Recent content by Tsuga8

I will note that Merlin doesn't work with your phone's GPS turned off. It will listen but not ID. I usually keep my phone's GPS off - took a long and frustrating while to figure out that's why Merlin wasn't IDing any calls. But, I do believe it works without service (and I agree GDahl, hard...

I'd say snail kite as well. Agreed on Merlin app, though I prefer the Audubon app for visual ID. Merlin is absolutely amazing for audio, though it does get things wrong from time to time.

I have a 10L waterbag I stick as far back as possible in the stern. It helps, but not enough. I could certainly add more but it's a balance of inconveniences. Yes, I was planning on it, but decided that his diminishing rate of outings probably doesn't justify drilling more holes in the...

I have the same problem with my Phoenix and 65lb pooch. It's passable when he sits between my knees (I kneel), especially with a tripping load behind the seat. But as he's getting older he wants to lie down a lot, and to do that he has to hop the front thwart and then his weight is really way...

Sorry to hear your trip didn't happen! Sadly my Allagash trip also fell thru this year, along with several other planned trips. Here's hoping 2026 will be a better year!

@Pseudonym did you take your trip? What boat did you end up taking, did you pole, and how'd it go?

Boy, my poling streams haven't had enough water for good fun in months....I'm glad (and jealous) you were able to get out there, @Riffle-Raff ! Last spring when the water was up I was practicing eddy turns with a pole per Rock's book. Still have lots to learn but I felt like I was making...

That's an intriguing idea, though it would have to be sacrificial. I would think epoxy wouldn't deaden sound as much because it's hard. Or are there epoxies that cure softer? The hammer head might be the right level of durable but with a little give to deaden the sound a bit. Clearly...

I believe my Old Town branded paddle is a Porter - looks just like those pictured. I agree it's balanced wonderfully and slices the water beautifully. One of my favorites. I do also like the two S&T paddles I have, which I think are well balanced with reasonably thin blades. But both were...

Just finishing up 'The Gales of November' by Bacon about the Edmund Fitzgerald. Great read with a lot of backstory about the economics, history and science that lead up to the loss of The Mighty Fitz, as well as in-depth portraits of those lost and what the lives of Great Lakes sailors were...

Glad to be wrong. We got out Sat and Sun this weekend.

Do tell. I'm always happy to learn and correct a misconception of mine.

Kudos on keeping that bear from being fed....and then maybe dead! ("A fed bear is a dead bear," as the saying goes. )

It's true. There are a lot of older folks getting taken by online scammers and social media disinformation. There's an advantage to being a digital native as well as to having been taught to think critically. Critical thinking abilities and speed can decline with age, too.

Come up to NY, Erica. There's a pair of mute swans that live on the pond I paddle most often. Not native but tolerated is accurate around here - most people appreciate them, though some of us grit our teeth about them. In some places in Illinois they are seen as more ecologically...