Recent content by Steve in Idaho

I don't think I'd ever give up a change of clothes to save weight. One slip and fall while getting out of the canoe after a long day has convinced me of that. After seeing all the tackle it takes to make a hang in some locations, I wonder if you really safe much weight over a small bear vault...

Add to that list the Snake River and Lost River in Idaho...sort of. The Lost River never did make it to the sea. It made it to the historical lava beds in the Snake River plain and entirely dissapeared there into the aquifer at or before the Lost River Sinks - hence, the name. It wasn't actually...

I went with the carbon fiber grip. It was going to be a bit of a loose fit, so I gave the plug one wrap of 4 oz fg. That made it perfect. That makes it a $115 paddle. 😉 Fixed for good, I think.

That's gorgeous! Which layup did you get?

@Sdrew22 you made a great score! That Mohawk Solo 14 is a very underrated canoe. Mine probably won't be for sale until I die.

I view this one as an especially enticing trap. In fact, people are used to hearing the admonishment "stick to the plan" as if that's a virtue or protection. Yet, I would argue it's the cause of death in countless outdoor incidents.

Know what's happening upstream indeed. A friend of mine was walking along one of our smaller rivers hunting birds with a buddy. It was early winter, and flow was untypically low. What they didn't know was that there was an ice dam upstream thet had backed up a lot of water. That dam broke while...

Thanks, @canootrippa .

It's been a while since I had the Fisherman, but I think I can still comment. Because it's so short and wide, I don't think you can get a good vertical forward stroke with a bent shaft as you will need to avoid yaw - and especially from either seat. When I paddled the Fisherman solo, I found...

Kinda figured. I'll be leaving my ADA compliant EDC knife home.

Oh, I am so gonna do that!

Thanks for confirming my suspension about Duraflex. I continue to be impressed by the durability of even my kevlar Solitude with its S glass skin. Also reaffirms my thought that the Clipper P14 should be a great whitewater tripper.

Oh, good points! The waves I run from on the bigger lake are very different from what I was just on. Way more fetch. Way deeper water.

It occurs to me that I have never experienced a tailwind while loaded for a multi day trip. It's always been on day trips with not much more than myself in the canoe. So I did a test with the Solitude the other day. I've never paddled it with more than a day tripping load before, and I thought...

I hadn't even considered bear bangers. I was assuming they're not allowed in Bowron Lakes. I've always wondered.... aren't they kind of a fire hazard?