KNOWING WHEN IT’S TIME TO QUIT
Stuff happens as we age, and it’s not all good. Darrell Foss, 75, one of my closest friends, has Alzheimer’s disease. Darrell has lived with this disease for about five years now and he’s done everything possible (medication, memory clinics, mental exercises, etc.) to slow it down. He’s been persistent in pursuing every possible light […]
DRYING HAMBURGER AND BEANS
Hamburger and beans form the basis of dozens of outdoors meals. Examples include spaghetti, lasagna, beef and been burritos and chili. Add hamburger and rice or noodles to soup and you have a complete meal. One of my favorite tripping meals is a mix of Oriental Raman soup, with dried hamburger and shitake mushrooms. For […]
CANOEING INTO OLD AGE
San Juan River, Utah: Cliff Jacobson, Bell Yellowstone solo canoe Tumplines are magical, more so when going uphill as they hold the weight of the load tight against your back! Thousands of Voyageurs and Himalayan porters can’t be wrong! A not-so-funny thing happened this year. I turned 77. That’s seventy-seven! Which is really old! Well, […]
CANOEING AMONG DANGEROUS BEARS
Mention guns and canoe trips in the same breath and some folks are apt to go ballistic. Still, if you’re traveling among dangerous bears it may be wise to go armed. This edited account from my North Knife River (Manitoba) log, relays the terror I felt when a polar bear chased my canoe across the […]
OLD IDEAS DIE HARD–REALLY HARD!
IF IT RAINS HARD ENOUGH AND LONG ENOUGH, WATER WILL GET INTO YOUR TENT! FLOODED TENT: NOTE HOW THE INTERIOR GROUND-SHEET KEEPS WATER AWAY FROM YOU! Old ideas die hard, and when it comes to camping, the hardest to die is that you should place a plastic groundcloth UNDER the floor of your tent. This […]
REVIEW: WEATHERWOOL®ANORAK
The WeatherWool anorak: It’s at home in the woods or at a fine restaurant! Check this if you think that wool isn’t high-tech! I’ve loved wool for as long as I can remember. In the 1960’s-70’s, when synthetic fibers towered, defending it wasn’t easy. Admirers like me were considered closed-minded old-timers who were stuck in […]
SELECTIVE ENVIRONMENTALISM
Kopka River, Ontario Adirondacks, New York At the outset, I should make it clear that I am an environmentalist. I taught environmental science at a Minnesota Middle School for many years. I deeply believe that we are stewards of the earth and it’s our job to take care of it and to pass a caring […]
BOBBY
Point Lake, Nunavut, Canada. Start of our trip down the Hood River Muskox! Cliff Jacobson and Sue Harings. Hood River I first heard about Bobby in 1983, while canoeing the Hood River in the (then) Northwest Territories of Canada. In those days, there was a lot of exploratory mining north of 60 (the sixtieth parallel). […]
TEN TOP CAMPING ITEMS!
Newcomers to camping are often put off by the all the things they “think they need” to have a good time. Frankly, you can get by with very little, if you are a skilled camper. Witness the tales of mountain men like Jim Bridger and Kit Carson who traveled desolate country for weeks at a […]
A MIRROR INTO THE PAST
Cliff, age 39 Cliff, age 39 In October,1980 I took my family on a canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Minnesota. Autumn is a wonderful time to be up north: the air is crisp and the people and bugs are gone. It was raining when we arrived in Grand Marais, Minnesota, gateway […]