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I lucked out and found an ice hook at an antique store over the weekend. The ice hook is used when paddling when the water is partially covered in ice as described in Garret Conovers book "Beyond the Paddle." They were originally used in ice harvesting from about 1890 to 1930. I have one that I...

Whenever I go to antique shops I'm always looking for paddles, pack baskets, military duffle bags, ice hooks and pole shoes. I got lucky this weekend finding a nice basket, duffle bag and an ice hook. The pack appears to be pounded black ash with a steam bent oak handle. The ice hook is probably...

I've been paddling my Seliga Tripper mostly solo so far this season. I paddle from the stern seat with some light ballast (20-25lbs.) either in the bow or right behind the bow seat. I find that adding the ballast eliminates the twitchiness in initial stability that this boat has, probably caused...

One of the things I like about tripping are the images I see. It's mostly scenery and sometimes wildlife. Sometime I can capture it on film and sometimes it's just a memory, but the Adirondacks always comes through for me. It's one of the places that I find so beautiful that I can't stop taking...

I've noticed that most of us post current photos in the Photo Of The Day thread, so I'm starting this thread where we can post older ones. I don't think it has to be too old, just not current. It doesn't need to be on a Thursday either, just anytime you come across a nice photo that you'd like...

I have an immovable canoe up in Ak. A little over a week ago my neighbor sent me a photo of my OT Tripper that had been blown from its' place. It was upright on the walkway leading to my front door. When leaving the house yesterday morning the boat was impeding my backing out of the garage so I...

I took my first paddle of the year a few days ago. The lake, which had been frozen since the end of November had just thawed out from a warm spell with lots of rain and wind. From what I could see the only ice left was in a cove at the windward end of the lake. Although I didn't need to cross...

I did a spur of the moment trip to the Oswegatchie recently and it was a great time. I planned to spend three nights up there poking around above High Falls. Things didn't go as planned. The last cell phone call I made to my wife was dropped, the last thing I heard her say was "text me...

Do you lean into the wind, away from it or try to keep your boat flat side to side?

The varnish on my EM White is getting thin and needs another couple coats. It's in good shape without much exposed wood, except for a few small dings. I have it cleaned up pretty good and am at the point where I'm ready to lightly sand it. My questions are do I need to do any additional cleaning...

Last week I met up with Robin and we headed to Seboeis Lake for a traditional style base camping trip. We had a great time. We ate well, had good conversation and lots of laughs. Our island campsite was comfortable with scenic views and would have been perfect if it had a decent landing. Like...

I don’t remember the height of the seats on my stock malice were, but I do know that I liked paddling the boat better when I raised them to the gunnels. Since I did that I’ve been paddling a few wood canvas boats and really like the higher seats on them. I recently got a modern composite Bell...

I took three day trips on my recent trip to Ak. On the second trip I took my OT Tripper and realized that the stock plastic molded seat was too low for my preference. I didn't like those seats anyway, the bow seat had a cup holder for heavens sake. I decided to replace them with traditional...

I did a day trip to Explorer Creek on Tuesday. Funny thing is, I never even heard of Explorer Creek until I looked at a more detailed map a day later on Wednesday. This was a trip that didn't go down as planned. My plan was to take the scenic drive to the Portage Valley and put in on one of the...

For my next project, to improve the trim of my Bell Seliga Tripper I plan on removing the foam from the bulkhead and replacing it with either pea gravel or lead pellets. Because the bulkhead is small I'm leaning heavily towards the lead pellets but I'm concerned they might be toxic. Any thoughts ?

I like "quiet" when I'm outdoors and try not to speak any louder than I have to for the people I'm talking to, to hear me. Sometimes I can hear peoples whole conversations that aren't part of my group. There's not much I can do about that, but when someone in my group is a loud talker and I...

My wife was recently in need of a new paddle after her current favorite was broken. This was second favorite paddle of hers broken by someone else. We had hoped to find one at the WCHA assembly, but no luck. So we stopped at Raquette River Outfitters on our way home to have a look. They carry...

I started out using an insulated mug with a lid my first few years of tripping. I loved that mug and even took it to work with me. Unfortunately a truck driver at work took it with him on his run and I never saw it again. I replaced it with a 14oz plastic cup with no lid. I have used it for...

I have given up my dream of doing a family float trip with everyone in w/c boats, and am thinning the herd. I purchased it in the spring of 2017 and used it a few weeks a year for a couple years at the cottage, and it has been stored indoors ever since, with only occasional use. The boat had...

About a week ago my lake had enough open water to go out for a paddle. I could only paddle for a few hundred yards before hitting ice. In order to reach more open water I would have to bust through ice near shore that was too thin to support the boat. The pole was the tool to do that. The next...