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I fondly remember the old "Canoe" magazine with its numerous articles, photos and informative stories. Reading Mike Galt, Harry Roberts and others was my introduction to the philosophy and art of canoeing. I poured over those early magazines and spent endless hours absorbing all the knowledge...

I picked up a trailer like that years ago when I was guiding. A welder friend of mine converted it so I could carry up to 6 canoes; or 12 kayaks. I got out of the business in the early 2000s but the trailer is still going strong. I gave it to a local young man who was starting up a paddling...

The majority of my gator experiences have been in the Okefenokee NWR. It seems as if they see people often enough that we're no longer a curiosity. The only time I've ever experienced gator issues has been at the camping platforms; which all tend to have at least one human food habituated...

@Microtus - I'd love a full review on your ZenBivy set up after you've had some time with it on trips. I've been looking at them for a few months now but have been reluctant to pull the trigger. It looks like a wonderful system but don't want to spend the cash until I hear from real world...

A bit envious of your northern lights sighting. Other than one evening, every time they've been predicted for my part of NYS, we've had cloudy nights. That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well. snapper

Not exactly paddling specific but these were all used a lot when out on trips: Let's be like a baby and head out! Let's be like a tree and leave... Let's be like a hockey player and get the puck out of here! And my own all time favorite, and more in the paddling arena..."there is nothing -...

@Odyssey - Like you, we use cloth napkins with our evening meal but I was raised with napkin rings and cloth place mats. Kind of tough to preserve my rugged image (LOL) with a place setting like that! Until next time...be well. snapper

I've used all three options for when you run out of paddle-able water and need to walk your gear overland. It all depends on where I am at the time. In the Adirondacks, it's always a carry. Outside of the region, it depends on which side of the border, or what the locals say when they refer...

Spoke with my neighbor up the hill the other day and our local black bear visited their house this past Saturday night. They still had some bird food out in their feeders. That was all it took for the invitation to be accepted. Not sure about other locations but in NYS it's recommended that...

I am also a side sleeper and honestly, I'm not a fan of many of the newer sleeping pads. I originally went with the standard 20" wide pads and found they weren't wide enough for me. Even though it meant more $$$, I laid out the cash and invested in a 25" wide Nemo Tensor pad. Maybe it's just...

Looks like an interesting paddle but I'm pretty sure I couldn't convince my wife to join me on it. I paddle a lot of sections of the Erie Canal but there's nothing like this along the sections I travel. I think the closed-in feeling of this is what would get to my wife. Unlike the canal where...

The best turtle sighting I ever had was down in the Okefenokee. We came around a bend and there, sunning together on the same log, was a painted turtle and an alligator. It was early spring so I'm sure they were both just soaking up the warmth but it did seem odd to see this pair together...

I used to do the General Clinton canoe regatta for many years down here on the Susquehanna but once my partner moved, I've never been tempted to do it again. He had just the right amount of seriousness for us to practice but not so much that we couldn't have fun with it. Our goal each year was...

Didn't know him well but I still miss Harry... Until next time...be well. snapper

Years ago I taught an outdoor cooking & nutrition class for my college's outdoor leadership minor. The goal was for my students to be able to develop a week long menu of breakfasts, lunches, dinners & snacks without having to replicate the same meals over and over again. I also wanted them to...

Still looking for the Susquehanna to open up here in my part of NYS. Glad folks have been able to get out. Our snow is finally gone but there's still a lot of ice on the ponds and local waterways. Guess it's time to go for a hike instead. That's all for now. Take care and until next...

For what it's worth, I've found the overall length of my paddle is based on the canoe I'm in. Years ago I used to be part of a group that paddled a 24' long Voyageur canoe. We sat pretty high above the water so needed a longer paddle to reach it. When I moved back into my solo boat, I was a...

@lowangle al - I've paddled both the traditional Oswegatchie route (Inlet to High Falls) and the stretches of the Raquette River that run from Long Lake down to Tupper as early as the third week in May. For years I would do end-of-the-year canoe trips with my students and these were the two...

@clemency beat me to it! I used to show "Nanook of the North" to the students in my outdoor adventure group. I was able to get it via the library's inter-campus loan service. It came on multiple reels. Thank goodness I was a bit of a tech geek in my younger years as I remembered how to run...

Glad to see you got out and were able to enjoy the day. My part of NYS is still all hard water; inhabited more by ice fishermen than paddlers. The only running water I've seen is falling over a dam but 20'upstream of that it's still all ice. That's all for now. Take care and until next...