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Book. Olympus Tough camera. Helinox chair (only started bringing a chair 2 or 3 years ago, as I passed the mid-70s mark)

I carry two, usually BD. On canoe trips, one tends to stay in the tent and one in my pack. Hiking, both in pack. Plus xtra batteries of course. So many here seem to prefer Petzl that I may try one again...

I also use a Fillo. It packs very small, and is easy to open, inflate, & close. The only con for me is that it's squeaky in certain positions, but not enough to overcome the good points.

I prefer "carry" -- why not use English in an English speaking setting? When I feel I should use portage, I mostly use the French pronunciation, but sometimes I slip and use option 2 above.

I paddle solo on camping trips, so there's only one option.

Getting in from a shallow bottom is the easy part. Getting in from a dock or similar hard, raised situation is the challenge. On the Hornbeck Boats website they have a video demonstrating the weird process they recommend for that. The first part of the video is the shallow-water situation --...

Drying out clothing, gear, & the Big Agnes Copper Spur, last summer in Algonquin Provincial.

I've seen them in Maine, New Hampshire, NY (Adks), and Algonquin -- hiking & paddling. Years ago a hike along the Carter range in the Whites was stalled by a cow with calf right by the trail. I tried making noises and moving around, but every time I got too insistent she lowered her head and...

I've always paddled a lightweight pack canoe (Hornbecks) with a double paddle. I tried a couple of kayaks when I started paddling, along with some canoes. I prefer the canoes vs kayaks for the same reasons in the original post, plus the weight which makes them easy to carry longer distances...

I never listen to music on the trail or water, or in a campsite. Driving TO it -- whether a long drive to a weeklong trip, or a day trip -- I listen to a mix of rock (mostly classic or progressive), classical, jazz, blues, and new age space music. I like the contrast, so I might be listening...

A week ago I lost my Olympus Stylus Tough camera in the Adirondacks. I was ready to paddle out at the end of an 8 day loop trip, canoe loaded. I turned around to look at the campsite a last time, and clearly took a bit too long, and hadn't made sure the canoe was secure. I turned around and...

I'm fairly stripped down. Maybe 2 or 3 items of clothing too many. The main offender is a folding saw. I almost never make fires the last few years, and on the few occasions when I get sentimental and do one (maybe the last night) it's a small teepee fire of small & medium sticks. But the...

I've often felt a bit guilty when birds do that thing of flying ahead of me over & over. It makes sense to go ahead of people since we're coming from the other direction so they fly the other way, but it ends up being counterproductive. I have found that eventually they do loop around & go...

Thanks for the links and good advice. I don't mind about fire bans because I rarely make fires these days. Sometimes I make a small wigwam type fire one of the last nights for half an hour or so before going to sleep, but not even every trip the last two or three years. When I leave, a...

I was thinking of a few days trip in Algonquin, but the wildfire situation is giving me doubts. Does anyone know how bad the air is there, and what the wildfire situation looks like? I see there have been/are some fires in or near the park, but can't get a handle on the outlook.

Big Agnes Copper Spur, at Clamshell Pond in the Adirondacks last year.

I never took a chair on canoe trips (weight & space) but age is catching up with me. I just bought a Helinox chair zero, and spent an afternoon just watching Little Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks, as Taj Mahal says "watching the whole thing come down in harmony". It's minimal but very...

I'm the opposite of an earlier poster: I read some books about paddling long before doing any -- I was too busy hiking. The most outstanding for me were Sigurd Olson's great books about paddling, some of which I've reread since getting on the water myself. The trigger for actually doing it was...