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I've been back and forth on this... most of it depends on portages; the more/harder, the more I try to stick to just one pair of shoes/boots (I try really hard to be an ultra-light backpacker who happens to also carry a canoe). As I've gotten older, going barefoot in the Adirondacks has...

I'm pretty comfortable with self-guidance in the woods.... I can read a map and orienteer pretty well, though I don't enjoy the task, and GPS sort of makes it an archaic skill, like dialing a phone or looking up a phone number in a directory. But I understand that some people aren't, and as...

I think you answered your own question. I squat on top of them, just like they're a hole in the ground. Not hanging my "parts" where they could get bit by a spider... (I got tagged by a black widow once, in the hand, in Louisiana... not a fun experience). If there's one in the campsite I'm at...

I own a Chestnut Chum and a carbon fiber Hemlock Nessmuk. I used to own an OT Yankee, and have access to it and an OT Fifty-Pounder. I prefer the W/C because they're alive... and quiet. They flex with the water, are warmer to sit/kneel in/on when it's cold, and your paddle knock doesn't...

I found the forum when it was called "solo trekking"... cuz I solo-trekked. I stay because I like you lot... you're full of good advice and trip reports.

I had a catalytic converter removed while parked for a weekend at the Priest trailhead, off the AT in Virginia (south of Charlottesville). Never had any trouble in the Adirondacks, but I have been driving an old Camry or my brother's old, rusty Chevy pickup. New truck/new car now, not sure how...

Good to see you back Rippy... hope all is well.

I have a similar "single carry" obsession. Points: I pack like I would for a backpacking trip. Light, no luxuries. I prefer early/late season camping, when I can use a simple 10x10 plowpoint with no bug netting, and sleep on a simple air mattress. This is the lightest possible method. If...

Not a fan of "cooking"... I'd eat a dog biscuit someone hands me before I cook for myself. ok, not literally, but close. My wife appreciates this trait, especially when an experiment goes badly; I'll still eat it. What few things I bother cooking, I cook well. I just don't care to be...

Back when I had a cell phone AND a camera, I'd have said cell phone. Now that I use my phone for everything, it's hard to leave behind, and it takes far better pics than my old digital camera ever did. I'm leaning more and more toward buying an InReach or SPOT as I get older, more for my...

I rediscovered backpacking before I rediscovered canoeing, both from my youth in Boy Scouts (and some overlap with family, as my uncle was my Scoutmaster). Because of that, I only carried a lot of stuff when I took my daughter or wife along... the rest of the time, still, I consider it...

Depends on the trip and mode of transport. My most frequent trip is actually an overnight backpacking trip to a specific spot here in MD. I know the water, and I drink straight from the source. On backpacking trips, I prefer Polar Pure iodine prills. Stupid-simple to use, and I personally...

A pillow. In my case, the small Aeros air pillow by Sea To Summit... 3oz, absolutely adjustable, absolutely essential. A cutting board... every time I leave it home, I regret it. Mine is a tiny slab of something thin and white, about 5x9. Slides down the side of my food bag. makes a table...

Delaware River, on a scout trip, around 1977 or so, somewhere in that stretch from Hancock down to Port Jervis. Pretty sure it was 3 days, 2 overnights. Mostly I remember blisters, sun, and the strange thing my steersman, an older scout, drank: Grapefruit juice. Swore it was the best thirst...

I live between Baltimore and Philly, and it takes longer to get the canoe on the car than it does to get it from the driveway into the water... My favorite local paddle is on a stretch called Gray's Run, with a little feeder called Cranberry Run. Both open out into the Bush River, which then...

I set up each of my daughters with a full tool chest for home repair when they left. In my youngest's case, she's the woodswoman, and while she's back with us again for awhile, I made sure she had one of everything for her own camping trips. Most of it was older versions of common gear that I...

Normally almost the same stuff I take on a day hike... small backpack, poncho, lunch, junk bag (compass, headlamp, TP, first aid kit, repair kit, notebook/pencil), water bottle. I leave the sit pad at home though, since i have a Crazy Creek folding seat for the canoe. I add a pair of binos...

Kind of an organized mess... The first shot is full length down the basement of my townhouse, used primarily for box storage and an archery range (13 yards). I now have a plywood backstop for the target. There's a nook in the end, around the corner, where I store my gear and have a craft room...

Sad to hear about FoxWorx... I have one of their doubles for my Nessmuk II, and love it... that said, I hope not to need another, ever.

Zip ties used to be sold in a plastic container about 3-4" wide and about a foot high. You can also still find old Saltine cracker tins in antique shops that would work. And around Christmas, EVERYTHING seems to come in a tin, and that's a good time to look for them. Both oatmeal and cornmeal...