kate

I don't even eat that well when I'm at home! You really know how to enjoy a camping trip. Great write-up. Used to do a little canoe-camping when my kids were young but Maryland has no natural lakes so we were on rivers. Wind not a problem. 

No we went clockwise, flood up the East, slack at Harlem, catching Hudson on the ebb. A little crazy trying to keep the group together, but it all worked out. The city is prettier from the water, seems cleaner.

Did this in 2004 with a very large group which split into multiple smaller groups according to speed. We started at Liberty State Park, Black Tom Island, in NJ, rounding the Statue of LIberty - truly an amazing experience. I remember the terror of the ferries on the East River. The Harlem was just as dreary as I had imagined. We had plenty of time to stop for lunch at the end of the Harlem, waiting for the tide to turn on the Hudson. Hudson was really long- it's a long day - but the current was wild and you definitely wanted to stay clear of dock pilings along the shore. Very memorable trip. We had no guide, just experienced paddlers (Ed Gertler, author of kayaking guidebooks for the mid-Atlantic, was there in his C-1) who figured out a game plan. Dan Falk was the organizer - he posted on many kayaking forums on the East Coast and invited anyone who wanted to come. I recall it as about 50 people but that seems unlikely. A lot, anyway, and everyone made it around although the difference in finishing times was at least an hour.

Library carries the eBook and it is now on my list!

That will be a very helpful camping option. Great news!

19 hours ago, prudenceb said:

I have TWO brand new custom top of the line replacement drysuits!  My ”new" drysuit (which was itself a replacement suit!) delaminated after only two years, so I had to wear my eight year old backup suit for Iceland exped.  I sent that one in when I got back and after the replacement suit had finally arrived…and, yup, it had bitten the dust, too.  So my second new suit just arrived yesterday.  Unlike Kate, who thinks she'll be set for life, I think I'm good for the next three years or so ?.

Yours obviously get harder use. Mine are put away in the winter in favor of skis. I recommend this drysuit-saving strategy!

1 hour ago, josko said:

Kokatat.com <kokatat@kokatat.com>

Mon 11/15/2021 2:15 PM

To:You

 

 

Your suit is being warranty replaced due to fabric delamination. Please let us know if you want Mantis, Red or Ocean.

Happy Paddling

 

Not bad for a 12-year old suit thats seen more use than most. I did not expect this.   

Yep. I'm on suit #3, the prior two having been replaced due to fabric delamination. I think I am set for life. 

I have kept mine in a plastic zip-lock freezer bag in my front pfd pocket, and have successfully transmitted and received. I won't say it's easy... but a lighter plastic bag might work better. I too have lost radios all too soon to salt crust, which is why I keep it in the bag. Easy enough to pull it out if an emergency arises. 

how about using kevlar-woven Ursak bags with an odor-proof bag inside, as backpackers do? Hang or tie bag to something immobile (rock or tree), so no danger of hatch covers being damaged. Could probably even just leave this inside the tent vestibule, in non-bear country. Still wise to cook away from tent and boats though. 

Sounds like a very enjoyable trip! One note about the loss of food and storing in the vestibule: this summer our group camped at Little Chebeague, and one person left her sealed bag of food in her vestibule. The next morning it was nowhere to be seen. A search of the area revealed the opened bag in shrubbery nearby. Among the food items consumed was an emptied bag of Cheetos, the part she mourned the most. So I don't know what the answer is. I have never had a problem with storing food in my hatch, in a sealed bag within a sealed larger bag. I have been known to drape seaweed over the hatch to disguise the smell, but have no idea whether that is actually effective. Maybe cooking away from boats and tents would be more useful?

Dan, where were those cinnamon buns when we camped off Jonesport this summer??

Incredible trip. Thanks so much for all the photos and the detailed telling of the saga. It certainly was a trip of a lifetime. I'm in awe.

Just back from Jewell, parking at Cousins with preliminary call to Yarmouth harbormaster, emailing car info ahead of time. No parking problems (some locals helped us carry boats back up the hill!). Jewell - one tick while walking through brush. I have seen it much much worse. Maybe there are so many people there this summer that the ticks have already found their victims? Campsites heavily used midweek - we found one only because we happened by just as a group was leaving. No problems with camping elsewhere in the bay. 

Very enjoyable report of what looks to have been a very enjoyable trip. Thank you!

I have been entirely happy with the solid, but I am also gentle with my paddle, don't use it to push off of rocks or pole off the sand, etc. 

I only use paddles custom made by Don Beale, Beale Paddles. He has been making them for many years and has a variety of styles and finishes. He is very interactive in the process, checking to be sure the size is right for you, and he ships them out for you to try before he accepts payment. He's one of the good people of this world. 

As for using a GP, I absolutely did not like it the first time I tried one - the feel of it in the water is different. But friends kept handing me one, and before long I had set aside my euro-paddle forever. There are pluses and minuses - as you've noted, the GP is easier on the joints, no question. It simply cannot serve as well in an all-out sprint, such as you might want for catching a surfing wave. It's unparalleled for rolling, makes rolling an actual joy, which I guess is why there are so many rolling aficionados in the GP world. There's also something about using a tool that is so extremely simple and made of natural materials that is very satisfying. 

I wore out my first Beale paddle (still have it as a spare) after about 15 years of use, and am trying hard to wear out the second. I also have a storm paddle that fits nicely on the deck as a spare, which has never been needed and will likely last me for as long as I'm kayaking.

Kate

Gary,  I've read them both and heartily second your recommendations. Not the least because the second journey was led by a woman.

On 11/2/2020 at 2:03 PM, alcoons said:

Thanks Kate,

 Just downloaded Tent Life in Siberia to my iPhone Kindle app on Amazon Prime for free.

Al

The $3 version contains photos as well, which I thought worth the extra cost.

Currently reading "Tent Life in Siberia" by George Kennan, which was a $3 kindle download. Exceedingly well-written with wry sense of humor and self-deprecation. Apparently was a best-seller in its day. He goes out looking for adventure by signing on to an expedition to map out a telegraph line from the US over the Bering Strait to Siberia, in the mid-1800's. 

I also really enjoyed "Kabloona in the Yellow Kayak", about a grandmother with very little prior kayaking experience who decided to solo kayak the Northwest Passage in the 1990's. Utterly inspiring. Yes she does meet up with polar bears....  I bought the book used.

Kate

I recently took my synthetic 20-degree bag to Maine where temps were upper 20's (my estimate) at night, frost coating the world in the morning. The bag was barely sufficient coupled with merino wool underlayer. But when I added a $20 Thermolite poly sleeping bag liner I was plenty toasty. It's a pretty cheap accessory and takes up almost no space. 

1 hour ago, detorres said:

How do I find the download section of the site, otherwise I might share via google drive.

Look up top there under the NSPN header on the left. There is a Downloads link.

I second the Kokatat recommendation. Have used this since 2004, Kokatat replaced it twice for free when the waterproofing deteriorated (which inevitably happens with any dry suit), so I now have another new dry suit that will last me until this waterproofing deteriorates. At which point I'll get another free new dry suit.

So you launched from Carrying Place Cove, how interesting. I have hiked that short trail (having attended several Zen retreats at the one-time Coast Guard station up the road), and drove over to the far side to look for a place to put in a boat, but never really considered that trail's end as a launch point. I am changing my mind now.... it certainly is ideal for exploring the upper reaches of the Bold Coast while skipping the long stretch from Lubec Narrows. It seems like you earned your joyous trips by camping through the hurricane. I'm glad it went so well in a year when so little has gone well. 

On 7/8/2020 at 7:08 PM, prudenceb said:

Wow!  Kinda doesn't make sense.  If you go to Maine you have to stay for two weeks to quarantine even if you're going for just a day...during which you quarantine.  And also, how did they know the person hadn't been tested?

 

How much?

 

Prudence,   He was given the option to send test results to them, from that time period. He did not have it...  I don't know how much they charged him. Also, he does not have a personal residence there (he stayed at his mom's vacation home) which is where you are supposed to quarantine. I don't offer an opinion as to whether this makes sense or is legal or anything like that. Just telling the cautionary tale.

A friend did a family day-trip from his home in MA to Maine. Went through the highway toll gates both ways. Got a notice via mail that he'd been tracked coming and going through the gates within a 48 hr period which meant he hadn't quarantined. They fined him. 

Where is the water coming in? At the rand, or through the neoprene?