Recent content by yknpdlr

I used candle lanterns years ago. the light is dim, but it provides ambiance. Never had any problem or concern about using one in as tent, as long as the first few inches of hanger was wire. In a hammck is a different story. During a -30F Adirondack winter overnight, I spent the night in a...

I have often heard Charlie say that heeling presents a "banana" shape of the hull to the water, opposing the paddle yaw with an offside heel. I find most of my solo canoes respond to a turn better with an outside heel in the turn with proper trim. In some I can hear the stern "break lock" as it...

Either by geographic coordinates or by name in the search box. Simply type 7th Lake NY. Or 8th Lake.

Zoom in tight on Google Maps or Google Earth. The current image being presented of 7th and 7th Lakes in the Adirondacks shows a long string of small dots, which is the 90 mile canoe race in progress. along the road between 8th and Brown's Tract you can see dozens of cars at the parking pull out...

that red knit cap looks amazingly like a BSA Voyageur trek touque.

Exactly, same here. To have the muscle memory from having learned some of those "lesser used" strokes that you may have practiced in freestyle mode, is what makes effective functional paddling functional. I have always thought linking varieties of strokes is the key to make the boat perform...

I also had made trips through there before the devastating July 15 1995 derecho blasted through. From the landing after crossing BDP, westward toward the Tri-County-Marker for about a half mile was a large stand of some of the largest white pine trees I have ever seen, including what was...

Taking a nice slow pace you had time to experience a lot of the area. Site #4 is one I will never stay at again. Luckily you took it In October. It is one of the buggiest sites I have ever stayed at during bug season. Which site did you stay on in Grass pond? Site #31 is by far the best...

Reminds me of when I was kid, there was a main street corner pharmacy with a soda bar where everyone hung out. They had an electric hot dog cooker. The soda jerk Impaled a dog on one of 6 or 8 rows of pairs of electrode pins. Flip the switch and listen to the steeaming sizzle as high current...

Improbable as it may sound, it is possible to up transform the puny 3 volts available from a pair of D-cell batteries to any higher voltage you like. It is done with a DC-DC boost converter circuit, which employs inductors, capacitors, diodes, and high-speed electronic switches. (we really need...

When I bought my gen1 Rapidfire (with wood gunwales) shortly after they became available ~20 years ago, I told Joe Moore that I wanted a higher seat than the 3 stacked resin seats offered. He said he had made a drop seat version by adding an extra weight of belly band of fabric for strength...

Black Bears in NY are typically only a problem with hunting cabins deep in the woods tucked far away from any civilization. When no one is around, a bear may try to enter weak spots of a door or windows. if they suceed, the place may get badly ransacked. I have seen solar powered electric fences...

Our last niight on the Y1K, I was looking over the map for a good place ahead to camp before our 6 hour rules required not later than 11PM mandatory rest stop time for the remainder of the short "night". The map showed a very likely landing spot along the muddy shore ahead that we aimed for...

I don't paddle with any known cigarette smokers, but with the rare exception of during heavy bug season, one or two companions may light up stinky cigars. I stay well clear of them, preferring to endure and smell like smashed bugs rather than tobacco smoke. I have read that French-Canadian...

During the Yukon River canoe races (440 mile Yukon River Quest (YRQ) and the 1000 mile (Y1K)), we see many moose and bears (both black and grizzly, and also wolves) along the river bank. Several nights of random location riverside camping is necessary during the Y1K. Someone from another team...