• Happy Go for a Ride Day! 🚗🚴🛹

Happy National………Day

In Morse's original code (American or Railroad Morse), CTN would be .. . _ _.

_._. _ _. is the currently used International Morse.
 
In Morse's original code (American or Railroad Morse), CTN would be .. . _ _.

_._. _ _. is the currently used International Morse.

Thanks for the notice and that terrific historical tidbit.

I used the Morse code I had to learn to get my ham radio license at age 12. The ham novice license required you to pass a test copying Morse at 5 words per minute. To get the general license, which I did at age 13, you had to copy 13 wpm. The Morse code test was in addition to increasingly difficult written tests on radio technology. My handle was K2OFP.
 
I learned International years ago as a Boy Scout, and still remember about half. The entry level Technician ham radio license is now code-free. I got my license last year, KO4YIJ.
 
Some days I struggle to find anything interesting for the "Day" of the day, especially with a limited universe of emojis. So, I was literally shocked to find that there was actually a National Canoe Day today.

But what to do for today's emojis? There's only one sort-of canoe emoji, so I put it in last place to create a historical narrative. The first emoji is supposed to be a stick or pole, which I assume predated the paddle. Second is supposed to be a paddle that was carved from a stick. Third is supposed to be the paddler sitting with the paddle. Fourth is a log from which to carve a canoe. And fifth is the canoe.

I say "supposed" as to the second and third emojis because I believe they are actually Egyptian heiroglyphics. But whose to say the old Egyptians weren't among the first canoe paddlers? Besides, Egyptian hieroglyphics are no more difficult to understand than modern freestyle canoe terminology.
 
Today we honor the birthday of the late Verlen Kruger, who holds the Guinness (🍺) world (🌎) record (💿) for paddling the most miles in a lifetime: 100,000+ (160,930+ km). And he didn't start his record paddling until age 41.

Verlen's two gigantic trips were his 28,040 mile (45,126 km) Ultimate Canoe Challenge—the poster for which I used to have attached to the ceiling of my canoe van in the 1980's—and the 18,232 mile (29,342 km) Two Continent Canoe Expedition.

I believe Verlen designed at least three decked canoes for his marathon canoe adventures: the Sawyer Loon, the Mad River Monarch and the Kruger Sea Wind. Perhaps members here have those canoes or pictures of them.
 
Happy 4th of July to America! I suspect there were only 46 stars on the flag in this 1910 photo.

American Flag canoe 1910.jpg
 
Good eyes. There were 46 states in 1910. Maybe he was flying a 13 Colonies flag to celebrate history. He certainly dresses nicer in a canoe than us current slobs.
 
This was a typical nautical flag back then. Thirteen stars for the original colonies.
916632AD-F26A-454D-9EB9-E4331B8E8A4C.png
Jim
Looks like the flag in the bow might be the same, but that is harder to see. Yes they dressed nicer even the woodworkers were dressed nice for work than I do on my best day.
 
Paperbacks?! That's for disposable books, right? If I know it's a keeper, I'll try to buy hardcover. (no plans to ever do e-books or audiobooks but I'm probably a bit of a dinosaur)
Gamma,

I wrote an e-book on the 17-day trip on Great Slave Lake that Kathleen and I did in 2017. So far I have sold two copies, with total revenue just under $10.00, But revenue is not the goal of writing the book. More importantly, I would like people to read and enjoy our story. E-books take up no space, and don’t end up in the landfill. Mine also has lots of pretty pictures to enjoy and contemplate.

If you like, I can provide a link to download the book, at no charge. I have already posted the story on canoetripping, but having it as a continuous entity might be nice. Would you like to give it a try, and move beyond the Mesozoic Era? 😀
 
Gamma…….
That’s just how the drug dealer gets you hooked, little free sample, next thing you know you are on some skid row creek bank sleeping under your canoe. Don’t take a taste of that kool-aid.
There are probably enough of us old fossil/gezzer types here to form a support group if you need us. Please stay strong.
Plenty of floppy disk drives in landfills, ebooks too.
 
Gamma…….
That’s just how the drug dealer gets you hooked, little free sample, next thing you know you are on some skid row creek bank sleeping under your canoe. Don’t take a taste of that kool-aid.
There are probably enough of us old fossil/gezzer types here to form a support group if you need us. Please stay strong.
Plenty of floppy disk drives in landfills, ebooks too.
I might suggest that everyone here has already tasted that cool aid. After all, we are reading these postings electronically, just as one would read an e-book!
 
Here are a couple questions for all of you who are familiar with older Sawyer solos:

Knowing my stated use case, above (summary of typical intended use: AuSable River, Grayling to Oscoda, overnight effort, solo, sit(hit) & switch, sitting and/or kneeling) which would be preferable:
a) Shockwave
b) Summersong
c) Neither, because I’d spend all my time hung up on sweepers because they only go straight, and I only have a few months solo experience, and have way too much to learn? Should I even be looking for anything like this?

Would I be better off with the shorter boat for the river? I wouldn’t be tripping with it, technically, so a light load, so I think I’d fit into the SS’s optimal range. The SW has that whale tail, though - how cool! I keep reading that neither boat likes to turn - is the longer one more of an issue?

And which layup is more durable?
1) Goldenglass
2) Expedition Kevlar
I want something tough, for the inevitable rocks and stumps, but would certainly prefer lighter weight for the 6 dam portages. Or give in and carry a cart? I see Hemlock Canoes has a 1994 Shockwave in Expedition Kevlar, and a 1988 Summersong in GG. They list them as being only a 2 lb difference (41 and 39).
Is GG sort of “meh”? Or is it a durable (although heavy) construction that can take a beating, and worth a few extra pounds? It the EK just super durable for the same weight, and going to last a lifetime?

Vintage? I read that the Sawyer boats from the 1980s might have been better? Would mid to late 1990s be getting too close to when they went out of business?

I can’t buy anything for a couple of months, and am spending that time obsessing about which combination would be better. I doubt either of these specific boats at Hemlock will still be available at that point, but am trying to figure out which combo would be better for me, so I can make a more educated choice of what to hunt for.

Someone please tell me what to get! 😵‍💫. If one of you sounds really knowledgeable and tells me “get a Shockwave in Expedition Kevlar”, or some other combination, that’s likely what I will look for. Because I really like getting other people to make my decisions 😉. Well, when I don’t know enough, anyway.

Thank you so much to anyone willing to climb out on the proffered limb!
 
October 1-7 is Banned Book Week, I doubt any canoe tripping books are banned, however I’m pretty sure many of our lives were changed by books that have had that stigma attached to their names.
So, Happy Banned Book Week everyone!!
 
d14_Marta_Minujin_The_Parthenon_of_Books_©_Mathias_Voelzke-003_4.jpg,1440.jpg
Parthenon of Books by Marta Minujín (1983)

My wife was lucky enough to see this installation comprised of once banned books at the documenta 14 in Kassel, Germany in 2017. It was the piece that impressed her most.

Read banned books! There must be something in them the thugs hated.
 
Most books were banned in times of yore. Unfortunately, Birchy and I are so old we may have been in yore. I do recall in grade school that some kids had copies of Peyton Place, which was on some sort of library ban, but I never read it. Well, maybe a few pages.
 
Exactly which books are banned? Meaning that no one has any legal access to them under some kind of penalty. Titles, please.
Depends on your locality. Some are banned in some places and not others.. Wikipedia has a list of books legally banned in different countries.

However Matinicus ME has a mission of collecting and allowing the reading of books banned by local districts.

This discussion could go south so fast I won' participate other than to say that some that local schools ban now were required reading in my high school days.
 
Back
Top