Recent content by Johnny Swank

That's waaaay too purty to paddle! I'd ding that thing up on the way to the truck! Beautiful canoe!

Permerine and mosquito bar Mosquito netting is fine for mosquitoes and larger critters. Not sure how bad noseeums are down your way, but spraying the mosquito bar with permetherine will help with the really tiny critters. I'm using mosquito netting instead of noseeum netting for our...

Honestly, I've never really gotten the hang of using the underquilt, so I use a pad(s) most of the time. That one's a little thin for the temps I was using it in, but works great as a sleeping quilt. It was a realy quick/dirty thing I threw together at the last minute, but works fine down to...

Great - give me an email if you have any questions. -John

Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but here's about our rough mileages down the Mississippi. Headwaters to Bemidji - about 15 miles/day. The water was flowing pretty good, so we didn't have to do any walking other than dragging the canoe over beaver dams. Had a couple of places in the marshed...

OK, so I'm a little biased :wink: http://sourcetosea.net/ Photos, journals, book excerpts, Appalachian Trail thru-hike journals, etc

Very cool project. I love those tear drop trailers from the 50's. OK - lets see some new pics!!!

I usually tie my tarp directly to trees, as It gives me a place to pack up when it's raining. Here's a typical setup with all my crap strewn about :lol: Took this when I went down the Cape Fear River a few years ago.

I read that article, and have hit most of the pages on the site. I agree with the map purchase hint, and once I get closer to making a decision to actually do this I'll pull the trigger on it. We have alot on our plate for the forseeable future, so this is on the back burner for now. It's still...

wood stoves and such I've been playing with using more fires to cook on. Most of my cooking is just boiling water and letting things soak for a bit. As long as it's soft enough to shove down my throat then I'm good. If I were to do another thru-hike I'd do each of the following. -Cook a...

I had just a shoestring budget for both the Appalachian Trail thru-hike and Mississippi River Expedition, so every dollar had to count. Check out this article called "Thru-hiking on the Cheap" and let me know what you think. This is a work in progress, and I'd love to hear any new ideas...

Maps, portages, etc Jack - thanks for the maps. I appreciate it. If, and that's a BIG IF, I actually do this thing it'll be 2008 at the earliest. And IF I do this trip I'm sure as hell taking a paddle cart. I'd also do the ultralight thing like we do with backpacking and have maybe 20 lbs of...

Rivers & Streams â€â€

I'd love to see that boat once its done. I've only seen one up close for about 5 minutes, but would love to get my hands on one for a paddle. I buy into Kruggers ideas about a single blade, rudder, etc for seriously long paddling.

The Ag and industrial things are what worry me more than anything. Up in the hills it's not so much of a deal, but the watershed bottoms are where everything's going to end up eventually. I'll dig up the article, but a toxicologist/hiker guy ran a number of H20 samples in the Sierras. There...