Ronnie wrote: >>>>John, Why do you continue to live in society if it binds you down so? You are one of the top contributors to this forum, yet you tend to disagree with most of us.<<<< John Winters is hardly alone. I couldn't agree more with him on this subject. John Dowd had a good way to avoid being the object of societies fears (in their form of rescue attempts). His simple method was "don't tell anyone where you are going or when you will return". Some would say he was irresponsible doing this. He would respond that he being very responsible, in fact he was taking the full responsibility for himself. (I just checked the 5th edition of John Dowd's classic book "Sea Kayaking", he has expanded on this subject nicely in appendix C.) As a young backpacker in the early 1960's I welcomed the first guidebook of "100 Hikes". By the next year I began to realize what a curse that book really was. Soon you had to buy them the new guidebooks, just to know where it was you didn't want to go hiking over a weekend. The freedom of the wilderness I had know previously was difficult to find again. I found it again sea kayaking in the late 1970's and early 1980's but alas, the tour guides and guidebooks soon followed and "civilized" much of that experience as well. Kristen told the Polar Bear that was sniffing her rear hatch (while she was trying to leave the beach but was hung up on rocks by a rapidly falling 40 foot tide), "Bear be gone". I don't suppose a lot of civilization will come to Ungava Bay anytime soon (where the above incident was only the most intense of 16 Polar Bear sightings in five weeks in Northern Labrador for Nigel Foster and Kristen last summer). The primal fear of predators that eat humans rather than fear them should do wonders for keeping Northern Labrador relatively pristine. One of the questions after their slide show last Tuesday was, "How did you sleep at night?" Kristen said that they were very tired after paddling 20 mile most days and slept well. A voice piped up from the audience to answer the question for them, "denial". I didn't get the impression may paddlers were going to follow in their wake after that show. In fact, several mentioned to me later that they had enjoyed the show but they wouldn't ever even consider paddling there. Maybe those who feel like I do should start telling tall tales of scary encounters with Great White sharks we met out on the water to help raise the awareness of this very real possibility of being eaten for sea kayakers. Discovering one is not at the top of the food chain when paddling a kayak might clear up a lot of the damage to wilderness done by the "watertrail" crowd. Finally a request. This is a paddling forum, lets try to keep the passions of both politics and religion off of it please. Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Nigel Foster and Kristen last summer). The primal fear of predators that eat > humans rather than fear them should do wonders for keeping Northern Labrador > relatively pristine. One of the questions after their slide show last > Tuesday was, "How did you sleep at night?" Kristen said that they were very > tired after paddling 20 mile most days and slept well. A voice piped up from > the audience to answer the question for them, "denial". One of options is using battery-operated IR alarm with 110dB siren. Reportedly, this keeps *some* bears away, or at least makes them pause and wakes you up, so you may reach your gun. Yes, there could be opponents of the very idea of travelling with a gun, but natives were laughing when John Waterman in his book Arctic Crossing told them that his protection from polar bears was a spray-can siren like one used by yacthsmen. (And he eventually got a gun later in his journey). These IR alarms also come with softer chime signal (enough to wake you up), or with both. http://www.globetrotter.de used to have them, but no longer has, and I can understand why. I've bought and tried similar model from Radioshack (frankly speaking, from e-bay for $6). Made in China, though design could be from USA, it's not as good as the one from Globetrotter (4AA instead of 3 and keypad instead of actual key), otherwise works similarly - 30 ft range (it was more when I tested it), and 100 degree horizontal angle (so, in theory, you need 2 of them - one on each side of tent). I used only chime option, due to inconvenience of keypad password de-activation, and too sensitive response, causing it to chime any time when bushes swayed under the wind (not to mention moving walls of tent, so it had to be placed outside). 2-3 times a night it woke me up even when there was no wind - for coyotes, and once - for people (I camped on beach in a mexican village in the first day). Coyotes are dangerous since they prey for the same things that I need - my fresh water and food. And they often steal whatever they can, whether they need it or not. Seems like with adjustable sensitivity such a device would do better. In areas with more wildlife, and with polar summer daylight in the night, - I'm afraid it would wake you up every hour. But who knwos - may be this is better than to be eaten once... Globetrotter now has a different sort of alarm (in Reisearticel, I think), with a keypad, and it reacts both on touch and on some close movement, as I could understand from very short description and so-so on-line translating program. Couldn't find anything similar in the USA through on-line search (except for some toy for little brother that wants his room to be safe from nosy little sister). *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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