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Yup, as mentioned already what you are doing is the goon or rudder stroke, definitely not the J. The skyward pointing thumb is the dead give-away. Old habits and old muscle memory are hard to break without firm concentration on what is to be done at each stroke. Then it becomes automatic. The...

These days, the Forest Ranger wilderness outposts in the Adirondacks are resupplied by helicopter.

For the first ever Yukon River 1000 mile canoe race in 2009, race rules required 20Kg (44pounds!) of food per paddler be carried from the start of the race. Do the math for the 7 paddlers in my 34' carbon voyageur canoe. 95% was dehydrated at home for space savings and ease of on-board...

While seaching for good recipies for meals to home dehydrate, I discovered that some vegetarian recipes can be quite tasty in theiir own right. But they are infinitely improved by the addition of a meat protein.

Years ago, I had small fires for cooking when going solo into the wilderness. For a while I used a Trangia alcohol burner stove that was great. Then I discovered a new crop of very compact propane/butane canister stoves that weigh almost nothing. Amazon twice offered me a super light foldable 3...

Everyone should be aware of a whole series of videos by Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, a Canadian cold water expert and safety instructor. If you can avoid panicking, you have more time than you may think for rescue. and more if you google for them

I agree and this is my mode also. On the Yukon Y1K we each (all 7 of us voyageur canoe paddlers) carried our own gear and tents, except the two ladies who share their one tent. Women appear to be more comfortable at such sharing than men usually are. Team food was preplanned in mass to be...

Of course this is true, but what I refer to on the flat wide Yukon was common in deep water areas of the river that were a half mile wide or more with no indication of any "big bump on the river bottom" and the effect of faster side currents lasted for many hundreds of yards before we tested...

Not only are there different velocities in different vertical layers, but also in horizontal slices. I learned a lot during the Yukon River races. We could be moving nicely along with current and paddling our hearts out, but there were times and places in that broad massively moving volume of...

Much like Bill, when solo I never bother with a campire, unless sometimes boiling water in a kelly kettle counts as a campfirre. It just seems llike so much unnecesssary work when the time may be much better spent doing other things. When with sccouts it is practically mandatory to have a...

I agree. I love using my hammock in average relatively warm spring and fall nights, as well as all summer conditions. Since most of my campsites are quite primitive bushwhack sites rather than designated sites, I am not restricted to flat ground as I would be with a tent. Open designated sites...

i have three Hornbeck canoes. I acquired them exclusively for backcountry bushwhack travel through the wilderness off trail, pond to pond, where they excel. Which I have done a lot over many years, including on a 185 mile trip diagonally across the Adirondacks in a15 pound 10.5' Lost Pond...

Yup. My deep wilderness far off-trail bushwhacks with a heavy backpack trips that I used often do in my 20s-40s are well behind me. but I can at least now use one of my several accumulated canoes to do those heavier water based trips with relative ease. Sure, getting old sucks, but some will...

Correct, for example to turn left around a sharp river bend, paddle on the right side and lean to the right, the hull will make a left curving banana shape in the water. When I do this while solo, I will hear when the stern "breaks lock" with the surface as the bow spins to the left...

Charlie Wilson tuned me on to the outside lean years ago when he worked for Placid Boatworks. Most of my canoes respond well to rapid turning around sharp river bends with this method. Charlie explained it as presenting the shape of a banana with the hull to the water, which carves your canoe...

In some areas, specifically the Eastern High Peaks Wilderness of the Adirondacks, to be legal you must use a commercially made certified bear resistant hard side canister. Ursack bags and other flexible soft bags of the like are not legally acceptable, although those are useful protection in...

It is very possible to J-stroke with a bent shaft paddle. It is not quite as efficient or pretty as with a straight blade, but it does work. It is tough to do an effective Canadian stroke, but it can be awkwardly attempted. You can't do the Indian box silent stroke with a bent, or any other...

To me, nothing says "newbie" more than observing a paddler wildly switching paddling sides with lots of splashing as the canoe zigzags while making little obvious progress in determined direction of travel. A few loud curse words complete the picture. Only slightly less activity sccreaming...

Everyone knows the old adage of "how do you eat an elephant? - You do it one bite at a time. Approach high adventure or difficult activities the same way. Just make it to crest the next hill, or the next bend in the river, then look for the next one just ahead and do the same.

For many years I was an instructor for an 8-day BSA trek leader guide certification training program. Before coming to the course, prospective students (typically of college age) were given a questionnaire about their perceived abilities and experience. The natural tendency is to exaggerate...