Surprised how much water was running in the Eklutna this weekend. Didn't head up the east fork b/c we had a toddler along, but the water coming off the glacier made me glad I packed the boat. I'm not back there very often so I don't know if it's usually this boatable, but every other time I've seen ...

That's a good point to recognize. The additional play in the thigh straps is minimal though. Certainly there is some, but it comes down to about 3 inches or so once your back pressure is off; as long as you've got your straps on tight that won't quite allow for a wrap around the ankle.

Haven't seen things done quite this way, so thought I'd share an epiphany I had while helping a friend put a backband on his boat today. Haven't been on the water with it, but front lawn simulation looks promising. Not a lot different from attaching the backband and thigh straps to the D-ring separa...

Ran guardrail for the first time on Saturday and was playing around on the little drop right at the top of it. It ate me the first time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5CTYHT_liU, and then it ate me the second time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UsiuhQ3AvI, and the second time I had my paddle rip...

We also boated Moose on Sunday @ ~260. Clear line all the way down, but with a couple tight spots.

Well, just to follow up--I sewed a couple pockets of ripstop nylon on the inside of the the cruiser deck so I can inflate and put in the 2L platypus bottles. Turned out far better than I could have hoped. Taking on barely any water at all now.

Speaking of road runs, we ran the Military section on Eagle River late last night, and it was a lot of fun at around 5.3-5.4. Lots of big waves and sucking holes. Got lazy once and took a swim. Just gotta remember that sun is going down faster and faster.

D-Rings are forward of the seam, and I have not had a problem being pulled off my seat.

Sounds like your dimensions are pretty similar to mine, and I also have a Yak (with a cruiser deck). I put thigh straps in and attached my seat with two strips of 2" velcro to the bottom of the boat because I was under the impression that I would want to be able to move it forward, but so far I've f...

It took a lot of PBR's and I ruined a halfway decent t-shirt practicing, but I taught myself how to sew tonight and added an extra 2 inches of heavy duty velcro along all the closures on my cruiser deck because with the addition of thigh straps it has been a real hassle getting the thing to close an...

While I agree with your basic premise here and appreciate how well you articulated you point, I just don't feel like it would take that much more thot and effort to make the cruiser spray deck pretty much completely waterproof.

I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Take the trail that comes to the Nenana about two miles from the mouth of Brushkana, saves 10 miles of slow Nenana. I thought about that, but I had time to burn and beer to drink, and it was a good bike ride back to the vehicle. Turns out that the Denali Hwy would be a great place to get in shape b...

Had a good time with this loop on Saturday. Pretty similar to what was posted above: Nenana @ Healy was at 10.4 and Brushkana was a fun little ride and then there was plenty of time to crack a few cold ones on the way to the Hwy where the Nenana comes up ride alongside it. Had stashed a bike at the ...

We didn't have any spare paddles so we stopped paddling at that point. Scouted down a little ways from there and stopped along the road at a few points to walk some sections of the creek, and everything I saw looked great in terms of clearance. There is a pretty big log maybe 50 yards (?) down from ...

Wow. Had great time on Moose Creek late Friday night. That is one rowdy creek. Unfortunately we hit a snag when a paddle was consumed. So if anyone crosses paths with a paddle that has 1/2 of each blade painted bright orange you could either keep it for a spare or trade to it the former owner for a ...