
In the U.S., we have an extensive system of public lands. If we were to average out how many acres each individual U.S. citizen owns, it would be 1.99 acres of federal lands. Many agencies control the public lands, but the primary big four stewards of our lands are the: U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service. The Department of Defense is the fifth largest steward of land. Over the 20 years leading to 2010, federal land ownership declined by 18 million acres, nearly 2.8%.(1 p.15) That means that if you are a U.S. citizen, your government sold off more of your land thanโฆ
-
More Tower Problems for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
The sky was so crystal clear last night. I stepped out of my house to go get something out of my car and noticed that the treeline in my yard would make a great night photo. I shut off all the lights in the house and made this shot. I live in northern Minnesota near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The Boundary Waters (BWCA or BWCAW) is a designated wilderness area with no development except for portage trails tying together 1,200 miles of canoe routes and some 2000 designated campsites. At over 1 million acres and 150 miles along the Minnesotan and Canadian border, it is the largest wildernessโฆ
-
Slightly Off Topic: GOP Wants to Make Hikers and Bikers Pay to Hike and Bike
Recently in Minnesota members of the stateโs GOP proposed that hikers and bikers pay user fees to use state trails (not to mention they already pay for a park pass). I wouldnโt be surprised to see paddlers targeted as well for using state water trails. The reason the GOP cited was because snowmobilers pay user fees, everyone else should for fairness. I wanted to see how much snowmobilers pay and where the funding for the stateโs 22,000+ miles of snowmobile trails actually comes from. The biggest source of funding is the gas tax paid by all drivers. I put together this info chart from the data I was able toโฆ
-
National Parks Travelerโs Guide to Paddling the Parks Is Out
The 2nd Annual Essential Guide to Paddling the Parks by National Parks Traveler is out. The cover photo is mine and I have an article about paddling through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from Voyageurs National Park to Grand Portage National Monument. There are a ton of great articles in the magazine and itโs worth spending some time on this winter day looking through its pages.
-
Free Kayak Plans and Free Canoe Plans
For years, PaddlingLight has been giving away the free drawings of historic and recent canoe and kayak, but I didnโt know how many plans people were downloading. In the last year I decided to start tracking just a few of the downloads to get a grasp on how many were actually being downloaded. I picked 5 of the 35 free drawings that I offer: a popular historic kayak design that has been built many times, a history canoe that has been built many times (most often in Italy), a canoe that looks interesting but hasnโt been built often (if at all), an original yost-style, skin-on-frame kayak and another historic kayakโฆ
-
Kayaking Adventures in 2014: My Paddling Year in Review
Itโs January 2015 and I thought I should look back at 2014 and see what fun I had kayaking and canoeing. 2014 was a busy year for me otherwise. We bought a house that needed (and needs) lots of work. My kayaking company, North Shore Expeditions, hired its first full-time guide other than myself and my photography business was busy, busy and more busy. That left very little time for personal kayaking and canoeing. I actually didnโt get the canoes out once this year. Kayaking this year was mainly work for me. I paddled very little for personal reasons and when the season was over, I didnโt paddle at all afterโฆ
-
Launching Your Kayak in Light Surf
One of the challenges for new kayakers is launching your kayak in light surf, especially if you havenโt had any instruction and havenโt developed a sense of balance or gotten your sea legs. A light shore break can feel mighty challenging if youโve never paddled out before, especially one with a slight dumping wave. The viral video making the rounds on the Internet right now shows a man trying to get through the surf break on a sit-on-top kayak. He fails big time, ends up mowed over by his kayak several times and eventually ends up on the rocks. While the video is suppose to be humorous, it shows theโฆ
-
Welcome to Minnesota. Show Me Your Boat Trailer Papers, Please.
This law was repealed! You now have to affirm that you understand the AIS rules when you register a boat or get a out-of-state fishing license. Next time you trailer your canoe or kayak in Minnesota, you could be pulled over by a conservation officer who demands to see your papers. Well, it might not be that bad and your papers are a decal on your trailer, so itโs really not like that at all. But, next July if you trailer your canoe or kayak in Minnesota, youโll be required to have an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) decal on your trailer. This new law is another attempt by Minnesota toโฆ
