Product Description
Revised and expanded guide to the best kayaking daytrips and overnighters in an area eminently suited to saltwater paddling, with completely updated information on the original routes from the first edition, plus five new ones. Also includes information on the Cascadia Marine Trail, the only Marine National Recreation Trail in the country3/4how to use it, how to support it.

The extensive inland waterways of the Pacific Northwest are considered among the best in the world for sea kayaking. Beautiful scenery, intricate and protected waterways, clean and clear water, and abundant marine life define the area. On shore are ample public parklands for camping and exploring.

These fifty trips in Puget Sound's myriad islands and fjordlike canals and inlets cover the area from Canada's Gulf Islands to the shores of Tacoma, including the fabulous San Juan islands and the unique Hood Canal. Each trip lists details including duration, potential hazard ratings, directions, an explanation of the area's tides and currents, and more. Also included are safety tips and guidelines for kayaking and camping with minimal impact on the environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Reference Book
This is a great reference book.It is very well detailed for each trip.I like the layout, easy to read, giving ratings for protected, moderate or exposed waters, place to put in.I highly recommend it.

An excellent kayaking resource
This is the essential guidebook for paddling around the Puget Sound regions. It is one of those books that keeps getting updated every few years, so it is never too far out of date, which is important in our changing world. The marine environment doesn't change much, but access and facilities required to get and stay there do, and this book helps a lot with that.

This is a great book for the day paddler or the committed water traveler, since it rates the difficulty of each trip, lists places to camp and gives clear directions to launch and recovery points. It covers all the inland waters of the Puget Sound at some level of detail. Maps are a key feature of a book like this, and theirs are excellent. If you paddle the Sound, this book belongs in your truck.

Good book about the waterways of Puget Sound.
Lots of good trips, lots of tips about timing your trip with the tides for a more enjoyable and safe trip. Good list of saftey tips. No book is a subsitute for experience but with this on you are less likely to get into trouble. The Puget Sound region has a lot of good open water kayaking and this book covers a lot of that ground. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Good, but very specific
This book was interesting to read and very informative.Do be aware that it is very specific for canoeing on Arctic rivers, and is much less applicable to warmer climes.

Invaluable Planning Resource
Anyone planning a canoe trip of a few days or a few weeks will benefit from studying the advice given in this book. As a person who has spent some time in the wilderness I appreciate Jacobson's careful treatment of the subject: he offers solid, tested techniques and then points out the many ways things could go wrong. He uses stories form his considerable experience to illustrate how important it is to plan carefully, not to compound mistakes and thereby opens up the possibilities of canoeing in some incredibly wonderful places.

There is a section devoted to accounts of expeditions by different authors that serve to inspire and inform planning. A very engaging and thorough book, the premier one on the subject. ... Read more

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TOP RATED River Adventures Canoeing Kayaking & Rafting inNorth America; Features Top Rated Services for River Adventures asrated by the most qualified people --their past customers! Theselistings cannot be bought, they must be earned by obtaining an A- toA+ rating from unbiased extensive client surveys and polls. A UniqueTop Rated Series Reference Book & Guide to Top Rated Captains, Guides,& Outfitters for Outdoor & River Adventures, Including; Canoe,Cataraft, Dory/McKenzie, Jet Boat, Kayak KI, Kayak K2, InflatableKayak Single, Inflatable Kayak Double, Sea Kayak, Raft (paddle-oar),Class I, 2 ,3, 4, 5, & 6, for Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho,Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee,Utah, Washington, West Virginia, & Canada. A listing must be earned,it cannot be bought! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Have not received it yet!
I have not received this item, which I was supposed to have between August 10th and August 25th.I contacted Amazon about it and they said to contact the third party seller.I did this but have not heard anything from the seller. ... Read more

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This practical book, written by one of the most exciting new writers on the subject, offers a comprehensive introduction to the sport and more advanced course. ... Read more

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This comprehensive reference on kayaking and canoeing describes all the disciplines of this exciting sport from flatwater, open water, and the sea for all levels of paddler, from beginner to advanced levels. ... Read more

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The Best of Paddler Magazine compiles into one volume the finest articles from Paddler's first decade of publishing canoeing, kayaking, and rafting tales. Including sections on Humor, Destinations, Reflections, Profiles, and Expeditions - The Best of Paddler touches on paddling triumphs and tragedies, the ground-breaking leaders and the next wave of up-and-coming paddlers, and the offbeat humor and silliness of paddlesports aficionados.From the tongue-in-cheek classifications in "Evolution of A Paddle Species" to the elegiac reflections on 1997's losses in the paddling community in "The Tragic Summer of 1997," editor Eugene Buchannan inspires paddlers old and new with tales of outrageous excitement, disastrous mistakes, and paddling's real-life heroes and champions.Working with the talents of over a dozen authors published in 60 issues of Paddler, Buchanan combines his great love of paddlesports with eight-and-a-half years experience as editor of Paddler to amass the best of the best in paddling tales.Paddler Magazine has been the premiere magazine for paddlesports since its inception in 1991. Backed by the American Canoe Association, and published bi-monthly, Paddler is the offspring of Canoe Sport Journal, Canadian Paddler, and Ocean Kayak magazines, among others. ... Read more

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A comprehensive guide containing everything you need to know to participate in -- and enjoy -- your favourite sport. ... Read more

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The ultimate how-to guide to sailing, kayaking and canoeing for sailors and paddlers at all levels of ability, from novices to those with extensive experience on the water. ... Read more

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Welcome to The Armchair Paddler, more than thirty amazing stories set on every kind of water. From the Amazon to the Rio Grande, from Pakistan to Peru, from the Arctic to the Inside Passage - these are tales of paddling, rafting, and sometimes (regrettably) swimming the world's rivers and oceans in search of adventure, beauty, and death-defying challenge. The Armchair Paddler is full of revealing accounts of triumph and near tragedy, of endurance and frailty, of just how far technique and courage can take a person.Whether we're given a history lesson on the origin of the kayak, passengered across the rough and rugged waters of a stormy white-capped Atlantic Ocean, or told of the sad ecological condition of what were once some of the worlds most beautiful waterways, The Armchair Paddler never fails to inspire and teach. The excitement, the fatigue, and the numerous life-threatening accidents are documented with great detail and wonderful attention to the human spirit. A roster of experienced boaters and renowned authors make for riveting, unforgettable tales of thrilling exploration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Collection
The image of the boatman on a river or alone at sea sets off a whole range literary claxons.With this legacy, which naturally leads to a heightened feeling of grandeur, it is a wonder that everyone who has ever set paddle to water has not felt impelled to likewise set pen to paper in attempt to claim his place as some sort of modern Odysseus.Of course, many paddlers have, without much success. There have also been, however, a few excellent writings by boaters.The Armchair Paddler, subtitled, Adventures by Canoe, Kayak, and Raft, is a collection of these writings.

The best stories and essays in this collection are written by authors who are able to keep their ego from interfering with their story.In John Hildebrand's account of paddling the Yukon (Reading the River), he reflects on the lessons he learns from the river with such honest humility that it is impossible not to be taken in.Hildebrand's prose is just as appealing.He knows exactly which details to include so that in one well pruned sentence you are right there beside him: "The truck rocked in the wind as we parked above a beach littered with tethered skiffs and dogs curled in the mud."

In "The Starship and the Canoe," Kenneth Bower nearly disappears from his own narrative.As he describes the first kayakers, the Aleuts and Eskimos, who "practice ten different rolls to meet ten different contingencies at sea" and can repair broken boats at sea, he has sense enough to step quietly out of the text. While Whit Deschner remains flamboyantly visible in his story, he is ready and able to laugh at himself.In an excerpt from "Travels with Kayak," we get to see the rivers of Pakistan through the eyes of a roguish humorist.Deschner leads up to his tale with a discussion of junk mail:"In the return, stamped envelopes into which I was supposed to merrily deposit my checking account, I instead stuffed rat droppings.I added the following advice.`The enclosed feces are from laboratory rats that may have been used in experiments involving highly contagious diseases.When you are through washing your hands please delete my name from your mailing list.'"

Unfortunately, The Armchair Paddler does not succeed in entirely separating the flotsam from the jetsam.There are several stories written by hands more accustomed to a pair of oars than a keyboard.More obnoxious is the rare piece whose subject is simply a veil for the author's proclamation of his own heroism. But these are in the minority and though they do not reach the bar set by the other writers, they will interest those involved in the sport.

The Armchair Paddler introduced me to several excellent unknown authors but it also has its share of famous writers.There are essays by Wallace Stegner, John McPhee, Eric Sevareid and an excerpt from James Dickey's seminal Deliverence.The book is broken up into seven sections: Beginnings, Big Drops, The Far North, The Grand Canyon, Journeys Abroad, Out to Sea, and Preserving our Rivers with four to seven pieces addressing each topic.It's a book that any paddler will enjoy. ... Read more

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This newest title in Stackpole's Basics series takes on the wildly popular sport of river kayaking. Packed with information and featuring hundreds of full-color photographs and illustrations, it provides clear, easy-to-follow instructions on selecting gear, getting your boat on the river, and mastering fundamental moves. Also covered are the ferries, peel-outs, and turns required to maneuver a kayak in moving water. For would-be day-trippers, river-runners, creekboaters, and even those aspiring to the world of extreme rodeo playboating, Basic Kayaking is where the journey begins. Includes step-by-step instruction on essential techniques, including all major stokes and rolls, a full-color gear guide, and chapters on safety and reading the water. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Basic Kayaking
The title, sub-title, cover, and table of contents are all absolutely misleading.This is about white-water kayaking, but it isn't stated as such.A fine example of how one can't judge a book by its cover.I'll never buy any book from this publishing house again.

Fantastic Book on the Basics of Whitewater Kayaking
I've read a number of books providing basic kayaking instruction, but this is by far the best in my opinion. The information is presented in a manner which is very systematic and detail oriented (without getting bogged down) with clear, complete and easy to follow instructions and explanations. The pictures are also very helpful.This book does not cover the topic in as much detail as some, but I think that is a blessing for beginners.Being weighed down at first with too much information and too many explanations of the finer points of the sport can be confusing, overwhelming and discouraging.A beginner can read this book and come away with a solid understanding of the basics as well as a clear mind and a confident attitude.

If an Author Forgets a Word, It Shouldn't Be Part of the Title!
I agree that this book seems to be mistitled.If it had been more appropriately titled "Basic Whitewater Kayaking" I would have kept looking elsewhere, others interested in whitewater (river-running, playboats, etc.) might have been drawn more to it, and life would be better.

While some basics are universal for the sport, this well-illustrated book is solely aimed at the whitewater enthusiast, and only accidentally takes along the quiet water paddler for the ride.

This Book is Mis-titled
This book was given to me as a gift by a well-meaning family member who knew I was getting into the sleeker side of paddling after being passed by too many kayaks while paddling a canoe.

The title would lead any sane person to believe that this book is indeed a good beginners book for general kayaking.

It is not.

It is, in fact, a highly specialized book for white water kayaking.It's also fairly terse, the bulk of it being made up of photographs.

For someone like me who is more interested in flat water, slow rivers, protected marine waterways, and coastal swamps this book is nearly useless.Keep looking.

The title and subtitle of this book are incredibly deceiving and are a disservice to readers who might not know better until they get a few pages into the book and realize what they got stuck with.

The best starting point
I live near rivers and have seen others kayaking all the time and I wanted to know about this fun looking sport. This book lays it all out for you and tells you what you need to know. It starts with the gear you will need and how it works to how to paddle a boat. Armed with this knowledge I took my first class and I felt well prepared. I have now taken three classes and I keep referring back to the book to remind me of proper technics. I am considering buying a boat of my own and the book explains all the different types of boats and their uses for different types of water. I can see this book helping me for awhile as I grow in this great sport. ... Read more