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The Art of the Miniature Adventure: On (and Off) the Water

The Art of the Miniature Adventure

On (and Off) the Water

Big Trips get most of the hype in the paddlesport press, but how many of us can afford to take a Big Trip every time we need to get away from it all? Not many of us. And the solution? How about a miniature adventure? Farwell didn’t invent the idea. It’s writer Richard Frisbie’s brainchild. But it’s open to anyone with a boat and a dream. And in this, the last of a three‑part series, Farwell tells you how it’s done.
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by Farwell Forrest | May 29, 2018
Originally published in different form on July 26, 2005

A Farwell Forrest Article on Backinthesameboat.com

I‘ve said it before, I know. Still, it’s worth repeating. The miniature adventure is the escape clause in life’s contract of obligations. It’s adventure on easy terms, close to home and on the cheap. But it’s real‑life adventure, nonetheless. Every miniature adventure is a leap into the unknown, with all that this involves. Guidebooks only rarely offer guidance, and there’s no outfitter to turn to for timely reassurance or good advice. In short, you get no guarantees. To go adventuring is to place your stake on the table and risk … well … what, exactly? … Read more »

Miniature Adventures: Life in the Slow Lane

The Art of the Miniature Adventure

Getting There and Back Again: Life in the Slow Lane

No chance of a Big Trip this year? No problem. You can have just as much fun close to home. Take it slow and easy. Make every minute count twice. You won’t cover many miles, but you’ll never get a better return on your investment of time, and isn’t that what recreation—re-creation—is all about? Farwell thinks so, and in his second article on miniature adventures, he tackles planning and logistics.
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by Farwell Forrest | May 22, 2018
Originally published in different form on June 28, 2005

A Farwell Forrest Article on Backinthesameboat.com

Last week I invited you to consider the virtues of the “miniature adventure,” a phrase I borrowed from writer Richard Frisbie, whose delightful little book It’s a Wise Woodsman Who Knows What’s Biting Him introduced me to the concept. But if you’re not familiar with the idea, a miniature adventure is the antithesis of a Big Trip. Big Trips involve weeks—sometimes months—of preparation, they often take you thousands of miles from home, and they’re hard to do on the cheap. In short, Big Trips require both deep pockets and a lot of free time. Which is why they’re rare treats … Read more »

Devices and Desires Redux: The Facebook Follies

Devices and Desires Redux

The Facebook Follies

‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
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by Farwell Forrest | March 21, 2018

A bitter harvest? It sure sounds like it. A swelling chorus of insiders are affirming what we’ve long suspected, that Facebook is harvesting the most intimate details of our (once) private lives and then turning a blind eye when their lovingly curated data is used to target political ads and influence the outcome of national elections. Facebook’s flacks deny this, of course. But maybe you don’t find their “hear no evil, see no evil” shtik convincing. (We certainly don’t.) Or maybe you’re simply tired of letting a bourse of billionaires decide what you should read and see and do. If so, why not “go commando”? Drop Facebook, leave tweeting to the birds, and start rediscovering the real world, in all its untidy, unfiltered splendor.

That’s where we come in. Back in the Same Boat and Tamia Nelson’s Outside and are celebrations of freedom—freedom to go where YOU want, do what YOU want, and see what YOU want. Canoeing, cycling, hillwalking… They’re all about freedom. You don’t need wi-fi. You don’t even need gasoline. Just shut off your smartphone… Read more »

The Virtues of Simplicity

Batteries Not Included

The Virtues of Simplicity

It might be April. The ground under the cedars is almost bare, the town roads are turbid rivers running between low dikes of salty slush, and a foraging blackbird is flashing scarlet epaulettes at anyone bold enough to approach him. It might be April. But it’s not. The snow will return. The New Model Climate may be making Canoe Country winters shorter than they used to be, but it hasn’t stopped the wheel of the year from spinning round. Winter will stay with us for a little while yet. And winter has lessons to teach us about our dependence on technology, as this tale from another time and place makes clear. So imagine there’s a winter storm headed your way. Because sooner or later, there will be.
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by Farwell Forrest | February 23, 2018
Originally published in much different form on March 6, 2001

As I write this, a major winter storm is threatening the mid-Atlantic coast. Some parts of the country, places where a couple of inches of snow usually bring traffic to a standstill, will probably get a couple of feet. New York’s northern mountains will be spared the worst, … Read more »