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We now have two confirmed paddlers as of 3/18/13. Two openings left. Don't delay! Warren -
Hi Katherine, Yes, I would very much like to see you with your gear in our Corner!! Thank you, Warren P.S. I am sure we can figure out how to attach your vestibule. Every camper needs at least one vestibule!
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Camper’s Corner – April 20, 2013 Great news! Our growing group of kayak campers has received approval to contribute in our own way to the New to Sea Kayaking Event scheduled for April 20, 2013 at the Gould Barn in Topsfield from 9:00AM to 1:00PM. Our section of the lawn will be fondly referred to as The Camper’s Corner. We will have all kinds of camping equipment and gear to examine and test. Now we understand that kayak camping is an add-on to those who already have intermediate level or better paddling skills. But we believe our corner will attract three specific groups of paddlers. The groups may include; New to sea kayakers who want to envision a future goal that might justify all their efforts in obtaining their paddling skills. Those who already have the paddling skills but have not yet begun to buy their camping gear. Those who have been camping but might be considering a new purchase or two and would like to see what others already have or regret purchasing.In other words, there will be something for everyone! For those who are wondering what will we see, let me give you a few examples. A four season Hilleberg Staika two person tent. I love this tent! Come on spend your First Communion money! Four different Mountain Hardwear UltraLamina sleeping bags; 0, 15, 32, 45. You can never have too many sleeping bags. Great for double bagging! Exped DownMat 9LW with an R-value: 8. The LW is for living large. An NDK Explorer with an oval rear hatch, great for packing large items such as the Fondue set and the Martini bar. An all weather kitchen under a large tarp. Fully stocked with everything including the kitchen sink. And much, much, more!Now here is where the experienced campers can help. Can bring some gear you would like to share? I hope so! Warren
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Kate, You and Mark are always welcome to join in on any trip Pru and I plan. Even if the two of you are not new to kayak camping. In many ways Pru and I offer what we term a "No Judgement Zone" for kayak campers. We enjoy very much learning from others and just having fun. You and Mark would fit in perfectly! Warren P.S. Look for the "Camper's Corner" posting on another section of the web site. I hope you can join in.
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One confirmed paddler as of 3/17/13. Three openings left. Don't delay! Warren -
Hi Gary, I would very much enjoy joining in on your trip to Muscle Ridge. Please count me in! Warren
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Luckily for me, operators have been working weekends to handle the incoming calls. We have a new question for your reading pleasure. 1. In an earlier posting you mention how you make friends while camping. Please tell me more. I could use more friends. A wise person once said the true measure of a woman’s/man’s wealth is not in the value of their material possessions but in the number of their friends and true friends. During certain periods in our adult lives, the daily demands of family and work does not allow as much time as we would like to devote to our friends. At the end of a work day many of us are exhausted and the weekends are filled with chores. Sometimes friendships have a tendency to just drift away. Sea kayak camping is an activity that will help you gain more friends if that is what you seek. It does, however, sort of sneak up on you. I guess it is due to all the little ways in which we structure our activities. The four person boat carries, the group meal times, the quiet moments when all we do is watch a sun rise or sun set. How we watch a seal swim by in the early morning as we savor a hot cup of coffee or tea. I guess I never got a chance to do many of these activities when I was on a day paddle. Day paddles are good, but I never felt I got a chance to slow down the pace of my life or get to know any of the other paddlers. During the summer months, we tend to finish our dinner before the bugs might arrive and some of us enjoy sitting out on the rock ledges with a hot cup of tea until 8:00PM. Some campers like the solitude, but many enjoy the good conversations. These are the good time that build friendships and form memories. Perhaps this answer has helped you gain a little insight into what kayak camping is all about for many of us. I hope you will join in on one of the trips as listed on the NSPN calendar. Friends await your arrival! Warren
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Thank you Ed! I do hope our journeys intersect this year and we are both on the same camping trips. You are correct that there appears to be some interest in kayak camping. I credit that to last season when Gary, Katherine, PeterB, Rob and Cathy all offered kayak camping trips to our NSPN community. In addition we had the educational session on kayak camping presented by Kate and Suz this week! This season Pru and I wanted to help and have just today posted three "New to Kayak Camping Trips" to the NSPN calendar for May, June and July. We hope there will be some interest and some paddlers will sign up. Please spred the word. Warren
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untilThe 2013 New to Kayak Camping Trips This year we plan to offer three sea kayak camping trips. The trip dates are; May 4&5, June 8&9 and July 13&14. We would like to keep the size of the group to no more than 6 campers on each trip due to group size limitations on some of the islands. That means we are looking for up to four campers to join us on each trip. It is open to both men and women on a first come first served basis via PM or e-mail. You do need to have paddling skills which would allow you to complete a L3 trip as outlined on the NSPN web site. Therefore, we reserve the right to deny participation if we believe a paddler does not have the basic paddling skills to successfully complete a L3 journey. Each trip will be run as a CAM trip. You will also need to be a member of the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) (www.mita.org). For the May trip, a dry suit is required. A dry suit is optional on the June and July trips. Although we have titled these trips as new to kayak camping, if you are a novice camper or have not gained much experience camping on islands off the coast of Maine, feel free to sign up for one or more of the trips described below. May 4 and 5 Trip Tentatively, we are hoping to explore Muscongus Bay during the May trip. We will probably camp in the inner section of the bay as well as explore as much of the bay as weather and time permits. During the first weekend in May last year, we camped and explored the bay and it was wonderful at that time. We will be camping on a MITA island and maybe visiting several other MITA islands. At the end of the trip, it is our hope that you will come away with a good understanding of launching and camping opportunities in the bay for future trips. June 8 and 9 Trip Tentatively, we are hoping to explore the middle section of Casco Bay and camp on a Maine Coast Heritage Trust Island (MCHT) (www.mcht.org). This section of Casco Bay has great MITA islands to explore, seal colonies as well as osprey and eagle nests to view. It is one of my favorite sections along the coast of Maine. I suspect there will be more than enough for us to see and you may be visualizing return trips to this section during the off seasons. July 13 and 14 Trip Tentatively we may paddle in the eastern end of Casco Bay in the Sebascodegan Island waters. There is much to see in this section and great camping sites. I sense that these waters tend to be “off the beaten path” and I can’t understand why. Once you gain the knowledge of this area, I suspect you will return often. So there you go! Once you sign up and we approve, we will guide you with more information to help us all have safe, comfortable and fun trips. We encourage you to see if any or all of these dates work and whether these locations hold any interest for you. Please PM either of us or you can reach Warren via e-mail (wjosh51 at yahoo dot com) Warren and Pru
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untilThe 2013 New to Kayak Camping Trips This year we plan to offer three sea kayak camping trips. The trip dates are; May 4&5, June 8&9 and July 13&14. We would like to keep the size of the group to no more than 6 campers on each trip due to group size limitations on some of the islands. That means we are looking for up to four campers to join us on each trip. It is open to both men and women on a first come first served basis via PM or e-mail. You do need to have paddling skills which would allow you to complete a L3 trip as outlined on the NSPN web site. Therefore, we reserve the right to deny participation if we believe a paddler does not have the basic paddling skills to successfully complete a L3 journey. Each trip will be run as a CAM trip. You will also need to be a member of the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) (www.mita.org). For the May trip, a dry suit is required. A dry suit is optional on the June and July trips. Although we have titled these trips as new to kayak camping, if you are a novice camper or have not gained much experience camping on islands off the coast of Maine, feel free to sign up for one or more of the trips described below. May 4 and 5 Trip Tentatively, we are hoping to explore Muscongus Bay during the May trip. We will probably camp in the inner section of the bay as well as explore as much of the bay as weather and time permits. During the first weekend in May last year, we camped and explored the bay and it was wonderful at that time. We will be camping on a MITA island and maybe visiting several other MITA islands. At the end of the trip, it is our hope that you will come away with a good understanding of launching and camping opportunities in the bay for future trips. June 8 and 9 Trip Tentatively, we are hoping to explore the middle section of Casco Bay and camp on a Maine Coast Heritage Trust Island (MCHT) (www.mcht.org). This section of Casco Bay has great MITA islands to explore, seal colonies as well as osprey and eagle nests to view. It is one of my favorite sections along the coast of Maine. I suspect there will be more than enough for us to see and you may be visualizing return trips to this section during the off seasons. July 13 and 14 Trip Tentatively we may paddle in the eastern end of Casco Bay in the Sebascodegan Island waters. There is much to see in this section and great camping sites. I sense that these waters tend to be “off the beaten path” and I can’t understand why. Once you gain the knowledge of this area, I suspect you will return often. So there you go! Once you sign up and we approve, we will guide you with more information to help us all have safe, comfortable and fun trips. We encourage you to see if any or all of these dates work and whether these locations hold any interest for you. Please PM either of us or you can reach Warren via e-mail (wjosh51 at yahoo dot com) Warren and Pru
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untilThe 2013 New to Kayak Camping Trips This year we plan to offer three sea kayak camping trips. The trip dates are; May 4&5, June 8&9 and July 13&14. We would like to keep the size of the group to no more than 6 campers on each trip due to group size limitations on some of the islands. That means we are looking for up to four campers to join us on each trip. It is open to both men and women on a first come first served basis via PM or e-mail. You do need to have paddling skills which would allow you to complete a L3 trip as outlined on the NSPN web site. Therefore, we reserve the right to deny participation if we believe a paddler does not have the basic paddling skills to successfully complete a L3 journey. Each trip will be run as a CAM trip. You will also need to be a member of the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) (www.mita.org). For the May trip, a dry suit is required. A dry suit is optional on the June and July trips. Although we have titled these trips as new to kayak camping, if you are a novice camper or have not gained much experience camping on islands off the coast of Maine, feel free to sign up for one or more of the trips described below. May 4 and 5 Trip Tentatively, we are hoping to explore Muscongus Bay during the May trip. We will probably camp in the inner section of the bay as well as explore as much of the bay as weather and time permits. During the first weekend in May last year, we camped and explored the bay and it was wonderful at that time. We will be camping on a MITA island and maybe visiting several other MITA islands. At the end of the trip, it is our hope that you will come away with a good understanding of launching and camping opportunities in the bay for future trips. June 8 and 9 Trip Tentatively, we are hoping to explore the middle section of Casco Bay and camp on a Maine Coast Heritage Trust Island (MCHT) (www.mcht.org). This section of Casco Bay has great MITA islands to explore, seal colonies as well as osprey and eagle nests to view. It is one of my favorite sections along the coast of Maine. I suspect there will be more than enough for us to see and you may be visualizing return trips to this section during the off seasons. July 13 and 14 Trip Tentatively we may paddle in the eastern end of Casco Bay in the Sebascodegan Island waters. There is much to see in this section and great camping sites. I sense that these waters tend to be “off the beaten path” and I can’t understand why. Once you gain the knowledge of this area, I suspect you will return often. So there you go! Once you sign up and we approve, we will guide you with more information to help us all have safe, comfortable and fun trips. We encourage you to see if any or all of these dates work and whether these locations hold any interest for you. Please PM either of us or you can reach Warren via e-mail (wjosh51 at yahoo dot com) Warren and Pru
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The 2013 New to Kayak Camping Trips This year we plan to offer three sea kayak camping trips. The trip dates are; May 4&5, June 8&9 and July 13&14. We would like to keep the size of the group to no more than 6 campers on each trip due to group size limitations on some of the islands. That means we are looking for up to four campers to join us on each trip. It is open to both men and women on a first come first served basis via PM or e-mail. You do need to have paddling skills which would allow you to complete a L3 trip as outlined on the NSPN web site. Therefore, we reserve the right to deny participation if we believe a paddler does not have the basic paddling skills to successfully complete a L3 journey. Each trip will be run as a CAM trip. You will also need to be a member of the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) (www.mita.org). For the May trip, a dry suit is required. A dry suit is optional on the June and July trips. Although we have titled these trips as new to kayak camping, if you are a novice camper or have not gained much experience camping on islands off the coast of Maine, feel free to sign up for one or more of the trips described below. May 4 and 5 Trip Tentatively, we are hoping to explore Muscongus Bay during the May trip. We will probably camp in the inner section of the bay as well as explore as much of the bay as weather and time permits. During the first weekend in May last year, we camped and explored the bay and it was wonderful at that time. We will be camping on a MITA island and maybe visiting several other MITA islands. At the end of the trip, it is our hope that you will come away with a good understanding of launching and camping opportunities in the bay for future trips. June 8 and 9 Trip Tentatively, we are hoping to explore the middle section of Casco Bay and camp on a Maine Coast Heritage Trust Island (MCHT) (www.mcht.org). This section of Casco Bay has great MITA islands to explore, seal colonies as well as osprey and eagle nests to view. It is one of my favorite sections along the coast of Maine. I suspect there will be more than enough for us to see and you may be visualizing return trips to this section during the off seasons. July 13 and 14 Trip Tentatively we may paddle in the eastern end of Casco Bay in the Sebascodegan Island waters. There is much to see in this section and great camping sites. I sense that these waters tend to be “off the beaten path” and I can’t understand why. Once you gain the knowledge of this area, I suspect you will return often. So there you go! Once you sign up and we approve, we will guide you with more information to help us all have safe, comfortable and fun trips. We encourage you to see if any or all of these dates work and whether these locations hold any interest for you. Please PM either of us or you can reach Warren via e-mail (wjosh51 at yahoo dot com) Warren and Pru
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Ed, yes there are many great communities along the coast of Maine and many could benefit from sea kayakers who wish to contribute to the local communities. Two that come to mind are Frenchboro on Long Island Maine and the thriving community at the northern end of Burnt Coat Harbor on Swans Island Maine, but there are many more. If you paddle in those waters, bring a good pair of land based shoes as well as some money and enjoy these communities. Gary, at the educational session this week Suz provided two word documents to those of us who gave her our e-mail addresses. One was entitled "Group Gear List" and the other was entitled "Personal Gear List". The idea is a trip leader could provide the lists to a group of new to kayak camping paddlers and we could gain an understanding of who has what gear. From that knowledge, we could help each other. It is true some camping gear is expensive and many of us regret some of our purchases. It is far better to try out some gear before you purchase. Excellent comment and question gentlemen! Miss Manners is pleased! Warren
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Suz mentions in an earlier comment, how she uses a guide book written by Dorcas S. Miller. I agree it is an excellent book and is my favorite guide book for paddling along the coast of Maine. The title of his book is "Kayaking the Maine Coast - A Paddler's Guide to Day Trips from Kittery to Cobscook". In addition to the Dorcas Miller book, you might consider the following; AMC - "Sea Kayaking Along the New England Coast" by Tamsin Venn "Guide to Sea Kayaking in Maine" by Shelley Johnson and Vaughan Smith I believe you can locate all three of these books on web sites such as Amazon.com Enjoy! Warren
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Ed, I do agree that our individual actions can reflect on our kayak community as a whole. But, I also believe most paddlers want to do the right thing given half a chance and the knowledge they need. I think at times, paddlers can struggle to know what they need to do. In a way we have a very powerful tool with the NSPN web site to educate and help those who are new to sea kayaking and kayak camping. Last night, was an eye opener to see 55 attendees at the educational session taught by Kate and Suz. I could feel the strong desire within the group to do the right thing and enjoy the wonderful island treasures we all share. Perhaps, like Kate and Suz, it is our duty to help educate them. Warren
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NSPN Kayak Camping Workshop, Thursday March 14, 6:30PM, REI , Reading
... replied to PeterB's topic in Past Trips
Kate and Suz, Thank you both for an outstanding presentation. It was wonderful to see the room filled to overflowing with so many eager kayak campers. Suz, I will forever remember your guidance that "Every meal, while camping, needs to have dessert. That no one ever turns down a piece of dessert." As I prepare for an upcoming camping trip with the clan, I see fresh baked brownies in our future. I will be certain to remind them of your words of wisdom. Warren -
The questions keep arriving…………… Boy, this is fun! 1. How do you find the island camp sites off the coast of Maine? Can I camp on any of the islands as long as I am not in some ones front yard? When I plan a kayak camping trip, I use both a good nautical chart as well as a current Maine Island Trail Guide. I obtain the guide by becoming a member of the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA). You can become a member via their web site www.mita.org. It is important to always use a current guide, since the information regarding any restrictions on the islands can change. Frequently these restrictions may pertain to a new wildlife restriction, such as a new eagle pair that has taken up residence on the island. As a community of paddlers, we need to be respectful of these restrictions. You obtain a current guide each year by renewing your membership. Have you renewed yours for 2013? In addition to the MITA membership, I also belong to Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT). You can become a member via their web site www.mcht.org. MCHT has some islands which are available to kayak camping, but not as many as MITA. It is important to remember, the areas where we can camp off the coast of Maine are restricted to approved sites on MITA, MCHT or other designated islands. We are not allowed to camp on any island we see. Not without approval from the owners. I hope this helps. Warren
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Another question for our reading pleasure! 1. I frequently see fog off the coast of Maine. Tell me you don’t paddle in fog! How dangerous! Fog, one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful gifts and yes, many of us do paddle in fog. I will admit, I love fog, but I also understand the risks it may pose to the untrained paddler. Fog can be present in many sections of the coast of Maine at certain times each year and will vary in intensity. It also seems to be present more frequently in some areas such as Jonesport, Maine. For the paddler who has a strong reluctance to paddle in fog, you might consider developing what I call a solid foundation of three skills. Good observation skills, sound decision making and solid teamwork. You could then layer on skills in the area of equipment and processes to avoid two major concerns to the paddler while in fog. The concerns are an inability to arrive at the desired destination and/or a collision. I believe this is one area of sea kayaking where you would benefit from professional training and good mentoring. Many of us use anywhere from 6 to 8 or more specific equipment/actions designed to achieve group safety based in the intensity of the fog or if we are attempting a major crossing. It does require practice and since fog can arrive at any time, we always carry the equipment we need to keep moving on the water to safety or to our destination. One of my most memorable moments while paddling was during fog on the Sheepscot River. In the distance through the fog we could see a large schooner under sail which looked very much like a ghost ship. I will forever remember that image. Warren
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Like many readers, my initial reaction to the question regarding the use of a candle lantern for heat was the potential personal and group safety issue. But then I realized that I have never used a candle lantern and it would be an assumption on my part that they pose a safety risk. Without more information, I concluded that can not determine if one should or should not use a candle lantern in their tent for heat. But then I remembered back to some early training I received regarding kayak camping and MITA islands. As we know, most MITA islands are privately owned and the owners have graciously offered to share these fragile islands with us as long as we are careful. Many of these islands do not allow campfires and I believe there is an expectation that whenever we use a device with a flame, we do so out on the rock ledges or below the high water mark on the beach. So if a paddlers has pitched their tent out on the rock ledges, perhaps a candle lantern for heat is OK? Maybe! I believe, however, that kayak camping in cold weather is all about staying warm. To stay warm we frequently pitch our tents in protected sites that usually are not out on rock ledges. I know each paddler may want to maintain their own degree of individuality, but it is my hope we all want to protect these wonderful islands. Warren
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Now that we have most of the logistics and hazard issues addressed, the next gentle reader is seeking enlightenment from our NSPN community on the really good stuff. Why does anyone bother to kayak camp, anyway? Isn’t it a lot of work? Why not just stay home and watch TV every weekend?Wow! It does make you stop and think for a moment. I suppose it is a lot a work, but it does not seem that way to me. I guess for me it is the reason I do all the other aspects of my life, the long commute to work, the chores around the house, etc. I guess kayak camping makes me happy, besides I hate TV. But, I also like the friends you make when you camp. Maybe we are all a little crazy. Perhaps my answer it a little short, I do hope others will jump in with their answers. Warren
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Cathy, You love camping, I know you do! Especially now that Rob has taught us to use rocks to keep newsprint from flying away during gale force winds. Your comment shows how valuable it is to have a variety of perspectives on each and every camping trip. Seems to me, I focus on the logistics and risk issues of a trip more than viewing the surroundings and the beauty in the moment. Thank you for reminding me of that important aspect of the trip! Hey Pru, I think Cathy is going to help you to refocus me! Warren
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Last night another question was fielded by my bank of operators. I love this one! I am not a morning person and rarely awaken prior to 8:00AM and could never be ready to launch before 10:00AM. During a multi-day kayak camping trip, will the trip leader understand my needs?NSPN has many great trip leaders, each with years of experience camping on islands along the coast of Maine. Although I have not yet had an opportunity to camp with each, I would guess they all share the common goal of emphasizing group safety above individual preference. There are many times when the decision to launch is based on important group safety issues. For example, Some sections of the coast have current flows which need to be considered to aid the journey. Timing in these situations is critical. The Jonesport waters and Goose Rock Passage both come to mind as needing careful consideration. The group may need to launch early in order to arrive at their destination so they can set up camp, or find an alternative to their primary site, prior to dusk. During the summer months, the wind has a tendency to increase speed as the afternoon arrives. The increased wind speed can create, at times, bumpy water that may present a hazard to the group. Some groups like to paddle between the hours of 6:00AM and 2:00PM as their method for improving group safety particularly if thunder and lightening storms are predicted for the late afternoon. But perhaps the most important reason I have discovered for keeping a flexible float plan is the unpredictable aspects of Mother Nature. At times, fast moving weather fronts may require that a group vacate a camp site quickly. When that decision is made, you can bet the trip leader is thinking about group safety first and foremost.Warren
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Gary, Excellent Questions! I can only draw upon my own experiences, but hopefully others will jump in. So here goes. 1. Plants – Some of the island, not all, have poison ivy and Rosa Rugosa. Both can be hazards. Also, the slippery algae on the rocks can cause falls. 2. Animals – Some islands have raccoons and voles which can be annoying at best. 3. Insects – The big one for me has been the presence of a large number of mosquitoes on some, not all, of the islands. Now what do we do about all these potential hazards? First and foremost would be to carry a first aid kit and know how to use it. Remember the kit should be customized to your specific needs and be readily available to you in your day hatch. To gain a good foundation in how to handle a variety of first aid issues while kayak camping, you could consider taking a course on Wilderness First Aid for paddlers. It might be referred to as WFA – H2O and is well worth the time and effort. In addition, you should consider a mosquito head net or jacket for protection. For the raccoons, be careful where you store your food. I typically store all food in my hatches overnight and do not have any food particles in or around my tent. For the voles, Suz would tell you that red pepper is a deterrent. One other important consideration is your choice of foot gear for both in the cockpit and while at the camp site. You can suffer from puncture wounds and sprains with the wrong foot gear. For me, this is an important safety issue! On the topic of eating shellfish that has been harvested during the trip, I have no experience in the area to draw upon in answering this question. I will say that I am very conservative about what I eat during a trip. I tend to prepare and sample each new dish at home before I incorporate it into my trip meal plan that way I try to minimize any potential gastric discomforts during the trip. Hope this helps. Warren
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Gary, Sounds like you have lived this experience! I realize there are no easy answers to this kind of problem. I suspect we have all tried a different approach, such as squeezing into a less than ideal piece of real estate. From our lessons learned I suspect we craft a few guidelines to minimize a repeat event. Some of the ideas I have discovered, are as follows: I do try to find my camp site by 2:00PM so I have time to implement, before dusk, "Plan B" if my primary site is occupied. Some islands allow you to make a reservation in advance. Also, in some cases the group will occupy two different islands that are close to one another as a solution. I will admit in some sections of the Maine coast you just cannot find a good "Plan B" alternative and you hope the island is big enough for all members of the group. As an aside, that is when you see the advantages of free standing tents that may have to be pitched out on rock ledges. Thank you for the question! Warren
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