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I once watched a pair of coyotes (there were probably a couple more in the area) working together to kill a deer... amazing ballet that moved out of sight after a short time, but I'm pretty sure I know how it ended. I've also been awakened by the cry of a rabbit being caught and eaten, which in...

I defended my bag against the maker of my avatar... So yeah, I'd throw rocks and shine light until Br'er Bruin went away. (It works. or did for me that one time.) I've actually had 3x run-ins with who I think is the same bear in the same part of a certain park I frequent, over the span of a...

I've used a couple things: Repositioning a small child or dog Food bag, day pack, and some other gear out of my main pack 2x water bladders, filled with the intent of adding weight A fairly large rock (in a wood canvas canoe; do not do this with a carbon fiber one.) A piece of heavy, wet...

Hemlock Nessmuk XL... picked up in Aug of 2019. Just Watco teak oil on the wood. Perfect condition. For comparison, my paddle in the background is two-tone, partly sunlight, but also from the finish... the yellow is some sort of resin and the grey is where I sanded it off and used boiled...

I have a hand-laid canoe and love it. Any blemishes remind me of the intensely personal relationship between the product and the maker... seems more like a unique sculpture vs a mass-cast bronze reproduction. 22lbs, with real wood trim, is light enough for me. Others may prefer otherwise, and...

I grew up about 20-30 miles south of @yknpdlr, near Syracuse, in the same era. We got a week of bitter cold, the "Siberian High" or "Alberta Clipper"/polar vortex being a normal thing every couple years in Jan or Feb, bringing temps a little below zero F... I also remember a thing we called the...

Both portaging and paddling. The buddy I was referring to had a roughly 18' (may have been longer) "ultralight" carbon fiber lake kayak that he apparently used for kayaking on the Great Lakes... It weighed in excess of 50lbs, probably closer to 75, and possibly more. So it took two of us to...

I saw this (knee pockets) on YouTube just yesterday... old guy took the back patch pockets off his old jeans and sewed them on to the new pants at the knee, and stuck carpet pad scraps into them so he could do home DIY repair projects... thought it was clever. I'd prefer velcro-closed ones...

Canoes-only here... have used kayaks, never "got it"... pack canoe is lighter, faster, easier in/out, greater cargo capacity, can move around more, etc. Full sized canoe is even better because you can stand up and stretch if you need to. I've tripped with people who kayaked because it's what...

I use boots for different things... for canoeing, I have a pair of neoprene NRS Boundary Boots, and they come up to just below my knee, for which I am grateful. for hunting, and canoeing before the NRS boots, I have a pair of Muck Boot Edgewaters... again, almost knee high. for snow, I have...

I usually paddle a sit-on-bottom Hemlock Nessmuk XL, with a double paddle... My Chum is a single stick, but I bring a double on some trips, in case of wind... I know there are tricks to it, but I just feel like I'm making better use of my energy in the wind with a double paddle.

Can't remember when I last posted here... latest books are Forest Walking, Grant's autobiography, History of Western Philosophy, and Life of Trees, among others.

I have a pair of 911s, and previously had some Proppers... both have velcro kneepad pouches, and they are a game changer for those over 40.

I too prefer a cook fire to a stove, and I always carry a small, ultralight alcohol stove and a few ounces of fuel for first night and emergencies. I also don't like mornings at all, and if it's chilly, I'll lay in bed while my oatmeal/tea water boils on that stove. I'm not a rabid "LNT" guy...

I've lost mostly small stuff; a washcloth got away from me while swimming/bathing once, and I accidentally left 30' of Kelty TripTease Lightline wrapped around a tree another time. I was given my first pocket knife at age 4, and kept it through my entire childhood. My mom still had it at her...

Useless/unused gear... where to start! but I guess that's all of us. I've been through almost every kind of cookpot, and have settled on a 5-cup aluminum boiler with a bail. I use a few smaller 'brew kits' for day hikes, all in the 20oz range, but still with a bail. I still have many pots and...

I got over any fear of the dark in the Army... leading patrols or movements during overcast/moonless nights, night vision goggles, starlight scopes, red-lens flashlights, thermal imaging systems, glow-in-the-dark lensatic compasses, and blackout-markers for driving; it all "normalized" operating...

Context re my way of doing things: There are several items I carry on lanyards in my pockets while camping; a pocket knife and compass on one side, and a lighter, whistle, and micro-light on the other. I also have a Photon mini-light attached to my backpack's drawstring (sort of like a closet...

Steve, So sorry for the ridiculously late response... Just now saw it. Yes, that is a West Marine CO2 inflatable PFD.

Couple thoughts... having raised 2 daughters, now in their 30s. If they're not having fun, they will quickly lose interest. Portaging is not fun if it's more than a few feet. Being wet, too cold, too hot, too thirsty, too tired, too hungry, bug bitten, sunburned, or footsore is not fun...