brambor

so true. I was never a huge fan of Bivy's and Spider planted a thought in my brain last summer. Now I have a new bivy sack to test in the upcoming season. :-)

Hey Doug, just wanted to mention I updated my sleeping bag and tent these past couple of years.

I opted for "waterproof" down bags and a small freestanding tent.

The waterproof bags are not really waterproof because the zipper is the weak point, but it sure is nice when your tent may be wet and soppy but the bag stays dry.

Lot's of nice tents out there, some look for a tent that is a roomy, but over the years I actually didn't look for a tent big enough to change clothes in, just big enough to sleep in, and to escape bugs or weather if need be.

I would rather a roomy sleeping bag and a small tent. It's a drag to have a sleeping bag that is to small.

If it's a tight fit, you can actually loose some of the heat you might want because you are actually compressing the loft of the bag and not getting it's full "loft" which helps to warm you.

If for some reason you buy a bag without trying it first and find it tight some companies sell a narrow strip which can be zipped into your bag. (Most are made with a # 10 YK2 zip if I remember correctly)

So many sleeping pads to choose from...they can take up a lot of room.. Sometimes it's the bulkiest item so it's worth taking your time finding one that you will like in relation to the room you have.

Tarps... it took a number of years before I started using them as I never carried one back packing but for kayak camping I finally started using them. Though I don't always use it overhead I have found that if you have a good size one and fold it to about the size of your sleeping bag you can sleep on some of the stoniest shore line out there... snoozin like a babe.

Have fun...and remember what ever you wind up with the other person always has a "Gee I wish I had thought of that" item...to tantalize you for future trips !

also - remember when you first sat in a kayak and how you 'probably' wondered how in the heck will I last in a boat like this for hours? Like every new activity you will need to get accustomed to it. New sport - new muscle groups to use, not to mention your mind has to accept things...

What I am trying to say is that if you aren't accustomed to sleeping on hard ground then it will take about 2 or 3 nights/outings before you will sleep well. Actually for me it takes a trip or two every year before I'm comfy and able to sleep comfortably through the night. It will take some time before you will get used to sleeping in a sleeping bag (if you don't do it often). It will take some time before you settle on a comfortable routine that works for you. Just like with seakayaking - which you are very good at right now - it took a few repetitions to get there. :-)

IMHO, fit is more important than paddler's weight. For sea kayaks with lots of volume in the cockpit and hatches I find that almost anyone who fits the boat properly, also enjoys paddling the boat, regardless of their weight. The difference might come at differentiating whether you will be using the boat for day trips or for multiple day trips or both. For these decisions, your weight is more important. Most paddlers I know, either don't camp at all or they take maximum of 2 camping days (weekend).

I am a fairly heavy paddlers yet I have an 18 foot boat with lower back deck that is just about at it's maximum with me in it and with a few basic safety items, a snack and water bottles. I only use it for day trips and I like how low in the water I am with this boat.

My second boat paddles best when loaded with more stuff. Except for winter I use it for all my camping or extended day trips when I take more gear with me. It is my favorite boat yet I don't use it all the time.

My third boat gives me a little bit extra room in the cockpit and I find it most comfortable to paddle in the winter with extra layers under my drysuit.

All of them are between 17-18 feet, with cockpit accommodating my size.

I needs a floating bench seat. I won't see what I'm flipping if I'm sitting in my kayak.

I don't think I like it. It has a catamaran design: I think it should look much more like a kayak.

I am in.

Leon, my comment was not meant negatively. I was just making an observation as I occasionally check her progress. She is loaded heavy with all the supplies and mentions it many times when attempting landing in the surf or when dragging it during low tide. So I was just thinking that in her case, at this juncture she is carrying a heavy load and just goes steady without thinking about the sprinting forces. I may have misunderstood but I thought you were making your point about sprinting/racing and the effect of very light kayak compared to the weight of the paddler. I just thought the analogy wasn't best but I defer to your expertise on this subject. I have no dog in this.

Any one should load her kayak as light as possible, commensurate with her needs (obviously including safety equipment). Anything more is useless dead weight. The “additional” power required to paddle with the dead weight is about the same whether the kayak is loaded lightly for a short trip or heavily for a long trip. You think Freya would like to load her kayak with an extra 20 pounds for the fun of it?

She is usually loaded to the brim.

“Unless there is a performance advantage to a very light sea kayak and I'm not sure there is except for sprinting during races”

Gene,

Besides sprinting, there are two other advantages for paddling a lightweight kayak.

1. A kayak slows down between every stroke. During the stroke the kayak is accelerated up to speed. Thus, there is an F = ma related power required to accelerate during the stroke. Obviously, increasing m increases that required power.

2. A heavier kayak displaces more water. The higher the displacement the higher the power required to overcome wave-making resistance.

I plan to, but I haven’t yet quantified these two effects. I doubt that the results are significant for casual paddling. However, for racing and extreme long distance touring (think Freya Hoffmeister) there probably is a significant advantage to a light weight kayak.

It is connected to his search engine.

Do you always come to this site from a search engine?

Hey Jason,

I found more info on this hack that redirects to url123.info

First, I've seen some notes that say the hack is susceptible to working or not depending on the specific browser and browser settings, so that may explain why some people do not see it. I'm on Win7 w/Firefox 8.0 and from Google reader it always redirects me with the first attempt to click on a nspn link.

Anyway, it has been identified as a IP.Board hack. Specifically, one who fixed his says:

"I am using IP.Board and there was a base 64 hash in my core_public_global.php file which was causing the redirection with a user coming from a search engine and I have removed it."

he then says...

"Okay. I've noticed that I can removed it, but then when the IP.Board software creates a new updated cache in the folder, it overwrites the "clean" file, even if I CHMOD it to not allow any writing.

Obviously the site was hacked previously, but I've been having to manually clean this file every few weeks. I want to find the source. Anyone else having this problem?"

The link to THAT discussion:

http://www.google.ca/support/forum/p/Webmasters/thread?tid=4bfd892d5ed4f055&hl=en

From that is sounded like he might not have been completely cleaning his cache and re-infecting himself? IDK.

One IP Board guy who had this says this:

"From what I can tell, we managed to clear this one and also apply a fix that won't allow this to happen again in the future (with the great help of Invision boards support team )"

link:

http://forums.sbsh.net/index.php?/topic/27576-123info-redirect-from-google-search-of-sbsh/

Apparently, its tough to get rid of. For me, its tough to convince people you have it

Anyway, just teasing, I know you've spent time looking for it.

Willing to help if I can.

Best,

Gary. Awesome report! And your shots are great. btw - my first trip to Lobster Lake I also got lost on the way back :-)

Rene

It's a classic

Just saw Nanook of the North on dvd from Netflix. Very interesting for any of us interested the Inuit culture. What their days were like and how they ate..... lets just say I like my western civilization.

Well worth seeing.

Halloween indeed. Thanks for posting this Rick.

Incident report from a symposium out west. Lots of things happening here...

http://blog.redalderranch.com/?p=89

Thanks Nate. I reported it. They said they might retrieve the body for examination.

I have reported dead seals to Allied Whale in the past, and they are in fact very interested in getting the information.

I expect that with the current die-off they are all the more interested in tracking deaths, so give them a call.

Nate

With the news covering death of seals in new england, I was wondering if I should report a find of a fresh carcass of a baby seal on little jewell island ?

I have this perforated foam mat that I use for standing on with drysuit booties to prevent puncture.

When it gets really cold, around december, I am thinking about placing it in my kayak below the seat to insulate my thighs off the cold hull.

Is this the one where I reveal my ballet legs? ;-) The secret is out...along with my talent to hit the highest rock during every rockplay...

Yes, really. Doug's relentless pursuit of fresh air in a kayak is wonderful. I'm glad to benefit from the product of his organizational skills. Thank You Doug. I had a blast.

Once again, thanks to Doug Mogill for putting another fine trip together.

Yes I am.

Nice. I loved the last part of weighing the bird. Smooth :-)

Camping out on the island for much of the fall, a volunteer team coordinates the assessment, weighing, banding and releasing of birds they catch with long nets strung along the east of the lighthouse.

Meanwhile the lighthouse and related structures continue to undergo their extensive historical renovations.

Video:

I'll see you all tomorrow.

Sound Good....Count me in

DougW

Nice! 43 takes the prize!

The farthest campsite at the inlet even had the outhouse tipped over. Probably not even activated since end of the winter. We were there in early July and that campsite although wonderful was probably most buggy so maybe the ranger just did not want to maintain it. All the other sites were good. ;-) I did a circumnavigation inspection of all the campsites just to have the knowledge of which are the prime sites for my taste.

Have a great trip, looks like you have plenty of time set aside for exploring the area.

(These days I get whatever fire permits, though I seldom make a fire.)

If you do find your way into Lobster Lake...I remember the lady ranger coming by. I mentioned that a couple of the campsites were a little tricky to find...she said that's probably cuz "I've been taking the signs down"...seems it was seasons end for her.

Love Chesuncook lot's to explore!!

Happy paddling

Yes. Thinking to do Richardson lake soon.

I just like live animals

it's the lobster allergy in me for sure but nothing sounds less appealing to me than someone dropping a bug on my lap.

now, had they any fresh, wild salmon!

after all, it's only camping...there's no reason to live like animals.

Great report Pru! A really nice read.

I took my son to (what I thought) was a more protected destination: Warren Island State park and we had a great time camping Saturday and Sunday. The paddle out was accompanied by 15 - 20 knots wind from the Northwest and an appropriate fetch to boot. Although my son could improve his forward stroke, I was nevertheless proud of him staying calm and enjoying the slow 3 mile paddle to the campsite. :-) He looked completely unfazed by the bumpy paddle.

The reason I mention Warren State Park is that we also experienced a little bit of mosquitoes during times of calm winds. We spoke to the ranger and she has said that there were no issues with bugs until this last storm (Hurricane Irene). I wonder whether it was the same situation for your (choice #3) island at Stonington?

We ended up placing a new geocache near The Gut so anyone going up there feel free to check it out.

Our paddle back was accompanied by similar wind (10-15kn) and probably eve larger fetch from the south. We were able to enjoy it without any drama.