Recent content by Mason

I paddled the Nantahala a fair bit in the mid-late 70s, and remember it mostly as a gas station and restaurant. It quickly changed! By 1985, it was a far cry from its beginnings. In college, I'd leave from Durham after work on Friday, get there about 11pm, paddle (kayak, in a homemade Lettman...

I have a friend that has mentioned doing it next year, but he has other trips in mind, too (which I hope to do with him). I'll throw your name in the hat if the Horton trip forms.

It's interesting this thread popped back up. Adam Shoalts has a new book out about Hubert Darrell, who disappeared on the Anderson River in 1910: Vanished Beyond the Map, The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell, now available on Amazon.

When my daughter and I were going through the papyrus waterways of the Okavango via makoro a few years ago, all of a sudden the boats ahead of us were backing up swiftly, having come across an unexpected hippo. Although nothing happened, things were pretty exciting, as there's not much room to...

Here's another from my Horton Trip--Arctic ground squirrel (sik-sik). This time I added something for scale.

Yeah, I usually give something for scale, but.... I believe this was an old female. The skull was smaller than expected, and the molars were well worn. I've handled 500 pound grizzlies, and this was a far cry from that! Maybe 300#?? It's been a long time since I've had to estimate bear...

Muskox tracks along the Horton River, NWT.

Grizzly skull, shore of Franklin Bay near mouth of the Horton River, NWT.

Grace is in the eye of the beholder. Having paddled sit-and-switch almost exclusively for almost 45 years, primarily in skinny solo canoes, it is effortless for me, and is like riding a road bike on good asphalt compared to riding a mt. bike on a rough dirt road (with flat tires). This summer...

Waterfowl can be a significant component of bald eagles' diet. I've seen ravens kill heron chicks in the nest while the adults were away (flushed). The chicks were almost the size of the ravens. The ravens pecked the chick and then drug it out of the nest, falling probably 40 feet.

I have a 17' PakCanoe and have used it extensively in northern Canada and Alaska. It is well suited for fly-in expeditions, and does well in big lakes and whitewater. It is beamy (38") and slow. Their 16'5" canoe is much narrower and I'd assume faster. They take 30 minutes or so to put...

"A canoe that can paddle itself with robotic arms, leaving the operator free to take a deep breath, sit back, and concentrate on not capsizing." https://hackaday.com/2025/09/01/robotic-canoe-puts-robot-arms-to-work/ As I enjoy paddling, this doesn't do it for me. However, drone re-supplies...

Spending 139 days with my two brothers would be much more of a feat than rowing 9000 miles.

Yeah, but I didn't see any Grummans or OCAs!

Wow! Lots of disappearing boats, followed by impressive recoveries!