G
Guest
Guest
Friend Joel was cleaning out the old stuff from his over packed gear storage. 40+ years of stuff accumulated while running a couple outdoors gear stores and paddle shops. I was bummed that I couldn’t manage social distancing and help out, but asked him to save certain items for me, mentioning “save me slender tent poles and guide books”.
No shop time as usual, but we managed to enjoy a mask-less social distancing driveway visit. I guess I could have at least offered him a real chair.
P5120007 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Joel left me lots of goodies, to keep and to share.
Old tent poles. Or actually, new tent poles; slender, ferruled, spidered and shock corded ones from modern tents. Handy as hell for many uses; think “arched stays” under spray covers and etc. Or, you know, replacement tent poles.
I now have a lifetime supply of slender, mostly aluminum ferruled poles. He rattled off which poles went to which tents, “MSR this”, “Big Agnes that” and the occasional “Oh, I really liked this tent”. I should have Sharpied which poles went to which tents on the pole bags.
P5130012 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr
I expect Joel, whose gear memory is astonishing, will be able to identify the makes/models from that photo and I’ll Sharpie ID the pole bags later. If anyone needs a few replacement poles or spiders for modern tents, or a full set if you really effed up, hit me up. (I’ll keep the MSR Hubba Hubba set; we own two of those tents). One set at least goes to a single-person Hubba.
Yes, Joel has a lot of modern tent poles; he (and clients) use his tents hundreds of days a year, every year, in harsh environments, and his lightweight tents wear out before the poles. Some tent manufacturer really should pay him to field-test their gear; Joel has an exceptional mind for gear design, and for design flaws.
Along with the bags of shock-corded/spidered tent poles he brought me a bag of a dozen 3 foot sectional telescoping tarp poles. Those need to find a good home, but I’m not mailing them.
P5130014 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr
We have a half dozen of that style telescoping tarp poles no longer used in storage (Kelty poles now, and until something better comes along), including a specialty center-pole with a ridgeline eye screw epoxied at the end. The ridgeline eye screw prevents a center pole from falling over when the tarp lofts in a gust of wind.
Been a long time since those telescoping poles were used. I really should have used a stainless eye screw, and may set one of those Joel poles up the same way before they go bye bye. That new batch of tarp poles needs to go to a good home.
P5130016 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr
What else? Some miscellaneous outfitting treasures; a virgin deck cap, couple of paddle tee grips, a stopper ring for a sliding seat rail. And the world’s sturdiest gunwale clamps, from Spring Creek Outfitters.
P5130009 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr
I’ll keep the gunwale clamps, and add them to my collection for future use. I don’t really need another sliding seat lock or plastic tee grips, and have a box of large vinyl deck plates from OT’s MRC’s and Mohawk’s. Not a fan of small deck “caps” anyway, so. . . . .
A pair of Old Town oar locks? I can’t imagine ever using those, so more “Free to good home”.
P5130011 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr
As requested and most interestingly, to old guidebook aficionado me, dozens of old paddling and hiking guidebooks. Shelving the ones I do not have, these are left up for grabs. BTW, Joel tells me he forgot another box of old guidebooks, so expect more eventually.
P5130018 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Paddling Guides:
Maryland-Pennsylvania Countryside Canoe Trails: Central Maryland Trips (1974) William Robinson
(Got one, a classic, the first paddling guide I ever owned. 25 pages slender, priced at $1. Bought in 1974 at a rural Esso gas station near a PA put in. ($1 was three packs of smokes or three gallons of gas at the time; I must have really wanted it)
The Gertler Bibles for MD and NJ. Maryland and Delaware Canoe Trails (1989), and Garden State Canoeing; a Paddler’s Guide to New Jersey (1992). We have multiple editions of each and our guidebook shelves are tight as is.
Exploring the Little Rivers of New Jersey (1971), James and Margaret Cawley. Already got one, love those early 70’s guidebooks. Look Ma, no PFD’s, even on the cover photo.
Guide to Sea Kayaking in Southeast Alaska; the Best Day trips and Tours from Misty Fjords to Glacier Bay (1999), Jim Howard. Not happening in this lifetime, and it has That-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named in the title (TWSNBN)
Kayaking the Inside Passage; a Paddler’s Guide from Olympia Washington to Muir Glacier Alaska (2005), Robert Miller. Never happing, TWSNBN.
Spirited Waters; Soloing South Through the Inside Passage (2001), Jennifer Hahn. Never happing, TWSNBN.
Hiking (and etc) Guides:
Circuit Hikes in the Shenandoah National Forest (9[SUP]th[/SUP] edition) Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Great little guide book, we have dog earred the crap out of ours and this copy is pristine.
Country Walks Near Washington (1984), Alan Fisher. Meh, “near Washington”, as in DC. That’s a nope.
More Country Walks Near Washington (1985), Alan Fisher. Free beer and naked dancing ladies couldn’t induce me to get near DC traffic.
Soft Paths; How to Enjoy the Wilderness Without Harming It, (1988), National Outdoor Leadership School. I may need to page through that one first for 1988 funsies. And then go hug a tree.
Winter Hiking and Camping, (1982), Adirondack Mountain Club. Also not happening. I don’t know if anyone has yet realized this, but it is freaking cold out in winter.
Freebie books first. Media/book rate shipping within the US is relatively inexpensive. If anyone wants/needs one of those guidebooks please PM me a mailing address.
I’ll pay the postage, the deal is this; when the site fundraiser comes up again next year please toss a few extra dollars into your contribution. Apologies for the US-only shipping.
If someone really needs modern tent poles, plastic T-grips or a pair of Old Town oarlocks we can work something out. Telescoping tarp poles available for pick-up only.
Pick of the litter goes to the first person with a semi-accurate word count for this post ;-)
No shop time as usual, but we managed to enjoy a mask-less social distancing driveway visit. I guess I could have at least offered him a real chair.
P5120007 by Mike McCrea, on FlickrJoel left me lots of goodies, to keep and to share.
Old tent poles. Or actually, new tent poles; slender, ferruled, spidered and shock corded ones from modern tents. Handy as hell for many uses; think “arched stays” under spray covers and etc. Or, you know, replacement tent poles.
I now have a lifetime supply of slender, mostly aluminum ferruled poles. He rattled off which poles went to which tents, “MSR this”, “Big Agnes that” and the occasional “Oh, I really liked this tent”. I should have Sharpied which poles went to which tents on the pole bags.
P5130012 by Mike McCrea, on FlickrI expect Joel, whose gear memory is astonishing, will be able to identify the makes/models from that photo and I’ll Sharpie ID the pole bags later. If anyone needs a few replacement poles or spiders for modern tents, or a full set if you really effed up, hit me up. (I’ll keep the MSR Hubba Hubba set; we own two of those tents). One set at least goes to a single-person Hubba.
Yes, Joel has a lot of modern tent poles; he (and clients) use his tents hundreds of days a year, every year, in harsh environments, and his lightweight tents wear out before the poles. Some tent manufacturer really should pay him to field-test their gear; Joel has an exceptional mind for gear design, and for design flaws.
Along with the bags of shock-corded/spidered tent poles he brought me a bag of a dozen 3 foot sectional telescoping tarp poles. Those need to find a good home, but I’m not mailing them.
P5130014 by Mike McCrea, on FlickrWe have a half dozen of that style telescoping tarp poles no longer used in storage (Kelty poles now, and until something better comes along), including a specialty center-pole with a ridgeline eye screw epoxied at the end. The ridgeline eye screw prevents a center pole from falling over when the tarp lofts in a gust of wind.
Been a long time since those telescoping poles were used. I really should have used a stainless eye screw, and may set one of those Joel poles up the same way before they go bye bye. That new batch of tarp poles needs to go to a good home.
P5130016 by Mike McCrea, on FlickrWhat else? Some miscellaneous outfitting treasures; a virgin deck cap, couple of paddle tee grips, a stopper ring for a sliding seat rail. And the world’s sturdiest gunwale clamps, from Spring Creek Outfitters.
P5130009 by Mike McCrea, on FlickrI’ll keep the gunwale clamps, and add them to my collection for future use. I don’t really need another sliding seat lock or plastic tee grips, and have a box of large vinyl deck plates from OT’s MRC’s and Mohawk’s. Not a fan of small deck “caps” anyway, so. . . . .
A pair of Old Town oar locks? I can’t imagine ever using those, so more “Free to good home”.
P5130011 by Mike McCrea, on FlickrAs requested and most interestingly, to old guidebook aficionado me, dozens of old paddling and hiking guidebooks. Shelving the ones I do not have, these are left up for grabs. BTW, Joel tells me he forgot another box of old guidebooks, so expect more eventually.
P5130018 by Mike McCrea, on FlickrPaddling Guides:
Maryland-Pennsylvania Countryside Canoe Trails: Central Maryland Trips (1974) William Robinson
(Got one, a classic, the first paddling guide I ever owned. 25 pages slender, priced at $1. Bought in 1974 at a rural Esso gas station near a PA put in. ($1 was three packs of smokes or three gallons of gas at the time; I must have really wanted it)
The Gertler Bibles for MD and NJ. Maryland and Delaware Canoe Trails (1989), and Garden State Canoeing; a Paddler’s Guide to New Jersey (1992). We have multiple editions of each and our guidebook shelves are tight as is.
Exploring the Little Rivers of New Jersey (1971), James and Margaret Cawley. Already got one, love those early 70’s guidebooks. Look Ma, no PFD’s, even on the cover photo.
Guide to Sea Kayaking in Southeast Alaska; the Best Day trips and Tours from Misty Fjords to Glacier Bay (1999), Jim Howard. Not happening in this lifetime, and it has That-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named in the title (TWSNBN)
Kayaking the Inside Passage; a Paddler’s Guide from Olympia Washington to Muir Glacier Alaska (2005), Robert Miller. Never happing, TWSNBN.
Spirited Waters; Soloing South Through the Inside Passage (2001), Jennifer Hahn. Never happing, TWSNBN.
Hiking (and etc) Guides:
Circuit Hikes in the Shenandoah National Forest (9[SUP]th[/SUP] edition) Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Great little guide book, we have dog earred the crap out of ours and this copy is pristine.
Country Walks Near Washington (1984), Alan Fisher. Meh, “near Washington”, as in DC. That’s a nope.
More Country Walks Near Washington (1985), Alan Fisher. Free beer and naked dancing ladies couldn’t induce me to get near DC traffic.
Soft Paths; How to Enjoy the Wilderness Without Harming It, (1988), National Outdoor Leadership School. I may need to page through that one first for 1988 funsies. And then go hug a tree.
Winter Hiking and Camping, (1982), Adirondack Mountain Club. Also not happening. I don’t know if anyone has yet realized this, but it is freaking cold out in winter.
Freebie books first. Media/book rate shipping within the US is relatively inexpensive. If anyone wants/needs one of those guidebooks please PM me a mailing address.
I’ll pay the postage, the deal is this; when the site fundraiser comes up again next year please toss a few extra dollars into your contribution. Apologies for the US-only shipping.
If someone really needs modern tent poles, plastic T-grips or a pair of Old Town oarlocks we can work something out. Telescoping tarp poles available for pick-up only.
Pick of the litter goes to the first person with a semi-accurate word count for this post ;-)
