November 11th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Kayaking, Outdoor Living
Spend a few days with the Gear Junkie, and you’ll become inspired to experience the outdoors actively, to accept challenge eagerly, and to live your life superlatively. Kinda like how they do in them crazy 80’s Mountain Dew commercials (see this, this, and O yes Lord! this.)
The final day of our Choose Your Own Adventure [...]
November 7th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Kayaking
Tomorrow is the final day of our Choose Your Own Adventure sweepstakes trip with the Gear Junkie. And with your help, we hope to go out with a bang. Or maybe a splash would be more appropriate.
We’ll be kayaking in Raystown Lake, a colossal man-made body that’s 30 miles long. Since I’d rather not circumnavigate [...]
November 4th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Fishing, Hiking, Kayaking, Outdoor Living
Word mighta leaked out that yours truly had won a vacation getaway to the Alleghenies, courtesy of everyone’s favorite gear junkie… uh, well, The Gear Junkie. Good news, right? Well, the better news is that you’ll be a part of that adventure.
As grand prize winner of the Choose Your Own Adventure Sweepstakes, I got to [...]
October 4th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Gear, Kayaking, North Shore
In a day and age when people kayak down ski hills and surf in Lake Superior during winter, I’ve decided there’s no such thing as an ‘end-of-season’ anymore. For any outdoor activity in Minnesota. We just crazy that way.
That said, you’d be really crazy (in the literal sense this time) if you didn’t check out [...]
July 15th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Camping, Kayaking, North Shore
Posts will drop off for a few days, as we’ll be vacationing this week along the sun-drenched Minnesota Riviera. Check back next week for more of UpNorthica.com!
July 3rd, 2009 | by Andy | published in Kayaking, Winter Sports
The kayaking world lately seems fixated on Highest Waterfall Drop record-setting. Glad to see somebody’s out to set a record for Most Fun.
This video was shot in Austria, but snow kayaking really needs to happen right here in Minnesota, right now. Or six months from now (I’m just trying to be emphatic. whatever.) I’m thinking [...]
May 7th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Canoeing, Kayaking, Outdoor Living
Disclaimer: Not my fault. I did not create this trailer for the Reel Paddling Film Fest. I will not be personally offended if you forego this four-minute advertrailer timesuck (If you’re quick enough with the pause button, you might actually catch a shot of people paddling boats.)
Ahem. That said, the festival itself (in Minneapolis on [...]
April 21st, 2009 | by Andy | published in Canoeing, Kayaking, Resources
If it’s bigger than a puddle and it’s in Minnesota, Lynne and Bob Diebel have likely canoed it. The lifetime paddlers traveled almost 3,000 miles along 58 rivers in researching their books Paddling Northern Minnesota and Paddling Southern Minnesota.
Now you get to ride along as they host Tales of Water Trails, a new weekly podcast [...]
March 4th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Kayaking
The speed this guy reaches is unbelievable. While the Flyak design may, or may not, branch out to other recreational vessels, just imagine what hydrofoils could do for pontoon boats full of retirees on Rainy Lake. Via Paddling.net
September 24th, 2008 | by Andy | published in Canoeing, Kayaking
HowStuffWorks dares to ask: Which boat is faster – canoe or kayak? Find out for yourself, but the answer may not be as simple as you think.
I could definitely tell you which is less fun to portage, though…
May 9th, 2008 | by Andy | published in Kayaking, Outdoor Living, Wildlife
Last Mother’s Day, I packed my wife in a boat and sent her down the river.
I didn’t buy any presents. There were no flowers or truffles, no pomegranate-clove scented facial scrubs in a gift bag with curlicue paper confetti; not this time. Instead, I launched her and her kayak into a half-day’s worth of solitude [...]
May 5th, 2008 | by Andy | published in Kayaking
The 2nd Kettle River Paddlefest was held at Banning State Park this weekend. In addition to the kayak race and several paddling (even paddle-making) workshops, folks were treated to a River Rodeo. Which was basically people doing tricks with their kayaks in the rapids, but cool nonetheless. In case you missed the fun, the video [...]
May 1st, 2008 | by Andy | published in Environment, Gear, Kayaking
Necky has begun to produce several lengths of their ‘08 Manitou kayaks, using 100% post-industrial plastic. Better still, according to their site, these materials have stronger properties than their standard Manitou models. Awesome!
I also like that 1% of their gross sales are donated to the Waterkeeper Alliance, a non-profit that works to preserve our [...]
May 1st, 2008 | by Andy | published in Canoeing, Kayaking, Outdoor Living, Resources
In the weeks before our family trips to the BWCA, my dad used to warm up by portaging our canoe around the block. This wasn’t a bad idea, or even uncommon today. But the thing isn’t exactly street legal and it’s hard to hand-signal your turns.
So, earlier this year, I asked a trainer at my [...]
March 25th, 2008 | by Andy | published in BWCAW, Camping, Canoeing, Kayaking, Resources
I’ve never taken a kayak into the BWCA, but while touring a stretch of the St. Croix a year ago, it didn’t take long to see some differences between kayak-camping and canoe-camping. Wish I’d read this article by seasoned kayaker Rob Lyon, there are great tips you can take away, even if you can’t afford [...]