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How to Stay Clean While Camping
On day five, I crawled in the tent with my canoeing partner. We were halfway through our trip, and he smelled bad. I mean he smelled like a bucket of ripe clams left out in the sun on a beach in 100-degree weather for five days. I looked over at him and said, “Dude, you stink. Don’t you know how to stay clean while camping?” He shrugged his shoulders and said, “We’re in the woods, of course, I stink.” And from that moment forward, I’ve made it a point to try and stay clean while camping when on adventures, and you can too by following these easy steps. Take a…
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NOLS Cookery Ration Planning
Exploring NOLS system of menu planning for an canoeing expedition across the Boundary Water. This article shows a NOLS plan for a twelve day trip, and discuses how well it worked.
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Fenix HM65R Headlamp Review
Headlamps are the most convenient way to light your way through the dark. When paddling, they point where you look, and when in camp they help you see the area so you can complete your chore or just kick back with a good book. I recently received a Fenix HM65R Headlamp for review. In the past I reviewed another Fenix light and liked it. The Fenix PD36R was a solid flashlight. I was looking forward to trying another one of their lights out. So, how did the HM65R do? Fenix HM65R Headlamp Description The Fenix HM65R Headlamp is a rechargeable headlamp constructed from a lightweight magnesium. It features a USB-C…
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KÜHL Sun-Protective Shirts Review
Being outdoors and on the water exposes us to harmful UV from the sun. The leathery outdoors person is a typical cliché, but if you spend a lot of time outdoors, that’s the look you’ll get. According the the Skin Cancer Foundation, “An estimated 90 percent of skin aging is caused by the sun. People who use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher daily show 24 percent less skin aging than those who do not use sunscreen daily.” This doesn’t even touch on the health issues, such as skin cancer, caused by sun exposure. That’s where men’s sun-protective shirts and women’s sun-protective shirts come into play. They help…
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Sea Kayaking on the Decline and Canoeing Bounces
The Outdoor Foundation’s 2021 Outdoor Participation Report Trends Report is out, and it has some interesting findings, including a some good new for paddling. First off 2020 was the biggest year for outdoor participation, but… Research from Outdoor Industry Association indicated that about one-quarter of new participants say they don’t want to continue their new outdoor activities, a number that may grow sharply as consumers return to pre-pandemic habits Another interesting piece of data from the report shows that although there were record numbers of outdoor outings in 2020, individuals continue to participate in fewer outdoor outings. The average number of annual outings per participant continued a steady, long-term decline,…
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Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Review
After using this product on my 11-day, 160-mile trip, I feel like it’s time to do a quick Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Review. Usually, I like to get 30 days on a product before reviewing it, but in this case it’s based on technology from Sawyer that I’m comfortable in providing my full thoughts. I’ve used both the Sawyer Squeeze and Mini before. This water filter bottle uses the Mini. Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Description Here’s what Sawyer says about the product: At just 4.5 ounces in weight, this durable BPA FREE water bottle can deliver clean water as fast as you can drink it. Use the included filter with…
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Annual North House Folk School Wooden Boat Show Trip Report
After a year lapse due to the pandemic, the North House Folk School held its annual Wooden Boat Show again. My kid, who is six, wanted to go with me to see it, so we went early in the morning before the crowds showed up. Because he is six, he isn’t eligible for the vaccine, yet. While our county is over 70% vaccinated, in the summer most of the people here are tourists. We didn’t want to take a risk. I also didn’t take any time to talk to anyone about their boats. Instead, I’ll present a gallery of the wood boats that were there this year. The Pilgrim also…
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PaddlingLight Mid-Year Update
At the beginning of this year, I decided to watch PaddlingLight more closely to see how it was doing in comparison with the time that I’m putting into it. Over the last couple of years, I’ve watched PaddlingLight’s income decrease. I wanted to track if increasing the time spent on the website and doing some design changes would increase revenue. Unfortunately, it hasn’t. Here’s PaddlingLight’s YTD gross revenue: Gross Type of income $1790 Affiliate links and ads (Google Adsense, various stores, Advertising Sponsors and Amazon Links) $719.12 Canoe and Kayak Drawing Sales ($4.12 of taxes collected) $2,509.12 Total There’s still about $150 worth of affiliate income out there that hasn’t…
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Solo Paddling Gear for the Boundary Waters
To wrap up the series (except for electronics), here’s a list of the solo paddling gear for the Boundary Waters that I used on my recent trip. It’s pretty basic compared to all the rest of the gear lists. I plan on making a public spreadsheet and getting the electronics list up soon. Canoe for the Boundary Waters I use the Northstar Magic. IMHO, there isn’t a better solo canoe for the Boundary Waters. It’s fast, stable, and holds its directional stability in the wind regardless of where you point it. It’s a dry ride. The flare gets it over even steeper chop that you might encounter on the bigger…
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Food for a Canoe Trip to the Boundary Waters
For my recent Boundary Waters trip, I decided that I was going to bring food for the Boundary Waters that met specific criteria: easy to make, no cooking for breakfast or lunch, no prep time for any food between breakfast and dinner, could be eaten on the move, and boil-only dinners. I wanted each day of food to weigh about 1.5 pounds and have around 2,400 calories per day. Planning this way kept my cook kit for this Boundary Waters trip simple. To meet my criteria, I decided on freeze dried or dehydrated food that could be rehydrated in the bag for dinner. I made homemade granola for breakfast. During…
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Miscellaneous Gear for a Boundary Waters Trip
This is all the miscellaneous gear that I hauled with me on my recent BWCAW canoe trip. After this post, I’ll cover the food that I brought with me — it was the best food that I’ve carried on a trip and I’ll be carrying similar in the future. For this post, I’ll just post the list and put my thoughts or future changes in the righthand column. I could have easily saves a pound or so if I had done this list before the trip. I would have probably saved near 18 ounces with a few changes. Navigation NatGeo BWCAW Waterproof Map 3.3 You get 1/2 of the BWCAW…
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Tent, Sleeping Bag and Portage Pack for the Boundary Waters
Here are my choices for a tent, sleeping bag and portage pack for the Boundary Waters trip, specifically my last Boundary Waters trip. The trip followed a ~160 mile, ~30 miles of portages route from 1879. You can read my previous articles: Lightweight Camping Cook Set for Canoeing and Kayaking and Clothing for the Boundary Waters 2021 about those two topics. This is perhaps the easiest category for me to write about. My pack and bedroom gear is the most refined gear that I own. I’ve been using pretty much the same for years. On this trip, I did change it up just a bit. Portage Pack for the Boundary…
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Clothing for the Boundary Waters 2021
This is the second post detailing the gear I brought on my recent ~160 mile trip in the Boundary Waters. During the trip, I followed a route from 1879 that had approximately 30 miles of portages. On the trip, the temp swung wildly from over 90°F to mid or low 20°s. I had prepared for normal temps, but brought extra clothing because I was trying new gear and wasn’t sure how it would work. In retrospect, had I known the temps would swing like that, I would have packed differently. Here’s my 2021 clothing for the Boundary Waters list. Also, I should have added everything up ahead of time, but…
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Lightweight Camping Cook Set for Canoeing and Kayaking
I recently got back from a ~160 mile trip that followed the route of an 1879 expedition to the north shore of Lake Superior and into what is now called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The route included around 30 miles of portages and I needed to go lightweight. In the past, I used a slightly lighter cook set for camping, but I changed my camping cook set for 2021 to something slightly heavier. I did so because the stove is so much better and more fuel efficient, especially in wind, and I also wanted to try a new water bottle. Lightweight Camping Cook Set The main system is…
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Nightcore P30i Review – an impressive wide-throw flashlight
Recently, Nightcore reached out and asked me to do a Nightcore P30i Review. The P30i is a wide-throw, long-range and rechargeable flashlight. The opportunity to do a review on a Nightcore product was exciting, because I’ve heard great things about the Nightcore NU25, a lightweight headlamp of just over an ounce that gained popularity in the lightweight hiking world. The P30i is a completely different beast and to let the cat out of the bag early, a flashlight that I’ve fallen in love with. Reviewing the specs of the Nightcore P30i makes it seem like an impressive flashlight. At the strongest setting, it outputs 2,000 lumens and throws up to…
