Recent content by VA paddler

Started this late Saturday night with a beverage. Somewhere in the neighborhood of the third beverage I zonked out. When I woke up around dawn, the dude was still paddling and the little red bar was only about 3/4 of the way across the screen. Will have to rewind and start anew.

If you paddle Spednik Lake you get a day on a beautiful big lake with plenty of camping options. Funny - I’ve taken both daughters, separately, on this trip. Each commented on the lake. One wanted to know why Canada looked so much like Maine - it’s a different color on her map of the world… The...

Gadabyte - the St Croix is a good option. Fun light class 2 rapids throughout, lots of campsites, easy logistics if you use C&C Canoe for your shuttle, great smallmouth fishing. Start in Vanceboro & take 3 days to the Kellyland dam. Start at the top of Spednik Lake and add a day and a night...

Cape of Good Hope & Victoria Falls

Just climbed Table Mtn via Skeleton Gorge. 8km; 950 meters of elevation gain; 90 degrees; 5 hours; not enough water.

100%. And... Everyone has different responsibilities and different baggage and different perspective. As a young guy, I paddled all the time. No wife, no kids, just a cheap mortgage, a junky car, and a nice canoe. Then came wife & kids & bigger job, and I gave up paddling frequently for...

RPATCH, glad to know that tossing your pfd on a flat spot of ground is a universally acknowledged sign of "that's my tent spot." Your set-up process sounds much akin to mine. But I must say, in our camps, not much of anything happens prior to the first pot of coffee (or tea) being made in the...

Recped's map case is quite voluminous. I'm certain I recall things being lost in it. You can't need anything bigger. Myself, I like the Watershed deck bag made for k***kers - it has a window for a map. I print out maps at home and have them laminated at the local office supply store - 2 pages...

I have a NRS Riptide jacket - great for paddling in the rain and cold on top of a wetsuit. Oppressive if its not cold and raining. Carhart Storm Defender for working in the rain around the harbor. But for real durable, water proof, hard wearing gear, there's nothing like Grunden's.

You're not allowed on the Megiscane again, anyway, until you finish last summer's trip report! : )

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/business/costco-chicken-lawsuit-preservatives.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share Thank god you didn’t feed it to the sea gulls!!

We don't eat fish on our trips often, but when we do, it tends to be an intentional decision once we've made camp - as in, "let's see if we can catch something for dinner." Since we are the crew that also likes their cocktails cold, on occasion, caught fish have ended up in ziplocs in the cooler...

I’m with Memaquay. Perspective is important. For a couple week trip to Quebec, what’s my environmental footprint? Just the 100 gallons of gas that it takes to get me there and back… then there’s the train, the coffee that’s coming from Indonesia, all the gear that’s made in Asia or Europe… I can...

We met Jean and the girlfriend this spring. Nice folks. They gave us and our gear a lift from the sign where you tented (and where the train dropped us) to their put-in. Interested to hear how the rest of your journey unfolded.

Successful journey & great TR. I’d like to challenge any future paddler who tries to recreate this trip to see if they can make a CostCo chicken last longer….