Search results

I am essentially a lightweight backpacker who happens to carry a canoe, most of the time. I prefer a 3" thick full length Thermarest NEOAir much of the time. 18oz. In cooler weather, I go with the better R-rating of a Klymit Static-V, and if conditions permit/necessitate, I lay a foam pad...

My wife and I were married in 1986... at the time, we instituted a $50 rule... more than that, you declared your intent, it was discussed, and generally approved. Now, 37 years later, it's more like $75... but she's pretty tolerant of the habit, knowing I will drive her nuts if I don't get...

I put 3-5, but mostly because that's just about as far as I need to paddle any canoe to get where I want to be (St Regis, mostly). I've pushed, and it's not fun. Once I get "there", I like get camp set up, stay in the same spot for a few days, and paddle day trips from that camp. And that's...

Since the cell phone camera has evolved as far as it has, I no longer carry a separate camera. I kept my camera in a little holster, either on my belt or hooked on some thick wires on the thwart. I keep my phone in my left breast pocket while underway, and in my right cargo pocket while...

Great trip report. Turtle/Slang were where I took my daughter on her earliest trips (Low's was another). And the island lean-to on Follensby Clear, last time I was there a couple years back, was home to one of the most entitled red squirrels I've ever run across. Little dude was a complete...

Trip length makes no difference. All that changes there is food, and my trips are usually overnight if backpacking, 2-4 overnights if canoeing, and rarely as long at 5 overnights. To me, everything is about the portages. The older I am, the lighter the canoe. For hard trips it's a Hemlock...

I've got three wannigans... When I lived in LA, mostly I did out and back bayou or lake trips, no portaging, and one of them was made of 3x pieces of 1"x 12" pine with plywood sides. A bungi cord run handle-to-handle kept the lid on, and a piece of weatherstripping around the top edge made it...

I'll say right off that I've never done more than 5 days alone... I don't do well by myself for too long, and miss people. But I'll quickly add that companionship makes anything tolerable. I have been 6 weeks without a proper bath/shower, 5 weeks with exactly the same meal 2x a day, and...

I've been back and forth on this... most of it depends on portages; the more/harder, the more I try to stick to just one pair of shoes/boots (I try really hard to be an ultra-light backpacker who happens to also carry a canoe). As I've gotten older, going barefoot in the Adirondacks has...

I'm pretty comfortable with self-guidance in the woods.... I can read a map and orienteer pretty well, though I don't enjoy the task, and GPS sort of makes it an archaic skill, like dialing a phone or looking up a phone number in a directory. But I understand that some people aren't, and as...

I think you answered your own question. I squat on top of them, just like they're a hole in the ground. Not hanging my "parts" where they could get bit by a spider... (I got tagged by a black widow once, in the hand, in Louisiana... not a fun experience). If there's one in the campsite I'm at...

I own a Chestnut Chum and a carbon fiber Hemlock Nessmuk. I used to own an OT Yankee, and have access to it and an OT Fifty-Pounder. I prefer the W/C because they're alive... and quiet. They flex with the water, are warmer to sit/kneel in/on when it's cold, and your paddle knock doesn't...

I found the forum when it was called "solo trekking"... cuz I solo-trekked. I stay because I like you lot... you're full of good advice and trip reports.

I had a catalytic converter removed while parked for a weekend at the Priest trailhead, off the AT in Virginia (south of Charlottesville). Never had any trouble in the Adirondacks, but I have been driving an old Camry or my brother's old, rusty Chevy pickup. New truck/new car now, not sure how...

Good to see you back Rippy... hope all is well.

I have a similar "single carry" obsession. Points: I pack like I would for a backpacking trip. Light, no luxuries. I prefer early/late season camping, when I can use a simple 10x10 plowpoint with no bug netting, and sleep on a simple air mattress. This is the lightest possible method. If...

Not a fan of "cooking"... I'd eat a dog biscuit someone hands me before I cook for myself. ok, not literally, but close. My wife appreciates this trait, especially when an experiment goes badly; I'll still eat it. What few things I bother cooking, I cook well. I just don't care to be...

Back when I had a cell phone AND a camera, I'd have said cell phone. Now that I use my phone for everything, it's hard to leave behind, and it takes far better pics than my old digital camera ever did. I'm leaning more and more toward buying an InReach or SPOT as I get older, more for my...

I rediscovered backpacking before I rediscovered canoeing, both from my youth in Boy Scouts (and some overlap with family, as my uncle was my Scoutmaster). Because of that, I only carried a lot of stuff when I took my daughter or wife along... the rest of the time, still, I consider it...

Depends on the trip and mode of transport. My most frequent trip is actually an overnight backpacking trip to a specific spot here in MD. I know the water, and I drink straight from the source. On backpacking trips, I prefer Polar Pure iodine prills. Stupid-simple to use, and I personally...