Re: [Paddlewise] The urban paddler

Karen Hancock wrote:
> 
> .  Maybe he
> > is spooked by the idea of trying to survive in his interpretation of
> > New York City.
> 
> In defense of Dave (who doesn't need my defense) I lived in Alaska 25
> years... lived and worked in some of the most remote wild areas you can
> imagine in the Brooks Range and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, hiked and backpacked
> alone in areas full of grizzlies and moose and wolves, never carried a
> weapon......... but I am terrified of NYC! I would rather walk through a
> group of 20 moose than walk the streets of that city. Scares the **** out of
> me and I've never even been there!!    =:0
> 
> It's true....
> Karen    ;-)

Well, it scares the excrement outta me too and I've lived here all my
life! :-)

Seriously, I do understand why a place like NYC can seem frightening and
I am more than willing to accomodate visitors who are nervous about the
prospects.  I'm sorry we are detouring toward relative levels of
fright/spook in this discussion.  What I really wanted to get across is:

1.  Being in an urban center does not mean that pristine natural beauty
and soul-enriching isolation is unattainable for the paddler (and hiker,
and nature photographer and the like).  In many superficially crowded
areas you can easily feel pretty far from it all while paddling in a
matter of a half hour or less in places in which you will hardly see
anyone else all day.  In New York City you can get within easy reach of
them by subway if you have a folding kayak; and get there even faster
with a car and roof-racked boat.

2.  My firm belief that paddling adventure is as much a matter of the
mind as in the concrete elements cooked up and packaged for you by
Nature.  There is no argument that some places are just knockouts as are
the islands and coastline of the Pacific Northwest.  But you can create
your own adventure as did the guy from LL Bean I mentioned when he
circumnavigated that town in Maine or when I have while paddling and
camping on the Hudson.

You certainly are going to find it in outplaces of Alaska, Labrador,
Greenland, etc.  But you can also find it much closer to home even if
your address contains Chicago or New York zip codes.

ralph diaz
-- 
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Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
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