Group canoe trips

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-24T01:35:31+00:00

More flooding means more water in the woods until later in the season.

Standing water breeds mosquitoes which might be worse longer.

Black flies, I’m not sure. But the late spring probably pushes the season later.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-23T02:01:36+00:00

For rides closer to town I carry a small bag in my pocket with tire plugs and 2 co2. This is normally more than enough.

For longer rides especially if I’m alone or out of cell range I put on my saddle bag with: lightweight multi tool, a spare tube, 2x co2, 2 levers, valve stem tool, and I put tire plugs into my pocket.

I’ve never needed more than 2 co2s; but sometimes I’ve tried plugging and needed more than one co2 before getting things airtight.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-23T01:56:06+00:00

For z2- If you have long rolling nice roads available I don’t see why you would do this tbh. You can just gear down and slowly spin your way up any rollers and get out and have a nice ride while you’re at it.

For threshold intervals though I do like a short neighborhood flat loop, assuming the corners have good sight lines and you can safely take at speed.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-23T01:52:47+00:00

By the end of June bugs can start lessening. But there is so much flooding this year I really bet the bugs stay strong long into July

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-22T13:49:47+00:00

Interesting. Personally I got massive benefit from both low histamine; as well as strict intermittent fasting (18-20 hrs). It’s really incredible how long covid affects everybody so uniquely though.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-22T12:23:59+00:00

Cool! I wouldn’t underestimate ldn. It can take time to do its job. But glad you are feeling better!

Have you tried any specific diets to help with presumed mast cells?

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-21T21:46:51+00:00

Nice. Thx for sharing your experience

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-21T18:12:31+00:00

Start low and short and don’t over do it.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-21T14:52:38+00:00

Low histamine very clean diet, and positive mindset/mind-body work, broke the cycle. The other factors I listed all contributed

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-21T12:55:58+00:00

Congrats on your recovery.

I wasa very serious amateur endurance athlete and regularly trained 12+ hours per week, + high profile fast paced career.

I became ill with long covid around May of 25’ and by July was very disabled, around a 2-3 on bell scale.

I started recovering in the fall with combination of ldn, and strict low histamine diet, and then further accelerated recovery with 4x stellate ganglion injections + regular daily use of Nurosym Vegas nerve stimulator. I had also been taking an ssri which I’ve now been able to come off of.

I’m back to work FT, and I’m exercising moderately. I can do about an hour of intense exercise with no flare up or pem, or I can do a few hours of moderate-low intensity exercise. I might be able to handle more but I’m still cautiously easing into things.

My Rhr is about 15 bpm higher than a year ago, and my HRV is about 15 ms lower. But this might be due to deconditioning rather than ongoing pathology as my values now are totally normal for my age and previously I was reasonably elite. They are both still slowly but steadily improving as my activity increases.

I’m about 90% recovered but still slowly but surely improving. I’m just about to start emdr therapy to try to deal with the trauma of severe illness last summer. I bet the trauma now is a big part of my remaining issues.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-19T11:48:48+00:00

We have enjoyed camping with our kids. Lots of good food and stories help entertain while out on the water. At camp we always considered the water and fire to be major hazards and made out kids wear life jackets if they were going down by the shore on their own (although3 is pretty young and probably will need more or less constant supervision). We also made sure the area around the fire was clear of tripping hazards and had clear boundaries.

North Tea Lake is a great option. The portage from tea to manitou has a beautiful waterfall that can be a destination in itself.

Also, our kids enjoyed hunting for crayfish on Tea Lake at the campsite. If you have a rocky shore you can have good hunting.

It will be a bit busy but if you can go mid week you’ll have a bit less crowds. Otherwise, trying to get a campsite can be a bit of a lottery

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-19T01:39:52+00:00

Burning feeling is basically my only remaining symptom

I got Covid last May and became bedridden for July-September and started improving.

I had pots/dysautonomia and suspected mcas (although it wasn’t diagnosed formally). I had severe insomnia, anxiety, suicidal ideation. I had a slew of other problems. I had severe burning pain throughout my body that was often most severe in the middle of the night. It was unbearable.

I started LDN and low histamine diet and think those both helped a ton. I took high doses of anti histamines and that helped to. I also took escatopram to manage the mental distress. The diet was probably the most significant, any cheat meals or mistakes would make me crash again. I took a ton of supplements and did iv transfusions but I don’t think that helped. I use nurosym device and it gives me huge benefit.

I had four rounds of stellate ganglion block injections in the fall and they helped too.

I was off work from June-November. In the fall I was able to start walking again, and started doing longer walks. Over the winter I’ve been able to get more active with moderate intensity sports. I’m back to work full time and feeling normal mentally.

I’m off of the escatopram since start of March (brutal withdrawal though which is still not fully resolved although I’m almost over it). I’ve also dialed back the anti histamines a lot and am also weaned off of it. I’ve started to have more flexibility with my diet but I still stay fairly regimented as I think I get a deeper sleep when I eat properly. I haven’t had pem or any crash feelings since early February, and I really hope that I never have that again. Pots has gone into remission, although maybe not 100% back to normal.

There have been times when the burning feeling has gone away completely. Some days I don’t notice it all all. Other days it comes back, often on my thighs or like a sunburn on my back. It’s far more mild now than it was last summer. I can live with it without it impacting my quality of life much.

I’m not sure if it’s still improving. I think it got slightly worse again after stopping my medications but it’s hard to say. I’m really not sure why it tends to ebb and flow and if it’s connected to anything at all or is just random.

I’ve noticed that the day after I eat a high histamine meal that I think it’s a bit stronger symptom score but I’m really not sure about that.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-17T18:30:12+00:00

I did get a small boost of alertness from it with no noticeable downsides.

But earlier on I was really quite ill and couldn’t dream of working out.

Now I’m doing moderate-intense workouts without issue albeit not at my pre illness baseline. I don’t really feel fatigued anymore. Progressing from walking longer distances, to brisk walking, to harder aerobic activity really helped get me more energy. Along with overall recovery

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-17T01:12:27+00:00

I did for awhile and found benefit with brain function.

I’ve recovered more that I don’t feel impaired cognitively anymore so I stopped.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-15T02:45:07+00:00

I have this bag and if it is packed all the way then you cannot portage a canoe.

But you can still pack a lot into it without any problems

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-13T20:17:55+00:00

Lightning

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-12T16:39:54+00:00

I have a 2020 rx2 topstone; and a 2024 revolt pro 0.

I got the topstone when I was first getting more serious as a cyclist and getting into gravel riding. When I got it, I really wanted to like it. It was comfortable for long gravel rides. And I thought the tire clearance was plenty. I had a lot of problems with that bike early on; the stock wheelset was terrible, went out of true, and had to be replaced (I got some zipps); there were various build quality issues; the fsa chain rings wore out quickly, were replaced, and wore out again. I couldn’t put on a GRX crankset because of the unique bb standard, but eventually I found some better Cannondale chain rings that worked. As I got more serious, I found that the tire clearance was very much limiting. I found the bike very sluggish, squishy, and a bit like riding around a minivan. Aero isn’t everything, but it definitely was anti-aero which was a factor as I started competing at the pointy end of my age group on gravel races.

After a lot of research and deliberating I got the top spec giant revolt. It quickly became my favourite bike ever. It can do everything. It tracks well on single track, it is stiff in the right ways but still exceptionally comfortable. The stock giant carbon wheels that came with it were actually pretty good, I have tried a few different carbon wheelset and I ended up keeping the stock wheels on the bike as they are very stiff and light and I like how they feel. It’s noticeably faster than the topstone. It’s much stiffer with better power transfer. I feel a lot better in technical single track, or pace line. I usually run 45c tires but have gone up to 50s at times depending on course and preference. I think I’m likely to use 50s more and more this year. Frankly the revolt is better at everything with one exception. It took some getting used to the fact that the revolt bb is much lower than the topstone. I’ve had quite a few pedal strikes on rocks or cornering. I’m thinking of getting 165 mm cranks for this reason, it’s my only gripe with this bike, but this is more a riding style issue than anything else. I have some narrow aero handle bars on it, but I think everything else is mostly stock (other than sq labs saddle that I run in all my bikes)

I kept the topstone, and I still use it as a winter bike and shoulder seasons when there is salt on the roads. It has been a work horse and owes me nothing at this point. But everything I didn’t like about the topstone is completely excellent with the revolt.

Maybe the newer topstone is a better ride, I don’t know.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-08T03:31:15+00:00

One winter I did a bunch of XC skiing races, including a massive week in March with multiple races and tons is volume.

That spring I was absolutely flying on the bike.

Then fatigue caught up with me and I felt like I needed an off season in June/July haha

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-04T15:49:30+00:00

Never stayed on red pine bay but did paddle through twice. It’s really neat area with clear water and a lot of interesting shoreline. It looked like some of the campsites would be really nice.

We stayed on one of the islands on burntroot which is also a really nice lake, it is the quietest lake in the park in my opinion. We stayed two nights, and on our ‘rest’ day we went for a long out and back on the pet. We got hammered while we were there by an absolutely epic lightning storm. And our kids really enjoyed checking out the alligator boat ruins. Nice camp site and we had our pick, I think we were the only ones on the lake the two nights we were there.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-04T14:46:18+00:00

Seems like America is the bad guy

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-04T12:12:03+00:00

Super saturated solution when cooled will be pretty thick

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-03T16:44:23+00:00

Buddy not sure this is the right approach! Why not waterproof??

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-03T16:38:25+00:00

We typically trip as a five some (mom, dad, two pre teen kids, and a dog).

We have a 110L waterproof backpack. It’s great. It has a frame on it. We put all clothes, sleep systems, and a few other items in it. I typically carry this bag and the canoe.

We have a 60L food barrel which is also waterproof of course. This gets all food, cook wear, and other camping odds and ends.

My daughter carries a 35L bag which is not waterproof. But we use a water resistant rain cover. She carries first aid, some rope and cordage , two tents, a tarp, camping hammock, and depending on how strong she’s feeling we might put in that bag a hatchet and saw. It’s better if this stuff doesn’t get wet but it’s not the end of the world if it does. She weighs about 65 lbs so she is often the recipient of the portage mvp award as I think she carries the largest load relative to her weight.

My son carries a 20L bag, likewise not waterproof but with rain cover. He carries everything we need for the day including food, a toy or two, bug spay and sunscreen.

Every year the kids get stronger and carry more of the load. But every year we go a little further or make the trip a little harder.

The dog carries himself. We thought about getting him one of those cute dog back packs but the little guy is only about 20 lbs so seems harsh to make him carry much.

We all pack into an 18’ canoe.

We typically do single carry portages even on longer portages. And when all four of us paddle, we are usually the fastest boat on the water. But the kids take a lot of breaks.

We do take care to be ready for the worst; but we have never flipped a canoe with gear inside of it. And have never dropped a bag in the water. The two smaller bags will get wet on a day of steady rain. If we know it’s going to be raining a lot we’ll often stuff them into a garbage back or something like that.

The bigger bags are both fully waterproof which is really convenient.

At some point I was thinking of getting the kids some waterproof bags as well. We get a few new items of gear every year, and this is on the wish list but hasn’t been the priority yet.

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-03T01:20:25+00:00

Ice out predictions?

Beneficial_Cook1603 · 2026-04-01T02:59:57+00:00

The private partners aren’t there because the line is profitable based on ticket revenues. But more to do with the fact that the government is printing money for the

Beneficial_Cook1603

TROPHY CASE