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What Price Safety? Are Drysuits Worth the Cost?

Dressing for Success

What Price Safety? Are Drysuits Worth the Cost?

“What should I wear today?” For paddlers who find the lively music of meltwater-swollen rivers all but irresistible, this isn’t a frivolous question. It is — or can be — a matter of life and death. And for a while now, the gold standard in early season apparel has been the drysuit. It combines outstanding protection with pretty fair comfort. But “What Price Safety”?
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by Tamia Nelson | April 7, 2015

A Tamia Nelson Article on Backinthesameboat.com

Listen! Unless you live in the northernmost reaches of Canoe Country, chances are good that you can already hear the sound of rushing water, if only in your inward ear. The sun’s return has roused the rivers from their winter sleep. And the music of the moving water is calling to all paddlers.

But that newly liberated water is cold. Icy cold. Cold enough to kill an unprepared swimmer. Do I exaggerate? Not at all. Any paddler who’s dumped in frigid water will tell you that the experience isn’t something she’s eager to repeat. Even with proper clothing, an icy drench is a potent reminder of our mortality. And without proper clothing? The best outcome is a narrow escape. The … Read more »

SAfety First: Nurturing the Habit of Awareness

SAfety First

Nurturing the Habit of Awareness

Our everyday sensory world is increasingly impoverished. Moreover, independence is penalized, activity is discouraged, and awareness of our environment is diluted by our growing dependence on filtered electronic inputs. This may not matter if your idea of a good time is total Netflix immersion. But if you like to wander in the backcountry now and then, you may need a refresher course in situational awareness.
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by Tamia Nelson | March 10, 2015

A Tamia Nelson Article on Backinthesameboat.com

If, as writer Brian Aldiss once suggested, the invention of the flush toilet is the signature accomplishment of the human species, then the public toilets (“rest rooms” in Standard American Euphemism) in modern HyperMarts are the high-water mark of our civilization. I put this to the test on a recent shopping excursion, and you can easily confirm my findings. Lights turn on and off without your needing to flip a switch. Toilets empty themselves as you step away from them. And water flows into sinks without your having to turn a tap. Even the hot-air dryers require only that you place your hands under the jet. The resident jinnī then conjures up a samūm automatically, choking it off as soon … Read more »

Beyond the Beauty Strip: Talking Trash

Beyond the Beauty Strip

Talking Trash

Have you ever revisited a favorite spot in the backcountry or along a quiet back road, only to find it transformed into a passable imitation of a poorly managed landfill? That’s been happening more and more often to Tamia these days. Now she’s wondering if it’s just a local phenomenon, or if the problem’s bigger.
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by Tamia Nelson | May 22, 2012

Let’s talk trash. It’s a big subject, and if what I see on trails and canoe launches is any indication — to say nothing of what I find scattered along the roads I travel — it’s getting bigger by the day.

What’s the explanation? Well, one of the leading citizens in Garrison Keillor’s fictional Lake Wobegon memorably described the early settlers in the neighboring hamlet of Millet as having come to the New World “to get drunk and throw away their garbage,” implying that their descendants were keen to continue this proud tradition. Maybe this is all the explanation that’s needed. Or maybe not.

In any case, I guess I live in Millet.

That isn’t the impression you’d get by reading the press releases from the local Chambers of Commerce. The Chambers are in the business … Read more »

Girl Talk: Going It Alone — Can You Solo Safely?

Girl Talk

Going It Alone — Can You Solo Safely?

Notwithstanding what some poets have had to say, there are pleasures to be had in solitude. Yet women who want to go into the backcountry alone often wonder if they’ll be safe. It’s easy to see why. Our fears grow fat on a constant diet of others’ misfortunes. But things aren’t as bleak as the newspapers make them seem. What about you? Are you wondering if you can solo safely?
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by Tamia Nelson | August 2, 2011

A Tamia Nelson Article on Backinthesameboat.com

My mother’s eyes still well with tears when she remembers the day I disappeared. She’d left me playing on the swing in our yard, but when she looked out the window a few minutes later, the yard was empty and I was nowhere to be seen. Mom feared the worst. Even though traffic hadn’t yet reached today’s febrile pace, the city street we lived on back then was a busy one, and I was only three years old. The story ended happily, however. My mother found me just down the block, safe and sound. I was triumphant. I’d made my first solo journey, venturing deep into unknown territory. The boundaries of my world had expanded. … Read more »