Not Exactly Survivorman

Check out a short video from Teva. Not exactly Survivorman, but close.
Hipster guru goes survivalist

Homemade Greenland Paddle

Interested in carving your own Greenland paddle? Check out this website: http://www.carvegp.com

It gives you all of the information (including a video) you need to carve one. Anyone with basic carpentry skills would probably be able to follow it and produce a paddle of decent quality.

Here are some pictures of the paddle I made. I haven't applied a finish yet (Teak Oil was recommended), but have used it 2x. It is fairly well balanced and feels very comfortable, although it is a bit too short I think. I'm very inspired now, though, and will make another one that will hopefully be even better
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No paddling today

I took my daughter out to Southampton today to check out the big surf on some Dune Road beaches. While the waves were not as big as the 12 footers reported to be crashing onto shore, they were still bigger than normal. And relentless! As far out as you could see, there was a constant line of waves coming towards shore.

Even more remarkable was the water in Shinnecock Inlet. To call it confused would be an understatement! I've paddled through here with 5-6 foot rolling swells with no worries. Today, though, the waves were toppling over on themselves, and seemed to be coming from every direction. Every so often one would smash into the jetty and create a huge spray of saltwater, to the delight of my 3 year old. She also enjoyed playing in the surf (it was her first time in the ocean!)

Homemade Camp Stove

One thing I really missed on this last camping trip was my morning cup of coffee. I couldn't find my MSR stove and my Coleman burner was too big to pack away in my kayak. So, I did without a cup of coffee until I could make it into town in the afternoon.


But, I did a little searching and came upon this website that shows how to build your own soda can camp stove. I chose to make mine out of two PBR cans, but I am sure you can use whatever kind you like. Just have to get some denatured alcohol and I can see how this one works!

Saranac Lake Islands Campground

Well, I came back from the Adirondacks yesterday. I was able to sell a few copies of my book, plus visited quite a few outfitters and bookstores that were interested in ordering some. So, it was a pretty successful trip. I also got to do some paddling while I was up there, which made the trip even better.

I ended up camping at the Saranac Lake Islands Campground, which turned out to be a great place to set up a tent for a few nights. The Campground is stretched between Middle and Lower Saranac Lake, with sites on the lake shore as well as on the many islands dotting the lakes. The best part is, the sites are only accessible by boat, which means no cars, trucks, giant campers, etc. I stayed at site 7 on Sable Island, on Lower Saranac, and absolutely loved it!

There is nothing like stepping out of your tent and right into your boat to go for a paddle. Staying here lets you do that. I had paddled the three Saranac Lakes before, but the weather was so dreary that day I did not get a chance to appreciate them. This time, though, I got to see how beautiful they really are. I spent more than a few hours paddling among the islands on Lower Saranac, exploring their rocky shores and saying hi to fellow campers. I even saw a very cool mink swimming between two islands while there.

Anyone looking for a place to spend some time outdoors in the Adirondacks would be well-served coming here. The lakes and their islands are all beautiful, the water is peaceful, and the people are friendly. I will definitely be back!

Paddleboard Demo's

Want to try something new? Well... Peconic Paddler is running a Stand-up Paddleboard Demo Day this Sunday, August 9th. The fun starts at noon. Anyone can come and try out a Paddleboard, plus Current Design boats and Ocean Kayak sit-on-tops.

I've wanted to try a paddleboard for a long time, so I'm definitely going to check it out on Sunday.