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The question I have is. Is it better to have a boat you can lean to the gunnel, or one that gives you the performance you want without having to lean it that far? Another question I have concerning solo boats when leaning is, Do you keep one knee in each chine or do you put both knees in one...

I'm with Glenn on this one, just use your single blade paddle with one hand. In the "Woodcraft" book Nessmuk uses the one handed paddle as an alternative to the double blade he used. It was probably his only spare paddle and I imagine it took up less room in his 16 lb canoe than a standard size...

I would never go tentless during bug season, but have had success with a tarp in the shoulder season. I would make sure my tarp was big enough to make it weatherproof during a storm.

I've been there in early October and there were only a few other groups. Fear of crowds wouldn't keep me away in September.

This one is from a couple nights ago. It's cool how what seems to be just an ordinary night can turn out like this.

Looks good Mem. It appears you loaded it from the back of the truck. Can you load it from the front so the trailer isn't in the way?

Welcome to the site. I love the Malecite, have been tripping with it since '94. I've been paddling mine solo from the stern seat recently and have noticed that it feels less tippy from there than the center seat. I've noticed this with other boats too. You don't need any ballast, but about 25...

When you've outgrown your tripping pants.

That works well as long as you have a healthy back. It's also not too bad lifting a bag off the ground and onto your back. The problem is loading and unloading the boat, especially when the landing isn't the best.

When did you live there, and did you know Buck Brown? He lived at the junction with the road to Tok and always had a cedar strip boat on his rack. He sold me that boat in '91 and built a shorter one for himself. He used to do shuttles on the river too.

I was at a friends house last week and he had these pictures from when he visited me in Alaska over thirty years ago. The boat is the 16' Whitewater model found in Gil Gilpatricks book. I can't remember the river but it's possibly the Gulkana.

That's too bad Tony, I always hope to feel better after a trip then before it. I try to not make any one bag/pack too heavy. For example, if I have 60 lbs. of gear I put it in two bags, a forty and a twenty pounder or something like that. I can then carry both across the trail by stacking one...

Great trip report Steve and great pictures. It looks like it was a great trip.

Someone beat you to it Sam. My buddy picked this up in a shop in Burlington Vt. when we were there last week end. His Mother in law was born and raised in Ticonderoga. She uses that phrase a lot and he kids her about it. He got her a hat and he got the shirt. The shop is called the "Golden...

That's a good explanation, never heard of stagnation point before. I'm not one to delve too deeply into scientific explanations when it comes to paddling or canoe movement. I base my understanding on what I feel when I'm paddling. Sitting in the stern seat my pivot point is way different than...

From yesterdays evening paddle.

I've never paddled a 14' tandem from the stern seat, but I paddle all my tandems from that seat. No ballast needed, but I put in about 25 lbs. for a little more stability. If it works for you, stick with it. Only add more weight if you need more stability. You hit the nail on the head regarding...

That works very well in most situations where there is a tailwind. It's very obvious that the boat will weathervane with the light end downwind. There are other times when your boat won't weather vane downwind like you expect. This happens when there is enough fetch to get water moving. I don't...

Being an ex meat cutter I've always considered knives to be tools. There was only one time in 50 years of carrying a knife that I had to pull it out and say "Let's go mother f...er, I'll kill ya." My axe is also a tool, but when I bring it in the tent at night it becomes a weapon. I certainly...

I watched Jon's video of this trip yesterday, and as always it was well done. I was disappointed to see that Jon wasn't kneeling in that situation, something that he acknowledged when he played back the footage. It appeared that he didn't have respect for the river. I also think I would have had...