Recent content by tketcham

Good to know! Did the foam actually get damaged? That's what I wonder about.

That's the number one reason I will continue to bring a Garmin inReach device. Plus, it's far more durable and reliable than my "smart" phone. I do like the satellite capability of my phone when I'm traveling through or car camping in areas without coverage.

Moose in New England get infested with winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) and there can be so many (10's of thousands) that young or severely infested moose can die from it. Luckily these ticks don't go for humans. Winter ticks

Perhaps true but the foam core in my Firebird wraps up into the chine of the hull and a bad hit right at the margin of the foam might cause some tricky damage to repair. Just speculation on my part and I hope to keep it that way. 😄

I think those two factors plus cost are considered with each build but one or the other gets priority, at least that's what I consider when shopping for a canoe. And look at how many canoes with durable but heavy layups are sold, where weight wasn't the priority. I used to own a heavy-duty...

Used to be road bicycling in the summer and skiing (alpine & Nordic) in the winter but I don't ride roads anymore and I'm only a half-hearted mountain bike rider. Fifteen years ago I moved away from some of the best Nordic skiing in North America and ended up 15 miles from a big alpine ski...

The Yakima Timberline towers ($240) and round bar adapters ($30) fit the rails on our Subaru Crosstrek and work well, even at interstate highway speeds. I hated having to give up on my old Yakima Q-clip towers, though, they were still in really good shape. At least I got my money's worth after...

I think car manufacturers should be the ones to come up with a better solution. Back when cars had roof gutters you could buy a roof rack and it would fit on just about all of the cars sold. But now that gutters are gone and roof rails dominate, Yakima and Thule have to accommodate all those...

I resemble that remark. 😆

I used to have the attitude that a little bit of plastic burned in a campfire was a proverbial drop in the ocean but not anymore. Sure, if I'm the only one burning a little garbage the harm is minimal, but millions of people go camping every year so the effect isn't small. Now I pack out...

I don't use cloud accounts so maybe I can send you a direct message with an attached file. I'll try it...

Yup, and you're welcome. I actually find spreadsheets and charts to be fun. And let USGS know that their data is useful. This is something new that they're offering and they could use some encouragement to keep it going. I'm not familiar with the suggested run levels you provided (never ran the...

A limited/permitted hunt of cougars (for meat) near residential areas might be somewhat effective in reducing attacks. Biggest problem is hunting IN residential areas. The overpopulation of deer is a related problem. Too many deer in and near residential areas but no good way to hunt them. I've...

As with most human foibles, the range of biophobia to biophilia is a spectrum but extremes in either direction probably aren't good for us. For example, I don't spend as much time in the woods or along streams and shorelines as I once did because of the risk of ticks/disease and the interaction...

I'm really looking forward to canoeing in 2026, more so than usual. Last year was an OK year but due to other commitments and priorities we didn't get out as much as I like. This year is dedicated to canoeing so I'm hoping to do a lot more camping and backcountry trips, paddling with friends...