UpNorthica

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]