Recent content by Halpc

Welcome! I grew up in SE Pennsylvania and spent many happy hours paddling the Schuylkill River near Valley Forge. I’ve read that it is a lot cleaner now than it was in the early 60’s.

Beware- Pool noodles, foam pads, etc. can cause considerable damage to paint on the roof- especially with the weak paint in use on vehicles now

I haven't paddled that specific area, but have taken my sea k*y*k out on Powell a couple of times. My biggest concern was the clapotis caused by wakes from large motor boats and/or houseboats crashing into the rock cliffs and bounding back. The pyramid shape "waves" can be very difficult to...

Nice paddle- is it sassafras? My Badger sassafras Tripper is now my favorite deep water paddle. I employ an ash paddle near shore or in white water. I use Vans Hemp oil (food grade) on most of my paddles now. it is the same, I think, as the Badger oil, but comes from the U.S. at a much lower...

Glad to find out about Ririe - that is pretty close to the section of the Snake that we are thinking about running again this year!

Very interesting and enjoyable blog post. Thanks for including it.

I did remove some of the screws/plastic nuts which hold the plastic cap on so that I could get a secure metal to metal connection. I managed to get the spacer bar under part of the bracket with the threaded holes but the width of the rack didn’t permit me to get it on top of the holes. Good...

It is a. 2025- build date 2/25. There is a metal bed rail with a gray vinyl?grey cap over it. Ford supposedly strengthened the attachment points (floor to sides) on the 2025 trucks after getting a lot of complaints from customers who wanted to put racks or camper tops on them. The J-braces...

I used Yakima towers and round bars on my 2016 Tundra for nearly 10 years with no real problems but a close call last year. One of the clamps worked its way loose, but the canoes tied on top and front and rear kept it from falling off! I started checking them at every stop and never did regain...

The "crack" in the gunnel (in the photo with the thwart) appears to just be the seam between the inwale and outwale. My 1989 vintage Kevlar Explorer has the same junction lines on both gunnels, the full length of the canoe. You may have a little separation where the crack is wider, possibly...

This was an enjoyable read. I've kept most of my old Canoesport Journals and like to re-read the articles by Harry Roberts et al, usually on cold, snowy nights. The old ads are also interesting 40-50 years later.

I have Kevlar Explorer from 1988 which I bought about 8 years ago. It is a very versatile boat and has served me well- both tandem and solo. Its design allows me to pole it and paddle standing up using an SUP paddle, as well as the normal kneeling and sitting techniques. What year is it? In...

Glenn- thanks for posting this. There are so many good quotes; reading them was a great way to start my weekend!

Are you interested in River or lake paddling on this trip? Leigh Lake in Grand Teton, as mentioned already, is gorgeous but you need camping reservations way in advance using recreation.gov (which I do not like). The photo is from a bike trip we did in Grand Teton Park along the lake last...

Welcome. Looks like you got a great deal. I personally like the combination of a MR Explorer and beaver tail paddles when I paddle tandem.