Northeast Wild

  The inspiration for this article came from a question recently asked on a Facebook paddling group. A family, new to kayaking, wanted ideas for places to paddle in the Adirondack Park that would be an easy drive from the Capital Region. There was a wide range of responses, some of them good, and some of them not so good. Since there was not a lot of background and details offered by the original poster – like ages of the children, type of kayaks being put to use, and how much time they had spent using them locally – it made it more difficult to suggest appropriate paddling locations. I could only assume that they had little experience, so a smaller lake or pond with minimal motorboat use seemed like the best choice, since they would be less likely to have issues with the wind and boat wakes. A stream or river with little current could also fit the bill. Here are some of the responses that folks made and my thoughts on each.   THE GOOD Take a lesson. It’s never a bad idea...

  Ticks, Blackflies, Mosquitoes, Deer Flies, Stable Flies... Nehasane's Top 10+ List for Bad Bug Bite Avoidance:  1. Wash your body & hair with unscented soap/shampoo, use fragrance-free sunscreen & any other products you may put on your skin. Scented soap & mosquito bites . 2. Wash clothing with unscented detergent. 3. Cover up - wear long sleeve shirt & long pants. 4. Use a bugshirt like the Original Bugshirt Elite Edition. 5. Use a headnet (altho blackflies have a tendency to find gaps between net & shirt). 6. Spend your time in windy places. 7. Paddlers can get well away from shore where it is breezier. 8. Use a DEET, Picaridin or IR3535 product on exposed skin - 20% is often good enough for me, 30% max. 9. Use Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus on skin. Several makers of  “natural” insect repellents  (which typically contain essential plant oils such as cedar, citronella, clove, lemongrass, peppermint, and rosemary) claim that their products can help w...