Baidarka + The Starship and The Canoe

Baidarka is the name sometimes used for an Aleutian style sea kayak. A prominent feature of a baidarka is its forked bow (bifurcated bow). Very lightweight and maneuverable, it was made out of seal skin sewed only by Aleut women, over a frame made strictly of driftwood (since no trees grow in the Aleutian Islands), bone and sinew. It was treated as a living being by Aleut men (it was taboo for women to handle them).George Dyson, son of astrophysicist Freeman Dyson, is often credited with the revival of the baidarka, through his company Dyson, Baidarka & Company, though Dyson's Baidarkas are made from modern materials such as aluminium for the frame and coated polyester fabric for the skin.. Dyson and his boats were the subject of Kenneth Brower's book The Starship and the Canoe, a book I just finished reading and the obvious reason for this post. Brower's story chronicles Freeman, who is trying to build an inexpensive spaceship to travel the cosmos, and George, who is living in a tree in British Columbia, building a kayak to travel the coast. Awful title, wonderful book.MP3: The Doobie Brothers - It Keeps You Runnin'

Have a Good Weekend


There are few things in this world that make me happier than Van Morrison. And while my head has a faint pounding to it this morning, a result of the Celebration Ales that accompanied last night's dinner of veggie burgers and slices of pecan pie, this clip of Van doing "Warm Love" (a clip that was gone from Youtube for a while) is the world's best Advil.  Have a good weekend. Burn some billboards.

Grandma Gatewood

Emma Rowena Gatewood, better known as Grandma Gatewood, was the first woman to hike the Appalachian Trail. She did it in 1955 at the age of 67, wearing Keds sneakers and carrying an army blanket, a raincoat, and a plastic shower curtain which she carried in a homemade bag slung over one shoulder. 

Alpinist 32

ALPINIST, one of the best looking magazines around, has just released their 32nd issue for your reading and eye popping amazement. (The picture above is from the archives, not from 32.) Articles in the new issue include "Earth Stone and Sky" and "On The Trails Of Glaciers":

In 1909 the Duke of the Abruzzi attempted K2. Although he didn't get the summit, his expedition photographer, Vittorio Sella, captured some of the most beautiful mountain images in history. A century afterward, Fabiano Ventura traveled to the Karakoram to re-create these and other legendary shots. Along the way, he uncovered visual proof that the world's glaciers are shrinking.

If you've been on this blog more than once and you've never seen an ALPINIST, do yourself a favor and chalk up the 12.99 to buy one.

Fjällräven + Cold Splinters Presents...

Fjallraven Outdoor Club: Breakneck Ridge from Fjällräven on Vimeo.

A couple of months ago, over several glasses of sparkling italian wine and pizza, my friends at Swedish outdoor brand, Fjällräven, and I decided to collaborate on a video project that detailed how you get to popular hiking and camping destinations around New York City without the use of a car. The first of these 8mm videos, Breakneck Ridge, is up and running above. There are many more to come, so keep your eyes and ears out for 'em.

Weekend Cathedral

A couple of weeks ago, I received a beautiful package from Faythe Levine. Despite not knowing each other too well, she sent me a calendar of Jacques Coetzer's Weekend Cathedral that she picked up while speaking in Scotland. On twelve weekends, over a span of six months, Coetzer pitched a small cathedral shaped tent (pictured above) in the open landscape of the Scottish Highlands. His show consisted of 12 photos (calendar makes sense now) and you can read more about the project right here.

White Pine Blister Rust

Nevada's beautiful Great Basin National Park boasts the oldest trees on the planet, the bristlecone pine. The oldest living tree of the bunch, named Methuselah, is over 4,800 years young. According to a NYT article posted yesterday, scientists say these ancient trees may soon come in contact with not only white pine blister rust, an Asian fungus that came to the United States from Asia, via Europe, a century ago, but the ubiquitous native pine bark beetle as well.There are three species of bristlecones — the Great Basin, Foxtail and Rocky Mountain. As of now, only the Rocky Mountain has been effected, but scientists believe it's only a matter of time until it spreads to the rest of them. More info at NYT.

Sven-Saw

After trying for a week or so to get through to the Sven-Saw people to get some more info on the brand, I finally got a call back from the founder, Mr. Svenson, who proceeded to talk my ear off about the first Sven-Saw he sold to REI many, many years ago. He was a wonderful man who makes a pretty darn great product, a fixture at many of the AT lean-tos you'll stay at along the trail. If you haven't heard of Duluth, MN's collapsable saw, go to the Sven-Saw website and find out very little more info. It's a ghost town over there, I tell you what..More on that conversation to come.