Jon Bowermaster to Speak at Pack & Paddle Venue

I wanted to give you, my faithful blog readers, the first heads-up on a VERY exciting event coming up in May. Through months of phone calls and emails, we have been able to arrange to bring National Geographic author, adventurer and living legend Jon Bowermaster to Lafayette for a talk and slideshow.


The date for the event is Wednesday, May 6th.

We being with an open house at 6pm where you can meet Jon in person. We'll have food from Great Harvest Bakery and live music with Jane Vidrine. The slidshow and talk begins at 7- but get there early for good food, good friends and a good seat.

This very special event has been made possible through a partnership with Mountain Hardwear. Representatives of Mountain Hardwear will be on hand at the event to answer questions about gear and for give-aways.

This event will benefit the Basinkeeper program which works tirelessly to protect our local wilderness wonderland - the Atchafalaya Basin. (http://www.basinkeeper.org/) In keeping with all events at the Pack & Paddle Venue - this will be a free event. We are asking that all attendees consider donating $10 or more per person that night to this worthy cause. All donations collected will go directly to the Basinkeeper program.

Here's a little background on Jon:

For more than 20 years, writer and filmmaker JON BOWERMASTER has explored the environment and exotic corners of the world for a variety of national and international publications, primarily for the National Geographic Society and the New York Times.

Author of eight books, three with renowned polar explorer Will Steger, his travels have taken him to seven continents and included two-person sledging across Antarctica, sailing a 60-foot sailboat across the Atlantic, and first descents of rivers from Chile to China.

His expeditions have been supported by six grants from National Geographic’s Expeditions Council.

Begun in 1999, Jon’s OCEANS 8 project is a series of expeditions launched to explore the world’s oceans from the seat of a sea kayak. Used as both transportation and as floating ambassadors, sea kayaks allow Bowermaster and his teams— comprised of some of the world’s top photographers, filmmakers, scientists and navigators—to reach corners of the world rarely seen.

To see a full bio on Jon, go to http://jonbowermaster.com/pdf/jb.pdf
For more info on Jon Bowermaster go to: www.jonbowermaster.com

About our event:
Jon will present a slideshow about his Oceans 8 project. This will give you a unique opportunity to hear about his adventures sea-kayaking around the world from the adventurer himself.

These trips have taken him to the Aleutian Islands, Vietnam, French Polynesia, South America’s Altiplano and the wild coasts of Gabon, Croatia and Tasmania and the Antarctic Peninsula. The goal of each expedition was adventure crossed with an assessment of the health of the seas and the lives of the people who live and depend on them. Around the planet more than 4 billion people live within 35 miles of a coast and depend on the seas that surround. Meanwhile, impacts on marine ecosystems have compromised the relationship between the world’s oceans and humanity. The OCEANS 8 project allowed for a unique exploration of this profound connection.

Besides his work for periodicals such as The New York Times and National Geographic, Jon has the following book and film credits:
Books
GOVERNOR,
University of Iowa Press, 1987
SAVING THE EARTH,
Alfred A. Knopf, 1990 (with Will Steger)
CROSSING ANTARCTICA,
Alfred A. Knopf, 1991 (with Will Steger)
THE ADVENTURES AND MISADVENTURES
OF PETER BEARD IN AFRICA,
Bulfinch Press, 1993
OVER THE TOP OF THE WORLD,
Scholastic Press, 1995 (with Will Steger)
BIRTHPLACE OF THE WINDS,
National Geographic Adventure Press, 2001
ALEUTIAN ADVENTURE,
National Geographic Society, 2001
ALONE AGAINST THE SEA,
Lyons Press, 2004
Films
Birthplace of the Winds (Aleutian Islands), 1999
The Dangerous Archipelago (French Polynesia), 2002
A Slowboat to Somewhere (French Polynesia), 2002
Into the Altiplano (Chile/Argentina/Bolivia), 2003
The Lost Coast of Gabon, 2004
Borderland (Croatia), 2005
Around Tasmania, 2006

How to Attach an Umbrella to your Pack

I've been asked a number of times how to attach an umbrella to a backpack. This allows your hands to be free for using trekking poles. Read on to see how simple this is:

1) Get 2 cordlocks and 2 pieces of bungee cord about 6 inches long.
2) Loop the bungee cord through webbing that is mounted on your shoulder strap. Do two bungees - about 3-6 inches apart.
3) Put both ends of the bungee cord through the cordlock and tie an overhand knot to keep the cordlock on.
4) Place the handle of your umbrella through the bungee cords.
5) Tighten the cords.

That's it! The umbrella rests on the top of the pack behind your head and the cords control the umbrella in the front. This system got us through the entire Appalachian Trail and the entire Colorado Trail. We find that it works in almost any weather. If you have a strong crosswind, you may have to hold the handle with your hand and point the umbrella slightly into the wind. If you have any questions - just email me at john@packpaddle.com

Cold Water, Warm Smiles - Our Adventure on Black Creek

Becky and I just returned from a memorable weekend that was shared by 16 hardy souls on Black Creek. Just south of Hattiesburg, Black Creek runs clear and cold through DeSoto National forest. Our route was to take us from the small town of Brooklyn down to the USFS take out called Cypress Creek. This trip was our first time to lead a group down this beautiful section of river.
Our adventure began as we approached DeSoto National Forest and made one last stop in civilization in the small town of Wiggins. With 5 cars following us, Becky and I circled this tiny town several times trying to find the Whistle Stop Cafe where we had planned to eat with the group before hitting the woods. The townsfolk must have thought it a very strange procession to see a car with 7 canoes on a trailer followed by 5 other cars circling over and over again. We finally found the restaurant and enjoyed all you can eat catfish and shrimp.

Thirty minutes later, we were at Moodys launch and our campsite for the night. Thick clouds obscured the sliver of moon above us as the group set their tents up in the dark. A few folks explored down to the edge of the creek, but most decided to turn in.

The next morning everyone was bustling under very threatening skies to pack their gear while the rain held off. We had a quick breakfast and headed for the put in. While on the way, the rains commenced in earnest. We unloaded the boats under the shelter of the bridge as the torrent continued to fall. But luck was with us as the rain had quit before the drivers of the cars returned from running our shuttle down to Cypress Creek.

Once on the river, the group quickly fell into a rhythm. Unfortunately the rhythm was one of those erratic jazz compositions nobody can understand. The upper section of the river is littered with stumps, logs and strainers - all of which are great opportunities to flip your canoe. The group dipped, cut, and dodged its way down the river. We did have one flip over on the first section, but survived it amazingly well.

Six miles down the creek found us having a wonderful lunch on a creek-side gravel bar. We enjoyed wraps with home-made black bean salad, ham, cheese, turkey and hummus. After lunch, we passed several small creeks that flow into Black Creek from either side of the river. Before we knew it, we were at our campsite at the 12 mile mark. Tents were quickly pitched, a kitchen set up and firewood collected. It was getting cold quickly now - but we felt safe and secure on our sandbar along the side of the creek.

That evening, with a fire roaring, we were treated to Becky's hot gumbo and french bread with home-made brownies to top it off. We stayed up till paddlers midnight (8:00pm) telling ghost stories and enjoying each others company. The wind was roaring, making the fire twist and turn in the darkness. That’s when we noticed the tiny snowflakes flying in the flashlight beams.

Right before bed I noticed that the creek had risen a couple of inches. This meant a long night ahead of getting up every couple of hours to check the rise to make sure that camp would be safe. By midnight the creek had risen another 15 inches making our big sandbar quite a bit smaller. By 2am, it had only risen a couple of more inches and I could see the creek had nearly crested and that we would be safe for the night. Back in the tent, we could hear the ice and sleet hitting the top of the tent, driven by the heavy winds. Finally nodding off, I knew that tomorrow would be very interesting - and very cold!

It was a little harder to get everyone out of their warm dens Sunday morning, but we finally got everyone on a roll. After a breakfast of Muesli and Cinnamon bread from Great harvest, we were on the river paddling again. The group resembled the Michelin Man with everyone putting on nearly every layer they had in their bags. Over the last twenty four hours, the group had transformed from an erratic stump dodging jazz improv to a coordinated and smooth symphony. We glided along through forests, bluffs, riffles and gravel bars making amazingly good time with the high water and tailwind. By 11, we were only a few miles from our takeout.

We all enjoyed Rosemary Almond Chicken Salad sandwiches with Kettle chips for lunch. Finally, the sun made its first appearance as we ate. With everyone in great spirits, we headed off to a fine finish. Unfortunately even a symphony can hit a sour note.

I came around a bend to see our group stopped and trying to rescue an overturned canoe. We quickly paddled up to find two of our group swimming in the freezing water. They made it to the shore where Becky helped them with changing to warm clothes while Frank and I headed down to see if we could stop the swamped vagabond canoe. We cornered the canoe against the bank, pulled it partially out of the water and quickly flipped it upright. After bailing it out, we towed it back up to the group where our unfortunate friends were trying to catch their breath from the cold water. Soon we were on our way again and minutes later we had reached the end of our trip.

I would like to say thank you to this group for reminding me of how game a group can be under adverse conditions. We had rain, sleet, snow, cold water and much more. This group always had a great attitude and great smiles - making it all worthwhile. Meagan, Eddie, Grant, Steve, Linda, Jim, Roger, Anthony, Lauren, Emily, Gaye, Danny, Duke and Frank - I want to say - that ya'll are awesome and Becky and I cherished the chance to be with you for this adventurous weekend!

2008 - Outdoor Lafayette Year in Review

The new year is always a time to look forward to things to come. But it’s also a time to look back and reminisce about things past. I find myself particularly nostalgic for the year that was 2008. Over the last year, we've seen the Outdoor Community of Lafayette grow. Lots of new folks are paddling, kayak fishing and hiking. Others are noticing as well. Lafayette (and Pack & Paddle) was mentioned in National Geographic Adventure Magazine as a "50 Best Places to Live for Outdoors" in the country! We have enjoyed being part of this movement. Read on for some of the highlights of the past year.

If you’re not into reading and would like to see a montage of photos from trips and events, Click Here.

Watching students to make their very own alcohol stoves out of beer cans and then going outside and lightning them in the parking lot was a lot of fun. I sharpened my skills by attending our outdoor photography class. The Valentines Romance Paddle was an incredible evening that Becky and I hosted with our son and daughter in law Matt and Rebecca. Wow! What an evening! Other standout events early in the year were our Grand Isle Kayak Fishing Expedition, our Namaste Waterfall Day hike, and Michael Pears teaching Kayak Fishing the Marshes of South Louisiana. Early in the year we also were a venue for the Cinema on the Bayou film festival. The evening with Christina Melton introducing the “Atchafalaya Houseboat” film was particularly memorable.

Early summer found us paddling Buffalo Cove on a memorable high water day, paddling the Virgin Cypress for the first time on a picture perfect late spring afternoon and heading to South Texas for an incredible kayak fishing adventure. Our community screening of “The Real Dirt on Farmer John” co-hosted with Earthshare Gardens was a highlight. Ken Waldman - the Alaskan Fiddling Poet put on a great show for our first ever musical evening at P&P. Captain Danny Wray from Grand Isle captured the kayak fishing community with a great talk on tackle and strategies when fishing from a kayak.

As late summer came and fall began, we had a great kids hike at Fausse Point highlighted with playing in the fountains. One great memory for me was at our kayak fishing trip to Grand Isle, seeing Dan Selph catch a HUGE redfish from the seat of his kayak. During this time, Becky and I were gone for almost two months. The first part of the trip was a trade show. The second part was a 37 day hike of the Colorado Trail. While we were gone, Lafayette hosted 2 near misses on hurricanes. Our Bio-Fuel night was an amazing success with Tim Metcalf and a great film highlighting the night.

Fall brought a wonderful art film called “Rivers and Tides” that got a lot of response from the outdoor community. Author Pete Cooper came to the P&P venue and talked fishing to a rapt crowd that hung on every word (especially me!). We hosted Dean Wilson - the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper for a wonderful program on some of the environmental problems in the Basin.

In addition to all of the events listed above, we had many great Howl at the Moon evenings at Lake Martin, Kayaking and Canoeing 101 classes, Waterfall hikes, Backbone hikes, Indian Bayou birding hikes and paddle trips, Chicot hikes and paddle trips, backpacking clinics, demo days, food drying clinics and canoe camping seminars.

WHEW!!! If you are still reading - thank you! This was a totally amazing year. We have enjoyed sharing time with you and look forward to some incredible adventures in 2009.

Christmas Memories

As some of you may know, I grew up here at Pack & Paddle. The store was founded by my parents in 1974 in a small Acadian shack on the edge of the Vermillion river. I was 13 years old at the time. Since that year, Pack & Paddle has in many ways defined this season for our family. As you might imagine, we've built up a lot of stories over the last 34 Christmas seasons.

Our first year sales were very slow - so it was announced that everyone in the family was getting Christmas presents from Pack & Paddle. The pile grew under the tree until when, a week before Christmas, the shopping madness finally hit. That's when us 5 kids watched our Christmas presents get unwrapped and sold to customers looking for gifts!

There are lots of great memories as well. Ask anyone in our family who the "last customer of the season is" and you'll hear a chorus say "Harold Schoeffler". Harold has a tradition of coming in on Christmas eve and shopping for his whole list. We all look forward to Harold making his appearance and having fun picking out gifts for the whole family.

When Christmas eve finally arrived, we would all take a picture by the front desk and the usually go out to eat and celebrate - having survived another crazy Christmas The photo above is of our family at P&P circa 1978. I am on the upper right). We had made it through together, built some great memories and became closer as a family in spite of (or maybe because of) the hard work.

These days, many of you have become involved in our Pack & Paddle family through our trips and our in-house events. It has been a joy to join you over the last year here at the shop for films and events as well as out on the water and on the trail. These programs have allowed us to get to know all of you so much better.

There are so many memories of the last year: Watching groups struggle though the final miles uphill out of the Waterfall hike - then celebrating on the porch of the Pond General Store. The epic muddy pullover at Buffalo Cove was a huge effort that was rewarded by the beautiful views of Bayou Gravenburg and Buffalo Cove. Likewise, the first tentative strokes of students in a Kayaking or Canoeing 101 class morph into confident paddling skills as we glide through the trees of Lake Martin at sunset.

Experiences like these that you share with your family - especially the struggles - give you a common thread. A common life blood. And memories that last a lifetime.

All of us at Pack & Paddle thank you for joining into our extended family. We look forward to being outdoors with you next year and wish you a very merry Christmas!

John, Becky, Amy, Cheryll, Jamie, Skip, Joe, Kristin, Emily

Lafayette Kayak Fishing Club Conquers Dulac

Special Thanks to Keith Drouant for the photos used in this post.

Recently, I had a super great day fishing with the new Lafayette Kayak Fishing Club in Dulac.

Our day began with a meeting at 4:30am meeting at the Albertsons in Broussard. Yes- 4:30am. This club is serious about catching fish! After a quick break at McDonalds in Houma, we were at the launch in Dulac just after sunrise. I have not done a lot of fishing with other folks - so it was interesting to see how everyone had their boats rigged up for fishing.

The launch was just a wide spot in the road with a mud and rock bank. The water was quite open, with marsh grass rimming what looked like a large lake. Our revered president Greg Sonnier was in the water first and fishing hard along the bank that paralleled the road. I decided to head to the corner, and as I was passing Greg, he connected with a trout. Things were looking up!

As I fished the corner, I came to an area with a small island near a trenasse. I suddenly had a hit on the purple cocahoe minnow with a chartreuse tail. I missed (of course) and quickly cast back to the same area. I caught several small Speckled Trout in that area before continuing working the points up the bank. Just as I started up the bank, I caught a nice trout. I got him into the boat, removed the hook and turned to put him into the ice chest. That's when the trout made a perfectly timed flap of his tail, and he was airborne. I guess he earned his freedom.

I was fishing this area with club member Keith Drouant. Keith worked the opening and the island for a while - and I enjoyed watching him fish it and seeing his approach. As I moved up the bank, I got to hang out and talk to other club members. When I reached a sharp point, I heard Karl Shexnaider in a battle with a big Redfish. I was so jealous! I needed an adrenaline fix - and small trout were not going to get it done!

I moved across the lake into another area and cast towards an opening. My cork moved across slowly in the way that can only mean one thing: FLOUNDER! I set the hook and pulled in a big flounder that gave me a fit trying to get it safely into the ice chest. I can't tell you how many flounder I've done accidental catch and release for - but it's a lot. I put my foot on him, grabbed him with the Boga Grip and safely got him into the ice chest.

It was getting late, and I thought I would have to settle for a few small trout and my flounder. But my fishing adrenaline fix was still unsatisfied, so I headed back up the shoreline to fish the points.

I tried to make my mind have a positive attitude. One of the best fishing quotes I've read is by Billy Billeaud who says "You've got to will the fish on to your hook". I knew I was almost out of time, but I applied myself to willing a fish onto my hook. The first point produced nothing. As I approached the second point, I cast just off the point and started working the cocahoe back towards me, making noise with the cork. That's when the cork shot under the water in a way that can mean only one thing: REDFISH!!!

The fish shot out towards the middle of the lake - making the drag on my reel scream. I unstaked my marsh anchor and the Cajun sleigh ride was on! This fish was lively. He pulled me at least 200 yards out into the middle of the lake before tiring out. Having had my fishing adrenaline fix - I headed back to the launch site.

Most of the club was back when I got there, unloading the boats and putting them on the trailer. We all hung out waiting for Keith to come back from the Island. Pretty much everyone had been really successful on our outing. We all got together for a group picture, and headed for home.

In a way - this day wasn't a lot different than most fishing days. But since we were able to share the excitement with each other, feed off of each others energy and success - it was that much more fun and satisfying. If you've never fished with the Kayak Fishing club, I highly recommend it. This is a great group of guys and girls that love big fish, light rods and small boats - and it doesn't get any better than that.

Looking For Signs on an Uncertain Trail

One thing that's different about the Colorado Trail from other trails that I've hiked is the markings. Or should I say, lack of markings. The CT can go for miles and miles without a single mark to confirm that you're on the right trail.

I will admit to you that I tend to obsess. Here's how things play out in my head: First you get that little seed of doubt - "Hmm... it's been a while since I've seen a trail marker". Then you start to get a little upset - "why in the world don't they put more marks on this trail"; I'm sure we're right, but uggg... if I have to climb this hill, I'm going to freak". This is usually followed by full blown gnashing of teeth - "This can't be right. A major trail like the CT would have better markings than this. If this is wrong - we won't make it to our camp before dark. We could freeze out here. Did I just hear a bear?"

Today I was thinking about all the bad economic news that's out there right now. It seems like we're all feeling a little like I did on the Colorado Trail. We're asking ourselves "Where's that next trail marker?" Nothing seems solid anymore - and it's easy to second guess whether you're on the right trail or not. And right when the trail is the roughest - you guessed it: No trail markers!

I don't have an answer to the current downturn in the economy. The same can be said for other problems in life. I find that time in the wilderness teaches lessons, and the lessons I took home with me from the Colorado trail are these: Walk in clear and aware consciousness. Pay attention at every cross trail and think through each decision at these crossings carefully. Then in between, walk with purpose. Hold my head up and trust my skills. Know that if somehow I did go wrong, that I'll have the strength and competence to get back on the right trail. Like all good lessons - these are things that are easier to say than they are to live.

Obsessing over the next trail marker makes us miss out on the fun, surprises and joy that life has for us (even in rough times). So - my condolences for your 401K. It's time to lace up our boots (or water sandals) and get out there. Take some risks and push yourself out the door. Winter in Louisiana is the best time to enjoy the wilderness and the lessons it brings in its quiet way.