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My wife was office manager at Camp Russell for 6 years in the early 2000's. She stayed in the small cabin on the lake shore and swam every morning. My daughter was Russell's first ever female waterfront director and then a voyageur high adventure trek guide. I guided 5 day wilderness treks...

Every once in a while a swarm of dragonflies will descend and magically all of the black flies disappear from the area. Later in the season, the same with deer flies. I've had several of them land on my shirt as I welcome their presence. There is almost no greater joy than to experience seeing...

I have inherited a 1951 IH Farmall Cub tractor that I grew up on as a kid, the tractor and I are exactly the same age. it has a sidebar sicle hay cutterr that I waned to use on my own property. It sat unused for over 30 years amd it needed a lot of work, including new tires and severe rusty gas...

I have paddled my PB Rapidfire for the majority of the 30 years I have been a wilderness high adventure wilderness guide trek leader instructor for BSA National Camping School in the Adirondacks. I carry all of my own personal gear and food, plus a good share of the group gear, not to mention...

Why did the salamander cross the road? NYSDEC has a program for protecting amphibians during migration season. A migration may only be a trip across a highway. I can remeber some seasons that we called "national frog and toad night" when it seemed that hundreds of the critters were hopping...

About 20 years ago, shortly after Hennessey and other backpacker tripping style hamocks were (nearly) perfected, a freind introduced me to one, only in rare instances (along the treeless banks of the Yukon, for example) have I gone back to ground ever since. Although you do need an insulating...

A cabbage salad actually denydrates and rehydrates quite well, remaining criispy. Add a small bottle of dressing of your choice after rehydrating.

I got the Textreme Lite with light Textreme interior, Pro Package, and everything optional in all carbon, sliding seat and integrated footbrace. Race seat is elevated an extra inch as is my preference. I have a first generation Rapidfire, which has been my workhorse tripping canoe and solo...

A fellow experienced racing friend contacted me about a year ago, saying he can't figure out why his new SR Blackwater kept wanting to veer to the left, no matter how he thought he was paddling as straight as he could. But without more correction strokes than he thought should be necessary, it...

I had exactly the same thing happen during an upstream race when my GRB carbon paddle got wedged betwen slabs of broken shale. Luckily I had a spare on board and was able to keep going. GRB repaired it with a layer of glass. it was repaired nicely, but is now just a spare paddle.

Oh G'pa, don't give up so easily. I began canoe racing with the 90 miler in 1997 at age 46, and have not missed any year of that race since then, including training for this year now age 74. I raced my first Yukon River Quest 11 years later and my first and second Yukon 1000 mile races at age...

Any of the out of water methods of determining paddle length ( such as overhead 90 degree arms, or the chair while seated method) are a wild rough guess at best, but the only real way to get an accurate measurement is from within the canoe that you will be paddling with crew and expected gear on...

I'll be paddling the Adirondack NFCT “Around the Mountain” race in May, and any other Adirondack region races that crop up. Blue Mountain if it is held again this year, and, of course my 29th consecutive Adirondack Canoe Classic, the "90 Miler" followed by the Long Lake Long Boat Regatta two...

JV - You may have a point, but know that the "tunnel" fabric as it was fitted in segments around each voyageur or C4 paddler was quite loose, not cinched tightly in any way, so that the paddlers in their seats could slide easily side on wheeled seat rollers side to side for each "hut' (itself...

After I certified in my state's training as a white water/ flood rescue technician, I purchased the Mustang, which is what instuctors and students all used during training. It hangs safely in my canoe shed, awaiting to be called for a water SAR incident, not to be used for routine paddlling.

"The cremation of Sam McGee" was always the favorite poem to be loudly and confidently recited totally from memory around a BSA campfire. I always wanted to do it, but there are some guys who put much more heart and emphasis on certain parts than I ever could. That and "The Spell of the Yukon"...

I have discovered large packages of precooked bacon in BJ's, also smaller packages in local supermarkets. it appears to be 90-95% fully cooked and equally grease free. I have kept it for a couple of months in the fridge at my cabin without any noticeable deterioration. At home, a few slices...

Bonjour, Voyageur

Pea fun. Think of common phrases that can be used with "pea". Keep it (mostly) clean. For example, here is a select sample list from more than 80 that I have come up with: Can you tell I am a product of the 1960's? If you can think of more, I have probably already listed them. 1. What do you...

Boy scout finger game: Arrange 0-5 sticks randomly on the ground or a table, parallel or randomly crossed. "What number is this?" observers go nuts trying to guess the pattern and how it represents any possible number. meanwhile, the stick arranger discretely puts a hand down off to the side...