It's going away

[Guest]

As our various aches, pains and infirmities diminish the frequency of wilderness trips for some of us, let’s remember to raise a glass to the young trippers following behind, however few they seem to be.

May the breeze be at their stern, their weather fair and the bugs tolerable.

(Although fierce headwinds, crappy weather and horribly bugs all hold valuable lessons)

 

[stripperguy]

Even though I had been paddling, fishing, camping in the ADK's since childhood, my first "on my own" trip was from Old Forge to Tupper Lake with a buddy in 1976.
We played leap frog with a group of three for a few days.
They were three generations, grandson, son, grandfather (and a dog). They would pass us by as we ate breakfast, and we would later pass by them as they stopped for the grandfather to nap.

Somehow I blinked, and now I'm the grandfather, or GPA rather, though I don't yet need the naps. Funny how life sneaks up on you!

As I said before, enjoy the ride, wherever it may lead.

 

[Alan Gage]

Alan,
I'd like to see some pics and hear some details about your sawmill, sounds really interesting.

I don't think I have any pictures of it handy. It's nothing special or unique. Just an old mostly hydraulic bandsaw mill (Timberking B-16) that had been left outside neglected and unused for 12-15 years and needed an almost total rebuild, which meant I could afford to buy it. I'd wanted a mill for years but could never justify it until I bought the new house that needed to be remodeled and knew I'd be building another shop. I cut most of the framing lumber for the new shop including full size 8x8 posts supporting an exposed 8x10" structural ridge beam. The board and batten siding for the shop and house were sawn on the mill as well as house flooring (mix of white oak, ash, hackberry, elm) and walnut kitchen cabinets. Still lots of trim to go.

It's not always what it looks like on youtube. The sawing is the fun and easy part. Most of the time seems to be spent finding logs and moving logs, storing logs, stacking lumber, moving lumber, storing lumber to air dry, and then storing it after it's dry. Then straight lining and ripping and planing and repeating over and over again. Then there's learning to read and deal with the built up stress in logs and opening up what looks to be a nice log only to find hidden rot or a bunch of nails.

The guys on the sawmill forums say that a sawmill operation is just a material handling problem with a sawmill in the middle and that's about right. It seems I'm always doing something at the mill and I'm usually shocked how little time is actually spent milling. It takes a lot of time equipment but overall it's fun and very rewarding.

Alan

 

[Penns Woods]

Thanks everyone for letting your guard down for a moment and posting , I feel better knowing I'm not the only one.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Just came back from Ely and saw this post !

One thing about canoeing ! There are few better ways to relieve stress, than getting out on the water, with a paddle in your hand, especially by yourself !. Some times it's that favorite stream you spent your life around, or a crystal clear lake miles up North.

You might not need that stress relief today or tomorrow. But when the time comes ? It will be there to fill the bill !

Another point . Alan you have gone places, Wild places, In canoes you made with your own two hands. That's something many of us dream about. Maybe that has spoiled you , to paddling around here. Dam hard to find Wilderness paddling opportunities here in Iowa !

One day you will look up at a canoe, and it will say, Let's go !

Jim

 

[PeteStaehling]

Yep, I can relate. Interests come and go. Most of them come back again, sometimes in a little different form. It keeps life interesting.

Just fill your time and energy with something else. Life is full of wonderful opportunities to pursue.

 

[Guest]

I’ve been thinking on the hobby part a lot, and believe the very-involved to then-waning-interest hobby bit is near routine with some folks/some things, although if I get into something it is more likely to last at least for at least a couple years, if not decades.

I’ve had a bunch of “hobbies”, from dirt bikes as a youth to screw-that two wheel nonsense, gimme a truck with cap for long cross country travel; haven’t made a cross country trip in the last 7 years. Skeet shooting to re-loading to duck hunting to barely remember the last time I fired a gun. Organizing monthly club trips to solo paddling and reclusively playing with boats and gear in the shop.

Through the years I’ve seen a surprising number of paddlers fall way, from younger folks who streaked across the paddling-verse like a brief meteor, to some long-time die hards, who stuck around to “conquer” the skills ladder, or later become dedicated to a specific paddling niche, from racing to sailing to poling to, dare I say it, sea or whitewater kayaking.

I guess I never put paddling in my hobby category; it’s something I did with my dad as a child, in my teens and twenties with friends, and for decades later with my family and club companions.

It’s a - grabs calculator - 57 year continuum. Unlike past come-and-gone hobbies paddling has always been a constant and I think, I hope, always will be in some form, if frequency reduced.

I might need help getting out of the canoe, but what are friends for?

 

[Jim Dodd]

I must add this is a great thread. More about life, and how it changes !
Thanks for starting it Alan !

 

[PaddlingPitt]

When I was in grade school, I was a marbles phenomenon. I started out with a purchase of 25 marbles, but never had to buy any more. ! ended my career wit a little over 1,500 marbles. I loved playing marbles. And never saw myself quitting the game. But one day after class in sixth grade, I was playing Potsie” with Billy Muma, who was one of my most consistent victims. In the middle of the game, Peggy McDaniel, the first girl to whom I was ever attracted, walked by, and said “Look at the little boys playing marbles in the dirt.” I never played marbles again.

in my adolescent years I was a very focussed fisher kind of guy. I had to catch the most fish every day. Bear Wallow in the coast mountains of California was one place my father always took us to. We might have gone with a total of six people. The daily limit per person for Rainbow Trout was 10. I knew the best holes for catching fish, and raced ahead, pulling out fish after fish before the rest of the group had time to even bait their hooks. I commonly caught 40 or more of the group’s limit of 60. I loved to catch fish, and thought I would never leave the game. But then I noticed that the fish truly struggled to save its life. Empathy rolled over me, and now I fish only out out of requirement. I still fish on layover days, knowing that I am supposed to provide dinner. I normally don’t take a picture of the fish any more. There’s no reason to make it pose for having unwillingly given up its life.

Now to wilderness canoe tripping. Kathleen and I still have the drive. We put down a deposit in January of 2020 for a float plane to take us to two large tundra lakes north of Yellowknife. But then the Pandemic hit. Our deposit was carried over to 2021. But news today is that the Yukon and the Northwest Territories are still essentially closed to non-residents. So we will have to postpone until 2022.

I’m 73 and Kathleen is 69. We don’t have the strength of our youth, but we are still physically functional. I wouldn’t want to portage several km (miles) over the height-of-land, but all we have to do is glide along these two large lakes separated by a short, very runnable rapid, we gotta go again. We still passionately love that Barren Grounds landscape!