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I spend my time on the Chesapeake, Little Tupper/Low's/Lila/Long outside Long Lake, NY, or the St Regis Canoe Wilderness (and Floodwood). I have filled my entire canoe with garbage during a spring cleanup (just me, tired of it, not sponsored) of my little estuary of the Chesapeake... The result...

I don't do whitewater, and am not required to carry a throw bag. I have about 6-8' of painter on each end of my canoes, just enough to get out and keep it on a leash while fording or landing. It's mostly 3/16" nylon braided line.

I'm lucky to live in MD these days... water never freezes, and I just bought a pair of nice neoprene boots... I try to get out all winter, either camping or canoeing. It's just different than in Spring/Summer/Fall. Growing up in central NY, I did other stuff... snow-shoeing was probably my...

I do not build them. I don't like when people build them add something foreign to the perceived beauty of an area in the US. Where there's a pile of rocks to mark a trail or turnoff, I'm all for it. As mentioned, they can be lifesavers. Piled next to a stream for whatever 'aesthetic' reason...

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...