Dan Foster

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

I just replaced my neck gasket with an inexpensive one from Gear Up Guide - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BGVDZYB

They come in five different sizes.

The material they use seems to be about twice as thick as the Kokatat gasket that was on my drysuit before. After measuring the stretched-out old gasket, I ended up with an XXL replacement gasket! I'm hoping the combination of a thicker material and minimal stretch to fit around my apparently XXL-sized noggin stalk means this one will last for a while. It's quite comfortable and doesn't crush my neck like the unstretched ones I've had in the past.

https://outdoornewengland.com/ in Franklin, NH offers drysuit gasket repair. Mail in or drop off.

It would be a good project suit for a gasket repair clinic.

I can offer a Kokatat neck gasket repair tool to club members in the greater Stow metropolitan area (west of Boston).

I just attempted an indoor drysuit water test. Tied off the neck and one sleeve, strapped the other sleeve over the bathtub spout, and turned on the water. The shower came on instead, and soaked me, the drysuit, and my nice dry test surface. ?

Jim, if you splash water on your DWR-treated garment, and the water beads up and rolls off "like water off a duck's back", that's a sign that the hydrophobic coating is working. The D in DWR stands for "not very Durable", and it eventually wears off. Once that happens, water wets out the outer fabric, basically closing the pores on the outside, and the ability of the waterproof/breathable membrane to pass water vapor (sweat) drops dramatically.

Here's a thread from earlier this year:

Restoring Durable Water Repellant (DWR) coating on drysuits and paddling gear - General Message Board - NSPN Message Board

I did a thorough cleaning and used Nikwax TX.Direct spray on my drysuit back in April. I can't say I noticed any difference in breathability.

4 hours ago, gyork said:

  

I was already having nightmares about my relief zipper. This photo makes them 10x worse!

It used to be that if you sent a drysuit in to Kokatat for a gasket replacement, they'd do a free water test and make repairs, am I remembering that right? Now they've got a separate $45 factory water test option on the page where you'd order a gasket replacement. They also now offer annual service plans.

Has anyone sent in a suit for a gasket replacement recently? Can you confirm whether or not they are still doing complimentary water tests, or if you need to order that as well?

You might also join the Merrimack Valley Paddlers FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/244781862345264

There's talk about pool sessions at Colby Sawyer college.

Ongoing discussion about all the local pool sessions this season:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Wheresthewhitewaterat/permalink/10166860482295174/

AMC CT has pool sessions posted, others may follow: Appalachian Mountain Club - Event Listings (search for keyword "pool")

Join the "Where's the Whitewater at?" facebook group. They've organized Wednesday evening pool sessions in Athol, MA, and Sundays in North Adams, MA.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Wheresthewhitewaterat

Ed and Joe: See option 2 here: U.S. Office of Coast Survey GIS Data 

The NOAA Chart Display Service renders NOAA ENC data with "traditional paper chart" symbols, labels, and color schemes familiar to those who have used NOAA paper nautical charts or the NOAA Custom Chart application.

It's not the same as the old raster charts, but it's a bit more familiar looking than the global ENC symbology. Unfortunately, it's really only useful for those of us writing mapping apps - it's not designed for end users. But it does sound like NOAA is listening to feedback.

I have some large pieces of 2" white closed-cell foam, which was previously installed as side flotation in my canoe's former whitewater outfitting. It's not as dense as the new minicell stuff, but the price is right.  I'm currently using three pieces, laminated together with contact cement, as a pedestal/saddle canoe seat, and have been thinking about building my own kayak bulkhead out of it. It's got various cut-outs to fit around thwarts and seats, so probably best to bring over a cardboard template of your hull shape and we can see if there's a piece that would work.

The National Weather Service is considering adding a new Wave Detail line to their marine forecasts, which will indicate the primary and secondary swell height, period, and direction:

Old:

TONIGHT...NE winds around 10 kt. Gusts up to 20 kt this evening.
Seas 3 to 4 ft.

New:

TONIGHT...NE winds around 10 kt. Gusts up to 20 kt this evening.
Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: E 3 ft at 7 seconds and E 2 ft at
11 seconds.

They've got a feedback form if anyone wants to chime in. Seems like a useful addition to the paddling forecast!

Experimental Coastal Waters Forecast Wave Component Update (weather.gov)

Proposed Coastal Waters Forecast - NWS Boston/Norton, MA (weather.gov)

Ahhh, right you are! Google Earth shows a fair-sized house nestled in the woods. A further review of the park maps shows that Eastern Head is part of Acadia NP, but the Ear is privately owned. My apologies to the owner for our brief stop on the beach.

In early August 2022, Janet, Kate, and I spent a full week exploring the islands off Stonington, ME, and were joined by Gary for the middle part of our trip. We launched from Sand Beach in Stonington, taking advantage of the convenient and reasonably-priced car shuttle and parking from nearby Greenlaw's Campground.

Our first stop was Steve Island, a beautiful MITA island where the wrap-around granite ledges provided easy access to protected cooking sites, numerous sun-bathing, relaxing, and gear-drying options, and views of some spectacular sunsets. Day 2 was the "nickel tour" of the archipelago, including a stop at the flooded quarry at MCHT's Green Island Preserve for a refreshing dip.

After two nights on Steve's, it was time to pack up and head south to Kimball, which would be our base for exploring Isle au Haut. We visited the NE campsite on Harbor (spacious site with a tricky ledge landing) and scoped out the two-tent-max site on Nathan along the way. Kimball has its own all-tides landing beach, multiple nice tent pads, and a well-maintained hiking trail that leads up and over the island to a shell beach facing Isle au Haut. It was a great location!

Since Kimball and some of the other islands in this report are privately owned, and part of the MITA trail due to the generosity of the landowners, this seems a good time to mention that...

Access to coastal islands is a privilege built on landowner trust and visitor care. Visitation guidelines vary by island and owner expectations can change from year to year. When planning a trip, please be sure you have the most up to date information for each island, and be a mindful guest when you visit. The Maine Island Trail Association is a good source of information about many coastal Maine islands open for recreational use, www.MITA.org. MITA membership is the best way to keep current and support responsible use and stewardship of these special places. 

We pitched camp and then decided to paddle up to the National Park Service's Duck Harbor Campground on Isle au Haut, taking advantage of the lee shore to hide from the wind. We rode waves up the outside of Kimball, catching long rides and enjoying the thrill of zipping along the wild coastline. Rounding Kimball, we realized that the wind had increased dramatically, and that the lee we'd expected between the islands was actually a funnel. We gave up on Duck Harbor (we'd see it tomorrow) and put our full effort into getting back to camp. It was a slog, and the toughest paddling of the trip. We finally pulled into the little town dock at Isle au Haut and had some lunch.

Things slackened on the short paddle back to camp, where the whitecaps mysteriously disappeared as we landed, and Gary, who launched to meet us at about that time, reported light breezes on his afternoon paddle to Kimball.

Tuesday's weather remained unsettled, so we opted for a hiking day on Isle au Haut. This time, the four mile paddle to Duck Harbor was a success, and we landed as best we could and carried boats up to the grass near the ferry boat landing. (There is slightly better landing a bit further down the cove, but the entire harbor is a slippery, rocky mess below mid-tide). We checked out the six lean-to campsites and then set out for a day of hiking along the Western Head, Cliff, and Duck Harbor Mountain trails.

The trail winds its way toward Western Ear, crossing cobble beaches and rocky outcrops before ducking (and harboring) back into the black spruce forest. The overcast skies and swirling mist complimented the trail perfectly, and I felt we were stepping back in time as we weaved in and out of bogs, forest, and wild coast.

At Western Ear, we paused to reflect on the bounty of the sea.

We then made our way along the Cliff Trail, admiring the rugged coastline of high cliffs, massive slots, and the wild water below. About 15 minutes into our lunch stop, a massive wall of whitewater erupted over a ledge about a quarter-mile out to sea, and we spent some time debating whether it had been doing so all along, just hidden from our view in the fog, or if this was a sleeping boomer, just waiting for the right combination of waves to catch kayakers unaware. We never saw it explode like that again. It was a bit disturbing, as we'd be paddling inside of that ledge on our circumnavigation tomorrow.

The Duck Harbor Mountain trail featured some ridiculous scrambles, as we worked our way up (and often down!) granite ledges to a viewpoint several hundred feet above the ocean.

We'd had the trails to ourselves up until now, when the bubble of hikers from the 10AM mail boat to Duck Harbor came through. Most notable was a group of five young women followed closely by a young man wearing only green underpants. "It's really hot" was the excuse we were given. To his credit, it was.

The gusty winds which had plagued us throughout the first few days of the trip finally settled down, and Wednesday turned out to be a perfect day for our circumnavigation of Isle au Haut. We made quick work of the paddle around the south and east sides of the island, and made a difficult landing on Eastern Ear. Continuing around the outside of the Ear, we were surprised to see someone on shore, photographing us as we made our way around the wild rocky point. There was no sign of a boat, a tent, or even a good place to land a boat, and we debated the possibility of swimming over from Eastern Head for the day at low tide.

The stretch of coast "Between the Ears" was spectacular, and thankfully, much milder than the raging conditions we'd seen from above the day before. There were cliffs, pockets, slots, and waves, and we took our time, admiring the scenery and soaking in the interaction between Atlantic swell and prehistoric granite.

We landed for lunch just shy of Duck Harbor, at one of the cobble beaches we'd hiked the day before. A steady stream of park visitors hiked through as we refueled and relaxed. Then it was back up the western coast and around Kimball one last time to complete the 18 nautical mile circumnavigation of Isle au Haut.

Breaking camp the next morning, we set out for the campsite on the north side of Saddleback Island, where we'd talked to a group of free-diving kayakers earlier in the week. As we approached, a small boat was headed right for the campsite, and the race was on. They got there first, and began unloading large waterproof boxes and some suspiciously-chainsaw-shaped objects, which turned out to be chainsaw-shaped chainsaws. It was MCHT's trail crew, here for a day of trail work and island maintenance. We made a hasty camp, thanked them for their service, and beat a hasty retreat back onto the water as the saws and weed whackers roared to life.

We lunched, lazed, loafed, and lingered on the lovely Enchanted Island, which sports a beach straight out of the Caribbean.

Passing Spruce, we debated the possible workings of a granite driveway rising straight from the sea, inflatable boats with drop-down wheels in the stern, and a winch and pulley system at the top of the "driveway", presumably to make it easier to head into town for groceries. Given our own private island and enough free time, I suspect one of us would eventually engineer a similar solution, though probably not without several mishaps involving spilt milk, cracked eggs, and sunken duck boats along the way.

On the way back to camp, Janet and I encountered a pair of Harbor Porpoises working their way through a dense field of lobster traps, and floated in wonder as they swam up to and beneath our boats, surfacing every 30 seconds or so take a blowy breath of air before arching back down again.

On Friday morning, we waved goodbye as Gary departed for home through the dense fog, and then set out to explore our way down toward Naskeag. We island-hopped through the fog down to Eastern Mark, and then over to the Lazygut Thrumcaps. We found the MITA description of the Lazygut Thrumcaps entirely confusing, as it referenced three islands - one private with a cottage, one (outer) day-use-only, and one (inner) with camping. Approaching from the south, we saw three islands, labelled Lazygut Islands on the chart, with a prominent cottage on the westernmost one, and a large channel between it and the others. It would appear that there are actually FOUR islands here, the two MITA Thrumcaps being separated by about a 6 foot channel that is a sand bar/beach at most tides.

Both the western-most and eastern-most have cottages on them. USGS topo shows four distinct islands, my chart showed three, and Janet's showed what looked more like a cove than a bifurcation of the Thrumcaps. Some mention of the "other" Lazygut island in the MITA guide, and the use of some cardinal directions rather than inner and outer, might help future visitors.

To make things even more confusing, today's nickel tour of the western islands was affectionately called "Sheep, Little Sheep, Other Sheep, Bigger Little Sheep", in honor of the two pairs of Sheep/Little Sheep islands within three miles of each other. I famously spent an hour last July with another group, hunting in vain through dense blowdown on Sheep (Deer Isle) for "the campsite facing Little Sheep", which was actually located three miles east of us on Sheep (Stonington). Since the fog had dispersed, we paddled across Eggemoggin Reach to Crow, admiring the octagonal house in its center which appears hollow, thanks to its enormous glass windows. A central fireplace and hood must provide an exceedingly-wonderful spot to watch storms roll in across the waters, with views to Acadia rising beyond. We proceeded across to Sellers and MCHT's Hog Island, which has LOTS of group camping options.

Working our way back toward home now, we paddled past the first of many Potato islands (this one closed for nesting bald eagles in 2022 - a good reminder to check those MITA guides before visiting!), waved to the Deer Isle Sheep/ettes, and rounded Stinson Neck. There, a huge wooden staircase descended toward the water from a cluster of small cabins, all tucked into the surrounding woods on at least four levels. We were befuddled, especially about the grand descending staircase, which was at least 20 feet wide. This turned out to be the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. The staircase serves as a central meeting point for the artists and artisans who spend residencies there, and encourages the interchange of ideas, and the whole site's architecture has won numerous awards.

We enjoyed one final campfire on the beach before tucking in for a final night's sleep on the islands, and our paddle back to civilization the next day.

Thanks to MITA, MCHT, and the National Park Service for making these experiences possible, and to Janet, Kate, and Gary for being such wonderful paddling, hiking, and camping companions.

Link to more photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UTF15qwiR4F3fbMr6

Just saw this trip posted by AMC - some of you (not me!) have expressed interest in paddling out there.

Isle of Shoals - Appalachian Mountain Club - Event Listings (outdoors.org)