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Raining in Duluth with no snow to speak of....

I have a Mohawk Odyssey 15 in Royalite (maybe), an old Swift Osprey in fiberglass/kevlar and a Hemlock SRT. I'll use the Odyssey for really bony stuff, the Osprey for moderately bony and the SRT for trips where I don't think the hull will get much dragging or shallow river abuse. To Gamma's...

I think the SRT is often characterized as responsive but also tippy, though like everything such a declaration is often in the eye of the beholder. I remember a dog owner on here whose dog hated the SRT because it was so deep that the dog couldn't put its nose on the gunwale when lying down...

For below freezing conditions I love Steger Mukluks.

I had (and perhaps still have) an early version of the mantis. The only thing I hated about it was that the pole sleeve was only slightly larger than the long pole. I found that a pain to take deal with. The shelter itself was very easy to set up and otherwise enjoyable. Currently use a CSS Lean...

Spraydecks seem like a good idea for expedition river travel and nice to have for lake travel. For daily paddling, probably unneccessary. For whitewater, flotation is probably best. Back to Art's specific question about the SRT: I think it would be less likely to need a spraydeck or other...

I think most canoes would benefit from a spraydeck, though I also thinnk the SRT, given its depth, runs dryer than many canoes. Here's my SRT with spraydeck on Brennan Lake in Wabakimi. Spraydeck was made by Cooke Custom Sewing.

One of my heroes as well. I love in Sleeping Island when he declares, standing on some vista with lakes spread out befor him, "Well, I suppose I shall never be so happy again." Sums up deep, immersive canoe tripping. I'll have to track down his journals.

Hi all, Looking to get my hands on a Swift Raven if anyone is willing to part with one or knows of someone who might be willing to sell. I live in Duluth, MN, so I don't see many Swifts in this neck of the woods. Thanks!

Great, in-depth report. Thanks! Your pops is a beast. I looked through a few of my photos to try to capture the water level difference. The Brightsand shot mirrors a pic you took. That stretch of river on the Kopka was challenging in high water as well (early marked sets), and there was a...

I'm excited to read this! I did a 24 day solo in Wabakimi last summer (2022-high water year), and this route was the second half of my trip. It'll be fun to see it in low water and to hear about it from your perspective.

Michael, I totally understand your feelings about capsizes being 'unacceptable' on remote rivers, which you've mentioned often. But it's also true that sometimes sh*t happens, even with plenty of experience and even (sometimes) while exercizing reasonable judgement. (I'm not saying that's the...

For me, the appeal of a long trip is the amount of time spent in the 'sweet spot.' Not thinking about what you left behind, not thinking about what you're going back to, but having an extended amount of time living 'in the moment,' taking each day as it comes. My experience is the longer the...

I canoed the Albany as a 17 year old at camp Menogyn, and the attawapiskat on my honeymoon 25 years ago. The link-up of these two rivers is chronicled in the article, and is part of my dream solo trip—upper Albany, Martin drinking river, lower attawapiskat. Thanks for sharing, Glenn.

I had a dagger venture named Edventure after Edward Abbey.

I have the Hiyaks but will opt for the Rassler 2.0 next time around. The Hiyaks are a little too thin for my taste, but they held up fine to a lot of use last summer.

Astral boots for canoeing and a low-top pair of astrals for in camp. The flaw with this system is that if the high-tops blow out for any reason, the low tops are not a great second choice in terms of ankle stability.

so cool!

Lots of snow on the ground in Duluth, but it rained all day today, which is almost unheard of for mid-February. It’s been a strange winter.

My plan last summer was to paddle the same route solo, but I drove up to the put-in at Osnaburgh and just wasn't comfortable given the high water. I ended up hatching a plan B in Wabakimi. It's not on my radar for next summer, but my plan in the not-too-distant-future is to paddle the upper...