BaffinPaddler - http://baffinpaddler.blogspot.com

My paddle partner said, "I need to take a break ashore somewhere. Oh look. There's an old dock over there. Maybe I can climb out." Me: "OK , I'll wait out here in the middle of the creek!" Paddle partner: "Come over here with your camera! It's not an old dock. Look! It's a bunch of snapping turtles on a fallen log!" Oh joy. Do I have to? There's a little current in the creek pushing me one way, and the wind is blowing 25 km/hr with 40 km/hr wind gusts pushing me the other way, and all I've got is a little hand-held snap'n'shoot camera with only a 3X zoom, and you want me to get a picture of this without scaring them all off the log if I get too close! I did this for you turtle loving friends and almost lost my paddle. Snapping turtles on fallen log, Lyndhurst Creek, Lower Beverley Lake, Delta, Ontario, Canada My quick drift and shoot plan worked out, and the turtles stayed on the log while I cursed t

Recently, I did a post on how to keep your paddle boots from getting smelly. I'm surprised to see it has been a pretty popular post in my web stats reports. Even though it isn't the most alluring or pretty paddle topic, it is an important one. We're always wearing some kind of paddle bootie or boot. Most of us have many different types of paddle boots and booties for different conditions. I also promised I'd call out the well-known maker (brand) of my knee high paddle boots because they leaked like a sieve at the soles from day one. I bought them brand new several years ago. Brand new, my Gul knee high paddle boots leaked badly all around the rubber sole, filling my foot with water as soon as I stepped into even a few inches of water. The boots were useless and left my feet sitting in a pool of water. There are no holes in the boots. They were not left out in hot sun all day and they've never set foot in salty oceans, just lakes and rivers. The problem is the