Neil Schulman
Neil Schulman writes and paddles from Portland, Oregon.
Kayaks
The Great Future Of Plastic Sea Kayaks
I watched the swell, trying to gauge when I’d have water to ride over the barnacle-covered rock. I got the timing right, but the angle wrong. I cleared the...
Safety & Rescue
Finding The Balance Between Safety and Independence
On May 6, 2016, Bryan Orrio and Kelley McCallum bought two Old Town Trip 10 recreational kayaks from Dick’s Sporting Goods in Salem, Oregon. They headed for the Mehama...
Adventures
Ed Gillet’s 63-Day Solo Kayak Odyssey
In 1987, Ed Gillet undertook a harrowing solo paddle to Hawaii that has only grown more famous in retrospect. That same year Michael Jackson released Bad and babies were...
Stories
The Valley Nordkapp Førti Kayak Marks 40th Anniversary
In 1975 Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to lead a British political party. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior. Peter Gabriel left Genesis. And the modern sea...
Columns
What Happened To Free Camping For Paddlers?
Neil Schulman discusses new policies that threaten how we like to protect our wilderness areas.
Reflections
Is The High Price Of Gore-Tex Really Worth It?
We’re standing at a trail junction in the October rain, stuffing our faces with trail mix. It’s a damp, cold, off-season backpacking trip sometime in my young adulthood. Four...
Conservation
Welcome Back, Otter
I’m drinking coffee on a seaside rock on Knight Island, Prince William Sound, Alaska. From the velvety fog comes a surprisingly loud crunch. It continues for twenty seconds. Then...
Reflections
The Inescapable Truth About 30 Years Of Sudden Change...
I’m looking for my lunch rock from 30 years ago. The summer Germany reunified after the Berlin Wall came down, I worked at an Alaskan visitor center at a...
Destinations
Enjoy Year-Round Kayaking And Unlimited Routes In Portland
If you wanted to design the perfect paddling town, here’s what you might do. Place it at the junction of two broad rivers, one threading all the way from...
