Maine Guide Tip

Every week I'll offer some wood wisdom gleaned from Registered Maine Guides I've known.

The King of Knots

When I was a Boy Scout, I never got my knot-tying merit badge. Something about ropes and strings befuddled me. I could barely tie my shoelaces, which was strange because I was otherwise a pretty smart and dextrous kid. 

It was only as I got older that I learned the value of tying strong knots (I think it was after a mattress went flying off the roof of my car after a haphazard knot I'd tied gave way). And the reality is that you don't really need to know all that many knots to handle most situations in life. But the one knot you absolutely do need to learn is the bowline (pronounced bowlin'). Back when I learned how to tie it, there was no YouTube to help teach me. I had to use a book. These days, though, there are lots of great how-to videos available. The one below is fine. My only complaint — beyond the University of Phoenix ad — is that it doesn't use the old "bunny goes in the hole and around the tree" teaching model.

Bowlines are fun and easy to tie once you get the hang of them. Impress your landlubber friends!

Maine Guide Tip

Every week I'll offer some wood wisdom gleaned from Registered Maine Guides I've known.

Dead Air

It isn't clothing per se that keeps your body warm. Instead it's a thin pocket of dead air between your skin and your first layer of clothing. I'm a big fan of Patagonia products—sometimes jokingly or dismissively referred to as "Patagucci" for their high price tags, but always worth every penny. Patagonia's R1 pullover has an unusual grid pattern on the inside that creates numerous tiny pockets of air close to the skin. As a result, this moisture-wicking polyester pullover is unusually warm for its weight. It's an excellent insulator. (That's the end of tonight's unpaid advertisement.) Old-time Registered Maine Guides tell stories of having to spend nights in the woods and stuffing their wool underwear with dead leaves to create the same effect. Leaves (or crumpled newspapers) won't keep you warm but they do trap body heat and keep it circulating where it will keep your skin warm.