A WONDERFUL new book by John Owens. John is a freelance illustrator who teaches at the University of Minnesota. Several years ago, I had the pleasure of canoeing with him in the BWCA. It was his first trip and he was captivated by its beauty. His new coffee-table (no text) sized book, ONE SUMMER UP NORTH is wonderful and inspiring. Exquisitely illustrated with stunning pictures that will make you smile. Kids too! ISBN:978-1-5179-0950-5. $17.95. I love this book and think you will too.
Justin Cody's Race to Survival! NOW in HARD COPY EDITION!
43,000 words, full color. $12.95; e-book: $6.95
See SHOP for detail
• Listen to my June 7, 2019 interview (podcast) with WTIP Radio, Grand Marais, MN. Here's the link:
https://www.wtip.org/outdoors-author-cliff-jacobson-joins-roadhouse
• Read my June 17, 2019 interview (blog) on The Friends of the Boundary Waters web-site:
This orientation for your LEFT knee
If you canoe rapids, you'll want glued-in knee-pads! Thick, closed-cell foam pads that have a raised edge (to keep your knees from sliding inward) are best. But since the kayak/SUP revolution, pads like these have been hard-to-find. What's available are too small and too thin. These new closed-cell foam pads from Northstar Canoe Co. are a full one inch thick, 9 inches long and 7.5 inches wide! The raised lip is 3 inches high! Now that's a kneeling pad!
Cost is just $22, from Northstar Canoes. These are the best canoe knee-pads I've found.
HOW TO INSTALL YOUR KNEE PADS
1. Place them on the floor of your canoe with the raised edge facing inward (TOWARDS the keel-line) of the canoe. Kneel on them with your butt firmly against the leading edge of the seat. Move the pads in our out, forward or back until they are located comfortably.
2. While kneeling on the pads (to hold them in place), draw around them with a dark pencil or Sharpie pen.
3. Remove the pads from the canoe; lightly wash the contact area of the canoe bottom with rubbing alcohol. Allow the alcohol to dry thoroughly.
4. Lightly coat the contact area of both pads, AND the placement areas on the floor of the canoe with Weldwood waterproof contact cement. A foam varnish brush works well for this. Allow the cement to dry.
5. Repeat #4 above.
6. Press the pads firmly into place--they will NEVER let go!*
* I've tried specialized adhesives but have found that nothing holds as well as Weldwood waterproof contact cement. Once the pads are in place the only way to remove them is to cut them out!
Put June 8-9 on your calendar! Once again,, Bearskin Lodge will host the annual BWCA Expo at their spectacular lodge along the Gunflint Trail near Grand Marais, MN. Back-to-back presentations on wilderness canoeing and camping, dozens of different models of canoes to try and personalized canoeing instruction (all FREE). Also, cool stuff to buy. Stay at one of the wonderful cabins at Bearskin Lodge or camp out in the nearby campground. A fun time for all. Naturally, I'll be there; I wouldn't miss this event for anything!!
Questions? Contact Bearskin Lodge (http://www.bearskin.com).
This, just in from my friend Arnold Leitner in California. Arnold and I did a Piragis NWC sponsored canoe trip together in the Boundary Waters a few years ago. Arnold donated $7500 (can you believe?) to the SAVE THE BWCA foundation. Here's how he did it:
FROM ARNOLD LEITNER VIA EMAIL
Here is what we did. We had kept our baby furniture, car seats, and strollers clean and in excellent conditions. We found a family who need it all. Instead of selling it to them we asked for a donation of 25-30% of the new value and to donate that amount to Save the Boundary Waters campaign. Because the buyer was well-to-do, he will get 30-40% of the donation back on his taxes. So, he was generous in what he was willing to pay and ended up paying USD 2,500 for the baby items (which when new cost USD 5-6k). If we had sold the items we may have made USD 1,500-1,750. Now, the buyer worked for Apple which matches employee donations 2:1. So, we ended up with USD 7,500 for Save the Boundary Waters. Good deal! We have two Save the Boundary Waters stickers on the bumper on our beat-up Passat, literally held together by duct tape (!), but with the donation we also deliver the "bump" and not just the sticker. Let's keep up the fight and remember that what is really worth our money!
THANK YOU ARNOLD FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION!!
Please donate what you can to help us save the BWCA from mining!
NEW, Limited, collector Edition, nylon wind-anorak from Piragis Northwoods Company! It's almost impossible today to find a windshell that is 100% breathable--no stiffling Gore-tex, waterproof coating or "Durable Water Repellent" coating. Designed in cooperation with Cliff Jacobson, this ultralight parka defies the wind, yet allows free movement of air--you won't sweat when paddling hard! Show your support for keeping the Boundary Waters wild with this special edition anorak. Also available without BWCA logo. Details are on the Piragis web-site.
