Dan Foster

While we're on the topic of salt, anyone like me who likes to leave their kayak cradles attached to their vehicle all season should occasionally completely remove, inspect, and lubricate ALL of the metal mounting hardware. Perhaps knowing about Salt-Away would have saved a couple of my mounting bolts from that other universal dissolution solution - a hacksaw blade.

"Waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup?!?" "I think he's practicing his off-side roll"

I've secured East Goslings group site for the Jewell Island After-Party on May 21-23. Details once the main Jewell PM thread opens up.

Since you asked... I'm planning to organize a Jewell Island After-Party to stay out an extra two nights after the main Jewell trip, returning to Cousins Island boat launch mid-day on Tuesday. I'm hoping to reserve Little Whaleboat or East Gosling in March. Anyone who is interested and will commit to returning with the pod to Cousins on Tuesday can PM me for further details and to share in the trip plan's evolution.

I've offered first dibs on this trip to everyone who expressed interest prior to me reserving the cabin. Karen, Beth, and the rest of the club - the remaining spaces on the trip will be available to reserve on March 1st. Full details of the trip, including how to reserve your spot, will be posted in late February.

This event is now full. Because the date is subject to change due to weather, I'm not going to maintain a waiting list. If space becomes available in the week leading up to the event, I'll offer those slots up here. Click "Follow this Content" up at the top of the page if you want to get notified if that happens.

Just to clarify: I'll be organizing an Aug 25-27 trip to Knubble Bay. May 13-15 was a backup plan in case we didn't get the August reservation. There will not be a May trip, unless someone else steps up to reserve and organize one. p.s. For others interested in organizing NSPN camping trips, here are some favorite locations. (start a new thread if you'd like to discuss or gauge interest) Boston Harbor (Peddocks Island is the only camping offered in 2023) - reservations open Feb 15 Campgrounds and Camping Reservations - Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (reserveamerica.com) Squam Lake NH - reservations open Feb 22. Camping Reservations | Welcome to the Squam Lakes Association MCHT Maine Islands - reservations open Mar 1. Campsite Reservations – Maine Coast Heritage Trust (mcht.org)

I have Knubble Bay Cabin reserved for Fri Aug 25 - Sun Aug 27, 2023. I'll start working out details for the trip at some point in the next few weeks. Those of you who replied above will have first dibs.

Doug, the KBC committee gets first dibs on weekends, and gave AMC reservations a list of four blocked-out weekends that are reserved for the Lobster Bake and other AMC events. I've confirmed with two AMC sources that general reservations open on Thursday. Peter, my plan was to secure the reservation on Thursday AM, and once we definitively know whether we're going in August or May, start hashing out the details of how many participants with those who have expressed interest. I suspect that we can accommodate more people in warmer August, whereas in May there may be some group concerns about cramming the maximum number of people into the cabin. Ideally, I'd like to safely accommodate a circumnav pod and a non-circumnav pod, while still keeping the group small enough to keep from feeling like we're tripping over ourselves. I'm thinking that an upper limit of around 10 people would work, especially if a couple of experienced paddlers (you, me, others?) organize a non-circumnav pod on Saturday.

I've been told Knubble Bay reservations will be accepted starting January 26th. It's slightly cheaper to have an AMC member make the reservation. I'm going to try to reserve KBC for the 8/26-8/28 weekend. If someone else decides to go after 5/13 for an early-season trip or some alternate date, please let me know. A bunch of you expressed interest above "if the timing works". The timing has now been proposed. I'll be fronting $600 to get the 8/26-8/28 reservation, so hearing a few more "yeah, I'm probably in for that weekend" before Thursday would be nice. Non-binding until the reservation is confirmed, details are fleshed out, and money is exchanged, but you'll have first dibs on a spot.

Webster's Dictionary defines a weekend at Knubble Bay Camp as 3PM on Friday until 11AM on Sunday. I've confirmed that it's not a problem to check out of the cabin by 11AM but leave cars there until late afternoon to allow for a second full day of paddling on Sunday. More details from About Knubble Bay Camp (amckbc.org) are quoted below. Regarding the dates Joe suggested as working well for a circumnav: 5/13 - I've got a potential conflict that day, but if it's the group preference, I may be persuaded. 8/26 - this is my preferred weekend 9/6 - several of us are going up to MDI a few days later, so I wouldn't attend on this weekend. When discussing a circumnav, there are actually two possible circumnavigations that could be done. There's the full circumnavigation of both Georgetown and Arrowsic, which involves going all the way up to Bath, and there's the shorter route around just Georgetown which cuts down (or up) the Back River dividing Georgetown and Arrowsic. Arrival/Departure: Enter KBC at 3 pm on your first day, and leave by 11 am on your last. Parking: Please park on the left-hand side. Beal Island renters will park on the right, so don’t block anyone in. Key: AMC’s Contact Service Center (603-466-2727) will give you the key lock code upon registration. Please make sure the key is returned to the box when you depart. Utilities/Furnishings/Supplies: • Solar lights, wood stove, composting toilet, outside hand pumps for potable water • Beds/futons for up to 15 people • Large tables, seating, games, reading materials for all ages • Propane-powered stove, oven, refrigerator • Kitchen (with dishpans, strainer, water containers) and bathroom sink • Dustpans and brooms, Swiffer floor mop, cleaner and pads • Hand sanitizer in the bathroom • Outdoor sun shower stall (bring your own sun shower) NOT Supplied: • Electricity, wi-fi, running water, bedding • Dish detergent, sponges, dish towels, cleaning supplies for surfaces, toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags • Food storage materials, condiments Please don’t: • Have more than 15 people (fire code rule) • Bring pets of any kind • Use candles or kerosene/gas lanterns • Build outdoor fires on beach or premises • Use the KBC outhouses for anything but urination (we are trying to extend their useful life) EMERGENCY: Call 9-1-1 At the end of your stay . . . Renters clean the cabin before leaving. We have operated this way for 50 years, and it has worked well to assure incoming renters come to a clean facility. • Clean all surfaces, toilet, sinks, refrigerator, stove • Sweep and Swiffer floors (Swiffer supplies available in storage closet) • Lock all windows and doors • Turn out all lights • Empty wood stove of ashes • Make logical sense of kitchenware • Fill all water containers stored in kitchen PLEASE LEAVE NOTHING BEHIND, INCLUDING TRASH, FOOD, DISH DETERGENT, SOAP, PAPER GOODS

I've gotten PMs with all the requested info from everyone above, plus about a dozen others. Thanks for all the enthusiasm! I'll reach out to everyone, probably some time next week.

AMC has a drive-up, waterfront cabin in Georgetown, ME, with access to the Sasanoa River. https://amckbc.org The cabin has a kitchen and indoor bathroom, sleeps 10 inside (mainly in a common bunkroom), and has lots of tent space for those who prefer the outdoors. I've never been, but have always wanted to check it out, and we've discussed running a club trip there in the past. The maximum rental capacity is 15 people (includes tenters), but I'd feel more comfortable with a group of 6-8. Pricing with 6 people would be about $80 each ($40 per night) for a two-night stay in May or June, and closer to $100 total in July-October. Slightly cheaper per person the more people you add. This is just a general feeler to see if there's interest in trying to reserve the cabin at some point this season. Reservations open up in the next week or so. A Friday evening-Sunday afternoon stay would give a group the option to circumnavigate Georgetown Island on Saturday, which would be mean picking specific dates to hit the right tide cycle. I'm not necessarily interested in doing the circumnav, but I'd certainly try to reserve the dates that made that option viable. If you're interested, speak up, and let's see if it's worth pursuing. Even if you're not interested, there's a good trip planning challenge here, which is to figure out the ideal rental weekend for a circumnav.

Some of my favorite NSPN memories have involved a group of paddlers clustered around a blazing campfire, waiting anxiously for the proper moment to dive into a freshly-prepared Spanish tortilla, a fragrant stir fry, or a steaming pot of foraged shellfish. On other occasions, I've choked down my poorly-rehydrated meal-in-a-bag while huddled around a wet, smoky fire on a cold, windy morning. In the spirit of encouraging more of the former and less of the latter, I invite you all (well, up to 8 of you) to join me in a celebration of camaraderie, camp cookery, and campcraft. Over the course of a long day, we'll work together to prepare a few memorable outdoor meals and hone our fire building, camp cooking, and other useful outdoor skills. In the morning, we'll focus on individual cooking, using the gear we've already got. We'll start the day with caffeine, delivered in as many ways as the group can come up with. We'll prepare brunch using a variety of canister stoves, twig burning stoves, and open-fire cooking, and do a show-and-tell of everyone's favorite cooking gear. We will review camp and cooking safety and hygiene and talk about a number of potential outdoor cooking techniques and how they can be adapted to a kayaking trip. After brunch we'll head out into the woods for a couple hours. We'll forage for birch bark and other dry tinders, scout for good burning wood in a variety of wetland and upland areas, hang bear bags and rig tarps, and practice some useful camp knots. Back in camp, we'll lash together some cooking tripods, process wood for fire building, learn to start fires with just a spark, and have a fire building competition. We'll cook a communal dinner over the fire, and finish the evening with a dessert baked in the coals. Sample menu (to be refined once the group's dietary demands are known) A caffeinated welcome Brunch classics, cooked individually or in small groups: eggs, bacon, breakfast sandwiches, veggie hash, blueberry pancakes. A walk in the woods Happy hour: shucked oysters, reflector oven nachos Communal dinner: paella, stir fry, kebabs, garlic bread Dessert: blueberry crisp The Celebration will be held at the private residence of an eccentric hermit in Stow, MA. There will be access to an indoor bathroom, covered outdoor patio, fine china and serving and eating utensils, and running, cold potable water. All cooking, dining, and celebrating will be done outdoors, in whatever weather nature provides us that day. Miserable weather will cancel. Mildly-unpleasant weather will simply add additional motivation to hone those tarp pitching and fire building skills. Plan to be outdoors for the entire day and evening, and working at or near ground level around muddy, hot, flaming things and people. This is a group learning experience, not a workshop, clinic, or class. Bring leather work gloves, an open mind, and share the knowledge and skills that you can. Food costs will be split evenly on the day of the event. A simulated raccoon named Jess will be in attendance. This is a dry run for what I hope will be a recurring event, although given the mid-March timeframe, a "mud run" is probably more descriptive. Round two will probably be a communal cooking pod on a club camping trip, where a number of us collaborate on some group meals. The March event may need to be rescheduled if we get late-season snow or soaking rains. Due to the logistics of trying to create a menu that accommodates everyone's allergies and dietary preferences while also incorporating a range of outdoor cooking techniques, I'm going to waitlist everyone who expresses interest for a few weeks, and then invite a group of eight that I can build a menu around. I'll try to accommodate anyone who misses out in a future offering. If you are interested in attending, please send me a private message, and include the following: - any food ALLERGIES - your food or dietary PREFERENCES - any concerns with the following potential menu items: bacon on its own, foods cooked in residual bacon grease, raw oysters on their own, shellfish, chicken, or pork chorizo (as paella ingredients), cheese - how interested you are in open-fire cooking vs. Jetboil/canister stove cooking - how interested you are in communally-prepared meals on a future group trip, vs. cooking your own food individually. - what, if any, gear, gadgets, or expertise you might want to share with the group during this event