Paddle sports enthusiasts and those who would like to be are invited to the Bangor Civic Center Friday-Sunday, March 29-31, during the Boat Show to talk about the enjoyment of paddling small craft and how to do it safely. Join us for our 13th annual Paddle Smart presentation. This year, …
Articles by Jeff Strout
GEAR BOX
Jetboil Sol Ti
Price: $149.95 Weight: 11.9 ounces Jetboil’s new Sol Ti model (titanium cooking cup) is designed for the gear wonk in all of us — it’s compact, lightweight, has fast boil times and is pleasing to the eye. Jetboil’s PCS, personal cooking system, model made its debut in 2004, and the …
JEFF STROUT
Birthday wonders and passing time
It felt good Wednesday afternoon to get back on the water after a hiatus of several weeks during which major life changes were on the daily agenda. On the water I can ditch life’s glitches and feel at one with nature. My fiberglass cocoon transports me away from shore and …
Western Maine resort towns, Down East coast displaying peak colors
AUGUSTA — Peak foliage color has reached Rangeley, Farmington, Bethel, and the downeast coast, according to the fifth 2011 fall foliage report from the Maine Department of Conservation (MDOC). Currently, Maine Forest Service and state park rangers are observing peak leaf color, or at least 75 percent color change, in …
Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort first ski area to open in U.S.
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort (LVSSR) became the first ski area in the United States to open its lift served terrain for the 2011/12 season on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011 at 7:30 a.m. Wolf Creek Ski Area that’s located in Pagosa Springs, Colo. was second. LVSSR, …
JEFF STROUT
Time to think about colder water and paddling apparel
While there’s still plenty of time this fall to get out on our lakes and bays, it’s time to think spring when it comes to dressing for the experience. As the water temperatures drop it is important to begin dressing for colder water. If you’ve been paddling on the ocean …
JEFF STROUT
A great weekend in Maine
If you didn’t get out last weekend and enjoy the crisp clear air, please don’t say I didn’t invite you. Sunday was a day to celebrate life, and 5,000 or more of us did just that — walking and running in the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure. “Race” …
Don’t let the rest of the season go by without a good paddle
Summer’s about to pass us by, and this weekend’s cooler weather should serve as a good reminder to that, but don’t be fooled into thinking your paddling opportunities are over. In fact, some of the better paddling weather is on your doorstep so make some plans to get out and …
Favorite Places in Maine: Seboeis Management Unit
It has been years, too many to recall, since I last visited Seboeis Lake and the Seboeis Management Unit of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. But the memories persist. And for sure I want to return. It’s remote, to say the least, 16 miles north of Brownville Junction …
Down a lazy river
Sometimes it takes a different perspective and a desire to try out a “new” (to you) place to paddle your kayak. I’ve paddled a fair number of places around the state, but surprisingly never on the Union River in Ellsworth. I’ve stopped at the public landing, the Ellsworth Waterfront Park …
GEAR BOX
Gear Box: Soto’s micro-windscreen
Price: $9.95 Wind: Sailors love it, camping stoves hate it, some so much they go on strike. The outdoor cook will turn into a stonewall mason trying to escape Mother Nature’s gusty breath during meal prep. Even if it’s not blowing a gale, a 5-10 mph breeze will play havoc …
FAVORITE PLACES
Favorite places in Maine: Warren Island State Park
If you love the ocean, and you love camping with a healthy dose of island life thrown in, then Warren Island State Park should be on your list. Accessible only by boat, Warren Island lies just south of Grindle Point, home of the Islesboro ferry terminal. Islesboro “gave” the island …
Fog doesn’t do much for the scenery during trip to Grand Manan
Color my summer vacation gray. Sprinkle it with abundant moisture. Throw in a day of sun. Put it on an island in the Bay of Fundy. That pretty much sums up a week I spent in mid-August on Grand Manan, that great wall of cliffs you can see to the …
GEAR BOX
Cuisinart GrateLifter
Cooking outdoors, especially in pleasant weather, seems always to make food taste so much better than indoors, right? Gas grills have made this experience quick and easy, but there’s something special — ritualistic — and a lot more flavorful about cooking over charcoal. The Cuisinart GrateLifter charcoal grill is not …
Great Blue Heron
While riding around Schoodic peninsula in Acadia National Park, Old Town photographer Dave Small said he saw and photographed this Great Blue Heron. “I’ve been fortunate this spring and summer to see several herons, but this is the closest I’ve been able to get to one for quite a while. …
JEFF STROUT
Voyage of the Yellow Banana
Another Milbridge Days is in the books. Last weekend’s celebration, from my perspective, was another success, at least judging by the number of people who showed up in town. I’d say the number of parade watchers far outnumbered the town’s population of 1,200-plus. As usual, the town was hopping as …
GEAR BOX
Gear Box: Microbites from Guyot Designs
MicroBites from Guyot Designs are a backpacker or camper’s dream utensil. Each snap-together pair is a five-utensil set that will take care of all your eating and many of your cooking needs. One piece is a spork (a spoon with short fork tines on the business end that allow you …
Favorite Places in Maine: Branch Lake
Not one to sit around and fry on a beach, I’m one to look for a nice place from which to launch a kayak and enjoy a day on the water. That there happens to be a nice sandy beach at such a locale is a bonus. Such is the …
JEFF STROUT
When you ding your plastic kayak, epoxy can patch it
If you paddle a kayak in Maine, chances are pretty good you’re going to scratch up the bottom of your boat. Occasionally you’re going to do more than put a scratch in you hull. And when that deep ding happens in a polyethylene (aka plastic) hull, how do you keep …
Gear Box: Spiderpodium will grab your imagination
How often are you looking for a way to hold, let’s say, your cellphone while you’re on the speaker trying to wrestle something from the recess of your desk, a pocketbook or pants pocket? Or held your flashlight while you worked in a dark recess of the engine compartment or …
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