Paddling Video

by Erik Olsen on

I’m currently getting myself psyched for a paddling trip with some buddies in Baja, California. To say I’m excited to get out of the city and have a week paddling is a vast and gaping understatement. I got so excited, in fact, that I decided to plunge into some old video material from the Alaska trip I took a few years ago with the same guys and cut together a little, well, call it a promo reel…

Whatever. It’s not highly finessed, as I didn’t have a ton of time to put it together, but it gives a nice taste of what it’s like to paddle in Alaska, something I highly recommend everyone ,paddler or no, do some day. Enjoy.

Paddling Life

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s one I’m going to keep your eyes out for.

It looks like a new paddling magazine is on the horizon…or perhaps even on the stands. A company called Recreation Publishing Inc. announced the launch of Paddling Life, a new rag dedicated to one of my favorite sports (I was paddling this weeked, in fact). There are articles in the dead tree version dedicated to the “Best Expeditions of 2006” etc. Typical list stuff, but we’re hopeful.

I went over and checked out the site and it looks OK, with a few articles online including an interview with paddler Todd Gillman and lots of links to other bit of content like YouTube vids and newspaper pieces related to travel. I’m not blown away so far, so we’ll have to see how it plays itself out. The magazine will be published five times a year under the conceit of “celebrating the paddling lifestyle.” I like the idea and my fingers are crossed that they do a good job, but they’re gong to have to get more stuff online for sure.

Channel Islands Photos

by Erik Olsen on

It seems like yesterday that I was hanging with my friends in Channel Island National Park for a buddy’s bachelor party (yes, this is our idea of fun…rather than, say Vegas). I shot a bunch of pictures while we were there and filed them away somewhere. I think I may have posted one here as well. The Islands are dry and infested with feral pigs, but they are also a paddling paradise, as we discovered while we noodled around the sea caves off of Santa Cruz Island. On a previous trip to the island, by the way, with the same group, we stayed at Santa Rosa, which was even more barren, but equally fun.

But I just came across another series of photos from the Channel Islands over at a new site I discovered called Calpidder. There are some good ones here that give you a nice taste of what awaits at one of my favorite, but lesser-known National Parks.

Key Buoy

by Neil Woodburn on

Perhaps the greatest tragedy to befall a water sports vacation is when your keys slip out of your pocket and disappear deep into the waters.

Naturally, some bright inventor has designed a way for this to never happen again.

The Key Buoy is a small key ring device that automatically inflates and floats to the surface shortly after hitting the water. It is powered by sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid which combines to inflate a bright orange, 14 inch tube.

Hmmm… So what happens when the Key Buoy is in your pocket and it rains?

Photo of the Day (11/5/2006)

by Erik Olsen on

Sorry, folks, despite all the fabulous photos over at the Gadling Flickr site right now, I’m going to post another photo of my own from a recent kayaking trip I took in Kingston, New York. The trip was led by the kayak king of New York, Eric Stiller, and was designed to introduce a group of us to the splendors of Fall in upstate. This shot is of one of the young women that came with us and captures her near Kingston Lighthouse. I’m going to be doing more paddle posts this month because in December I head to Baja for a week of paddling near La Paz. Psyched.