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I Returned to the swelling of Alder Creek at Partlow Station to explore the vast beaver pond and two of the near by summits. https://www.facebook.com/paul.conklin.927/media_set?set=a.10208984717807637.1073741834.1607457177&type=3

I never trip with a cooler unless I am working out of my vehicle. My truck camping, super cooler, is a cheap plastic Coleman job that fits into a DIY lightweight plywood box that is lined with an additional 2" of polystyrene insulation. The lid of the exterior box has a foam gasket that seals...

I rate a fork by the pointyness of its tines. To be worthy, they must be able to pierce a piece of spinach struck to the bottom of a smooth salad bowl. My wife will testify that I will bring my own fork into a restaurant or to someone's house when invited to dinner. I am very passionate to my...

My kit has certainly evolved over the years. I have used wood, alcohol and gas fueled stoves before eventually settling for the convenience of the small isobutene burner. Even when it's cold, I find placing a cold canister in my breast pocket for several minutes gives it enough spunk to boil...

I believe the geographic zone for scrapple is rather small and fortunate for Mike he lives very near its epicenter. Together with his Scottish heritage, I'm sure there's a good deal of offal eatin' at the McCrea house.

Sardines, I love them but cannot think of a more powerful critter attractant, likewise to just about any oily, goopy or overly odoriferous food item. I too, have given up the fork, there isn't anything I can't eat with a spoon. The spork, IMO is worthless. If I need to stab at something, I'll...

Someone tell me if I did it (made them public, that is)

In the game of bocce the proper name for the target ball (golf ball) is the pallino, pronounced (pa-lean'-o) translated it means "tiny ball" unless you're from the Tuscany region, in which case, you should probably just call it the target. Oh, and Doug, it is not made of cheese curdled from...

I took four days to explore more of the Middle Branch Oswegatchie. I have traversed its route from the source at Walker Lake to the end of the Alder Bed Flow. This trip would concentrate on a section further downstream between the Jack-Works and Maple Hill. I was successful in reaching a point...

Sold

All of my canoes (solos) have center seats. I want the leading edge of that seat about 4 inches aft of the mid point of the canoe. I do have one tandem (an Old Town RX Appalachian) but both seats have been removed in favor of smaller thwarts to maximize room to walk about. It is my poling...

It looks like it could be the nest of a Carolina Wren; the belligerent behavior fits the bill as well. They tend to be quiet during the nestling phase until days before fledging when the parents will start singing from your workbench with a bug in their bill trying to lure the little ones from...

It was not an original idea but one I stole from William M. Harlow, a professor at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The ESF alumni newsletter was publishing journal excerpts from his summer stay at the Cranberry Biological Station from the early 1920's. He and a companion...

This is an excerpt from day three of what was to be a five-day trip on the Allegheny River in April 2008. Despite twice being awakened by passing freight trains I had a fair nights sleep and was up and packing by 6:00AM. I was ahead of schedule with only thirty miles to go and two days to do...

Put me down for 30', I need to build a better tomato trellis.

The insulated cups I have come across are either too heavy and/or bulky for my kit. When I found a titanium snow peak, I fell in love with its size and weight, only 1.2 ounces. Most titanium lightweights have foldout handles, I despise foldouts on my pots and likewise on a mug, the rim...

Paul Conklin (Curtis Mayfly) April 18-22 2016 Only one new body of water was added to my list of significant ponds of the Five Ponds. Most of the areas I went through, I have been to before, but never had I carried a canoe to Willys, Walker or Hawk Ponds. In my opinion, there is no better...

The flange-washer-accommodating bump out, or what I prefer to call, stop-n-go inwale radius routing is something I like to do. I first did it when using softwood for rails where I perceived a need to widen the head of a machine screw to minimize pull through. I learned to like the looks of it...

Thank you for noticing some of the minutiae details. You are the first person to ever notice and complement my chamfered bungee hole. The foam block foot braces have been cemented in place. I have paddled the SRT long enough to know my "sweet spot". An adjustable foot brace would be ideal but...

A Walnut tree stood in the path of a village sanitation line and was sacrificed to the project for the good of the community. The tree was in a family member's back yard, so I laid claim and went at it with chainsaw, maul and wedges; splitting its trunk into manageable, straight-grained pieces...