Here in New Hampshire this time of year, our namesake bug is giving way to mosquitos, which means summer is setting in.  We’ve had a great spring for paddling, and it’s showing little sign of letting up as we move into summer.  Just this week, I got on one of my favorite local creeks, the South Branch of the Baker.  It’s a real treat to get this one when it’s warm and leaves are on the trees.

Dropping into Cannibal Falls on the South Branch

High flows and warm temperatures made it seem like a good idea to start our local weekly totally-not-serious race series on the Winnipesaukee., which is mostly an excuse to get together and bomb down the river a few times.

We went so fast, we didn’t get pictures on the river

On the production side, things are cranking right along too.  I’ve got a good stock of boats put together and ready to go out, and big pile waiting to get assembled.  Everything listed on the website is in stock. With good water, and plenty of work to keep me busy, it’s a good place to be right now.

But the road is calling my name.  When I started Blackfly, part of the motivation was to help fund my habit of traveling to paddle.  Now days, Blackfly is the reason for my travels to paddle.  I flew out to Colorado for Paddlefest in Buena Vista at the end of last month.  It’s been a few years since I’ve been to Paddlefest, and it was good to catch up with a lot of old friends I haven’t seen in a while.  Even better was to get some new people in modern canoes and get them stoked on what we’ve been doing in an area where a lot of people still haven’t seen them.

And in another two short weeks, I’ll be hitting the road again.  First stop will be the Deerfield River Festival in Massachusetts, June 23-25th.  From there, we’ll shoot all the way out to Methow Valley, Washington, for the inaugural Northwest Kanu Fest, June 30-4th, then swing down through Hood River, OR for a few days.  Then back to Colorado for the 4th year of Colorado Kanu Fest in Buena Vista, starting July 8th.  And along the way, the goal will be to paddle every day.  It’s a tough job and a lot of miles, but someone’s gotta do it, it might as well be me.

Of course, we’ll be delivering boats along the way.  I’ve added delivery for these events as a shipping option on the online checkout.  With boats in stock, I’ll be taking orders up until June 22.

The flip side is, I’ll be on the road for three weeks, so if you want a boat shipped to you, you also need to order before then.  All orders placed while I’m on the road will be shipped out after I return in mid-July.

But for now, I’ve got to get back to work.