ROCK BOAT
WE DON’T REMEMBER THE STOVES, WE REMEMBER THE MEALS.
PHOTO: STEVE ROGERS
BUY LESS, PADDLE MORE
WORK DEADLINES, family commitments, romantic distractions, dirty laundry, Zumba class. Our busy lives are already chock full of excuses that keep us from paddling. Gear shouldn’t be one of them.
Lately, however, I’ve noticed a concerning trend: The very equipment that is supposed to help us get outside sometimes holds us back. In our quest to find the perfect gear to ac- company the perfect trip, we lose spontane- ity and flexibility, stretch our bank accounts and limit our opportunities for actually getting out on the water.
Some recent conversations with paddling friends have gone something like this:
30 | ADVENTURE KAYAK
“Hey, I’m going kayaking this weekend— want to come?”
“I’d like to but I don’t have ___ (Insert: ul- tralight tent; ideal expedition boat/surf boat/ whitewater boat; drysuit; carbon fiber paddle; multi-fuel backpacking stove; self-inflating, six-inch-thick, down-filled camping mattress; hybrid ultra-compressible sleeping bag; high- protein, organic, dehydrated meals).” I’m thankful for developments in outdoor gear, but it also seems that once upon a time, paddling was a less elaborate—and less elit- ist—undertaking.
Maybe it’s a question of social circum- stance, geographic location, changing
Our quest for the newest, most advanced gear may have unfortunate consequences
demographics or other factors. Maybe I have rose-colored memories of summer camp trips with ridiculously heavy canoes, family trips with old canvas tents and semi-successful boat-building projects on the local pond with my siblings. Sometimes we sported cut-off jeans, often we wore old woolen sweaters. I can’t even remember our footwear or lack thereof.
Let me be clear, I am absolutely in favor of being well prepared with good gear. When guiding a 20-day trip on a remote northern river, you can be sure that I’ve triple- checked every sat phone battery, personally tested each tent zipper and carefully water-
THE
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