Recent content by Steve in Idaho

Fascinating. Flaming Gorge and the Uintas are awesome. From the second article... Oops.

My first post above was cynical and probably a little off the subject. Where I was is no longer what I consider backcountry. Growth and development have rendered it more accurately front country. Advertising and outfitters have brought the crowds - not writers like Callan. This wasn't his doing...

To be fair, I don't think the vast majority are reading Callan or anyone else that matters. But we can hope that doesn't apply to those who aspire to deeper travels into canoe country.

I mentioned my recent visit to the Teton River in another thread. There were significantly more people on the river than the last time I was there. Mostly daytrippers and mostly on SUPs. Halfway between access points, a mature bull moose entered the river ahead of me. I and my group eddied out...

I just used original Weldwood contact cement.

I have added minicell foam foot blocks in two of my solos now. Just wedges cut from yoga blocks and glued in place where they fit me. If and when I sell those canoes, the new owner can always remove them if they don't like them. I'll soon do the same for the Wildfire. They add hardly any weight...

So this morning I'm thinking about the reservoirs I visit the most - those within an hour from home. The closest was created as a shallow irrigation impoundment, holding water diverted from the Boise River. It was given a second purpose after its creation, as a wildlife preserve. It now...

Yes, but we're talking about only an additional what - twelve feet? And a very small fraction of additional acreage. Without the dams, they're still very large natural lakes, and Pend Oreille still being over 1100' deep. You can include Bear Lake in that as well.

Relax. It's just a point for discussion. I don't think anyone here believes we should keep all dams for recreational purposes - or any other reason FTM. Personally, I see both sides of the issue. As much as I would love to see a resurgence of free flowing rivers, I also recognize that there is...

Especially if that 20' pole comes with 8' arm spread. ;)

But you can see it....sort of. The shape of the luff (leading edge), the belly, and the leech (trailing edge) of the sail tell a lot about what the unseen is doing and the sailor could do better. Not to forget the telltales in the body of the sail, if they've been installed. I miss sailing. So...

20' poles....holy carp!

When I think of what these dams have done to the salmon migration, it always leads me to the plight of the mom&pop commercial fishing community. I had family in that biz, and I can only imagine how much better they would have done with a healthy fishery - which we cannot have in this reality. In...

Redfish Lake. When I was young, the old timers had stories of the lake outlet so full of spawners that it was a solid stream of red/orange. Before the days of active game management, one could wade out and grab an armload of salmon. Edit:...and then the dams happened.

Without the system of dams on the Boise, this Treasure Valley community wouldn't exist. Much of the farmland that is being swallowed up by development lies in what was historically the seasonal flood plain. That farmland itself would be too dry for any significant production if not for the...