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 […]
March 13th, 2008 |
by Andy |
published in
Gear, Kayaking
Wish I’d thought of this. One of Bending Branches‘ new kayak paddles for ‘08, the Slice Glass Angler, comes with measuring tape screen-printed right onto the shaft [cue palm-slap to forehead.] Making it all the easier, of course, to check the size of your catch. Great idea, although next year they need to add centimeters […]