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I agree and this is my mode also. On the Yukon Y1K we each (all 7 of us voyageur canoe paddlers) carried our own gear and tents, except the two ladies who share their one tent. Women appear to be more comfortable at such sharing than men usually are. Team food was preplanned in mass to be...

Of course this is true, but what I refer to on the flat wide Yukon was common in deep water areas of the river that were a half mile wide or more with no indication of any "big bump on the river bottom" and the effect of faster side currents lasted for many hundreds of yards before we tested...

Not only are there different velocities in different vertical layers, but also in horizontal slices. I learned a lot during the Yukon River races. We could be moving nicely along with current and paddling our hearts out, but there were times and places in that broad massively moving volume of...

Much like Bill, when solo I never bother with a campire, unless sometimes boiling water in a kelly kettle counts as a campfirre. It just seems llike so much unnecesssary work when the time may be much better spent doing other things. When with sccouts it is practically mandatory to have a...

I agree. I love using my hammock in average relatively warm spring and fall nights, as well as all summer conditions. Since most of my campsites are quite primitive bushwhack sites rather than designated sites, I am not restricted to flat ground as I would be with a tent. Open designated sites...

i have three Hornbeck canoes. I acquired them exclusively for backcountry bushwhack travel through the wilderness off trail, pond to pond, where they excel. Which I have done a lot over many years, including on a 185 mile trip diagonally across the Adirondacks in a15 pound 10.5' Lost Pond...

Yup. My deep wilderness far off-trail bushwhacks with a heavy backpack trips that I used often do in my 20s-40s are well behind me. but I can at least now use one of my several accumulated canoes to do those heavier water based trips with relative ease. Sure, getting old sucks, but some will...

Correct, for example to turn left around a sharp river bend, paddle on the right side and lean to the right, the hull will make a left curving banana shape in the water. When I do this while solo, I will hear when the stern "breaks lock" with the surface as the bow spins to the left...

Charlie Wilson tuned me on to the outside lean years ago when he worked for Placid Boatworks. Most of my canoes respond well to rapid turning around sharp river bends with this method. Charlie explained it as presenting the shape of a banana with the hull to the water, which carves your canoe...

In some areas, specifically the Eastern High Peaks Wilderness of the Adirondacks, to be legal you must use a commercially made certified bear resistant hard side canister. Ursack bags and other flexible soft bags of the like are not legally acceptable, although those are useful protection in...

It is very possible to J-stroke with a bent shaft paddle. It is not quite as efficient or pretty as with a straight blade, but it does work. It is tough to do an effective Canadian stroke, but it can be awkwardly attempted. You can't do the Indian box silent stroke with a bent, or any other...

To me, nothing says "newbie" more than observing a paddler wildly switching paddling sides with lots of splashing as the canoe zigzags while making little obvious progress in determined direction of travel. A few loud curse words complete the picture. Only slightly less activity sccreaming...

Everyone knows the old adage of "how do you eat an elephant? - You do it one bite at a time. Approach high adventure or difficult activities the same way. Just make it to crest the next hill, or the next bend in the river, then look for the next one just ahead and do the same.

For many years I was an instructor for an 8-day BSA trek leader guide certification training program. Before coming to the course, prospective students (typically of college age) were given a questionnaire about their perceived abilities and experience. The natural tendency is to exaggerate...

Time to get back to the old yearly trip, now that the dam is competed (again). I have been there nearly 50 times, including 30 years every June while instructing an 8-day trek leadership certification program for BSA high adventure guide training. Plus separately my own personal solo trip nearly...

i totally agree with Gumpus above. It makes no sense to me to attempt that configuration. Plus, how would you securely attach the sponsons below waterline? if your motor gives you any advantage in any speed all, the force of water drag will llikely rip the sponsons off. If only one is lost...

I know of at least one voyageur canoe team (7paddlers) who purchased two weeks worth of self heating MREs for the Yukon 1000 mile race. Not the only bad decision they made in their sad showiing.

As the saying goes, "getting old is tough, but it sure beats the alternative". A day after an aggressive uphill mountain bike ride, I was picking blueberries but not tell where my left hand was without looking at it and it felt like I was lifting 50 pounds. My wife noticed my face droop and...

I have raced a 34' carbon voyageur canoe, a 28' cedarstrip voyageur canoe, each with 7 paddlers, and 23' C4 canoes on the Yukon, all with fresh cherry snacks in front of my bow navigation seat, I think this photo is from the 34' voyageur. If you think that looks choppy, you should have seen the...

I believe that "can't" is mostly a state of mind, less of a physical limitation. I'll never compete again the same way in canoe races as I once could like those who I paddle with and against who are half my age, but as a member of the "Gold' Club" due to my number of entries in the annual...