Fodors Gives Props to Channel Islands

by Erik Olsen on

Having just
been to the Channel Islands for some superb kayaking, hiking, camping and
general hooliganism, I was very pleased to see that Fodors
gave this little cluster of islands off the coast of California some due. Even though they sit out there just 20 or
so miles from Ventura (which is about 2 hours North of LA), it is rare for the several campsites there to be full…and
even then, it’s usually just Boy Scouts.

These islands rock. I mean that, too. They’re all made of rock. Volcanic stuff, sandstone and guano. Hmm, guano. But
they are also fun, fun, fun. We stayed at Santa Cruz island (most of which is actually off-limits and in the hands of
the Nature Conservancy), but I’ve also camped at Santa Rosa. Santa Cruz is the largest of the islands and there is
probably more to do there than the others since the sea caves that yawn from the cliff sides make for some epic sea
kayaking. There is also fine hiking around all the islands, with some of the best views this side of the Pahokees.

Anyway, t’was sweet to see these islands get some attention…they deserve it and are worth a look if you’re in search
of a far away place that’s not so far away.

Channel Islands

Paddling Price William Sound

by Erik Olsen on

A few years ago, a couple of buddies and I paddled Prince William Sound for a week. This was easily one of the most
epic trips I’ve ever done. We were forty miles away from any big towns, and I don’t recall ever seeing another person
during that whole week. I wrote about the trip in a piece for the LA
Times a while back, and so was very pleased to read this
piece in Canoe/Kayak Magazine about a similar trip.

Instead of heading out of Valdez, as we did, this trip heads out of Whittier, an ice-free port in Alaska, and a former
strategic military post 65 miles southeast of Anchorage. They paddle around Lawrence Glacier and Blackstone Glacier,
and the description of these places brought back some fine memories.

Paddle Battle

by Erik Olsen on

It can be fun to travel with friends. Good buds (friends, I mean…not, you know) add a dimension to a trip by
providing companionship as well as someone to share the experience with after the fact.

But what happens when relationships go bad on the road?

Well, read Larry Rice’s story at Canoe and Kayak
Magazine about just that. Rice takes a kayak expedition to Greenland with his “good friend” Tom, a successful
businessman from Colorado  that he’d paddled with in the past. But after several days in the wilderness stalking
herds of shaggy musk oxen and being stalked by a polar bear, the delightful duo had a falling out. What happens next?
Well, give a read.

Canoeing the Gowanus Canal

by Kelly Amabile on

How about this for urban adventure — a Gadling tipster pointed us to artist
Maciej Ceglowski’s fascinating recount of his recent tour along the
battered Brooklyn Gowanus Canal.

A conservation group called Urban Divers runs occasional free tours of the
canal to educate city dwellers about the ecological life and sustainability of the waterway. I could go on, but Maciej
says it best in his own words and photos, from the infrastructure’s history to thoughts on future development along the
waterfront. Read the fully story here to
discover which fourteen species inhabit the waterway, and learn about efforts to clean up, add green space and improve
conditions in the areas surrounding the canal .

Riot Kayaks

by Erik Olsen on

When I was a kid growing up near the beach, the father of a buddy of mine was a big-time wave kayaker. During the
fiercest storms of the year, we’d find him out there riding waves that most surfers were too afraid to try. Surf
kayakers have tended to use whitewater playboats to hang, well, one, and while these have worked fine over the years, a
company out of Montreal is pioneering a new breed of surf kayak that allows for greater speed and
maneuverability.

Riot Kayaks is run by free-style kayaker Steve Fisher, and he and hs
engineers have come up with a wave-riding boat that features a planing hull, adjustable hipp pads that let you change
height, width and length, and sleek rails along with quad fins like those found on some surfboards and which provide
stability and direction. Fisher has said that he hopes someday to take a boat like this to ride the 60-foot monsters at
Jaws. Now that would be cool to see. No tow-in necessary.