Lincoln Woods - August 13, 2026

I tore the meniscus in my knee back in December, and haven't been able to kneel in my canoes since. I have been very good about doing physical therapy, and today I decided to give kneeling in my whitewater boat another try. I was able to paddle from the boat ramp down to the beach for a swim and back - not too painful, but a good NSAID helps. It might be time to try a Fife run.

My solo canoe at the beach at Lincoln Wood

RICKA Meeting on the Water - Lincoln Woods - August 10, 2026

Skye, Steve and Danny enjoy
snacks at site 45

During the summer, RICKA’s monthly meetings are replaced with “Meetings on the Water” – paddles that are intended to get people together who might not normally paddle together, or to get people out to venues that they might not normally visit. In July, the Sea Kayak group led a Full Moon Paddle at the URI Bay Campus in Narragansett. This month, the flatwater group led a paddle at Lincoln Woods State Park. 

Paddlers launched from the boat ramp for the trip around Olney Pond. We also got a permit for picnic sites 45/46, which has a nice beach for landing boats. We got a campfire going and had snacks for anyone who stopped. Bill brought a homemade blueberry pie, Skye brought home-grown tomatoes, and I made monkey bread and brownies in the Dutch oven, and quesadillas on the fire. It was a nice night.

Hiking at Lincoln Woods - August 5, 2026

I found a walking stick

The mid-week hiking crew with Bill, Alan, Danny and Nancy was back at Lincoln Woods State Park yesterday for a 5-mile hike.

Lincoln Woods is RI’s oldest state park. It opened in 1909 after acquiring farmland and woodlots from the Olney, Arnold, Comstock, and Mitchell families. Over the years, it has grown to 627-acres around Olney Pond bordered by Route 146 to the west, Breakneck Hill Road to the north and Great Road/Route 123 to the east.

Danny at the stone steps

This time Bill took us further out into the woods out near Breakneck Hill Road. In addition to large boulder outcroppings, we found old foundations, stairs carved into the bedrock and other remnants of the old homesteads from the days before this became a state park. And we didn’t get lost - too often.

Breakfast after the hike was at the 9 Twenty Cafe in Lonsdale.

The crew - Alan, Bill, Erik, Danny and Nancy

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Lincoln Woods - July 28, 2026

Ryan in my Yellowstone Solo

I have been dealing with a sore knee since December that has limited my ability to kneel in my canoes. I tried again last night at the BVPC trip at Lincoln Woods, and it was another no-go. I switched boats with Ryan who paddled my Yellowstone Solo while I paddled tandem with Erin in their Esquif Canyon. 

I got the results from an MRI on my knee yesterday, and it turns out that I have a torn meniscus in addition to arthritis. I need to make a follow-up appointment with the doctors to see what the options are.  

Paddling tandem with Erin in the Esquif Canyon

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Lincoln Woods – July 9, 2026

It was another warm day, so I decided to take my sea kayak down to Lincoln Woods. I did a loop around Olney Pond, and then took a quick swim at the beach. The beach wasn't crowded, and the water felt good.

Beach at Lincoln Woods

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Hiking at Lincoln Woods - June 10, 2026

I joined Bill, Alan and Nancy for a early morning hike at Lincoln Woods State Park.

Lincoln Woods is RI’s oldest state park. It opened in 1909 after acquiring farmland and woodlots from the Olney, Arnold, Comstock, and Mitchell families. Over the years, it has grown to 627-acres around Olney Pond bordered by Route 146 to the west, Breakneck Hill Road to the north and Great Road/Route 123 to the east.

We would be hiking the Lincoln Woods Trail, which loops around the northern end of the park. It is a very pretty woodland littered with large glacial erratics. It is also a maze of unmarked trails and we pretty quickly got off course. We still did about 3.5-miles, and then went out for breakfast at 9 Twenty Cafe in Lonsdale.

Next week we will try Blue Hills Reservation.

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Lincoln Woods State Park
Lincoln Woods Trail from Alltrails

Lincoln Woods Again - August 16, 2025

I have my grandson’s birthday today, and a visit to Rehoboth and my brother’s cookout in NH tomorrow, so there will be no paddling trips for me this weekend. I did get out this morning for a quick trip to Lincoln Woods in the Millbrook. It felt good on flatwater, but I need to get it out on some whitewater - maybe Fife Brook next week.  

Lincoln Woods - August 6, 2025

I got up early, and got out to paddle my new Millbrook Outrage. I started out on flatwater at Lincoln Woods. It is great at spinning and carving turns, but like all whitewater boats, it can be a bit of a challenge to paddle straight. After that I headed over to River Island Park to paddle in some current, but there wasn’t enough water to do much. I’m off to the Dead this weekend with Paul, but I’m going to bring my Mad River Outrage. I want to spend a little more time in this new boat before taking it on a big trip like that.

Launching and Landing - September 7, 2024

I had some repair work done on my sea kayak (skeg and bulkheads), so I decided to check it out at Lincoln Woods. I also decided that I would spend some time on launching and landings.

Being and open boater, I find one of the hardest parts of kayaking is getting in and out of the boat. I am OK launching and landing using the paddle as a brace, but that doesn’t work so well in surf. Mike tried to explain a surf launch at the RICKA Meeting on the Water,  but it didn’t work out so well.

I knew I needed to get better at a surf launches and landings, so I practiced today. Here is what I came up with for launching:

• Pull the boat out into the water – it should be floating, but the stern can rest slightly on shore for support.
• Straddle the boat, and drop into the seat - I found it easier if I didn’t settle all the way down in the seat.
• Using the paddle as support, bring your first leg in – not the leg on your paddle side.
• Continuing to use the paddle as support, bring your other leg into the boat and slip all the way into the seat.

I didn’t have the skirt on, so I’ll have to try it with the skirt next time. Landing is similar:

• Paddle in to shore bow first – bow can rest slightly on shore for support.
• Pull one leg up and out of the boat – I find it easier if I push myself slightly up and out of the seat.
• Using that leg as support move the other leg to the center of the boat.
• Holding onto the cockpit combing push yourself up to a standing position.

I paddled around Olney Pond stopping anywhere that I could to do a landing and a launch. I got pretty good at it by the time I got all the way around. I did cheat a little by have the bow and stern resting slightly on shore for support.

Paddling in the Wind - September 18, 2022

A family party and work around the house kept me busy for most of the weekend, but I did get out with my kayak to practice paddling in the wind at Lincoln Woods. I was interesting to see how the boat responded - with no momentum the boat turned sideways and with momentum the boat turned into the wind. I practiced outside turns into the wind, inside turns downwind, and paddling sideways in the wind with and without the skeg.  

Circles on an outside edge in the Capella - Lincoln Woods - August 20, 2022

Over the years I’ve heard people talk about leaning/healing/edging to the outside of a turn, but I never really knew what they were talking about. In whitewater paddling (canoe or kayak) leaning to the outside of the turn is a great way to end up in the drink – at least when crossing eddy lines. There is a freestyle canoeing move called a post that involves an outside edge heal, but I didn’t think that it was any more effective than its inside edge counterpart the axle, so I rarely did it. Like the bow pry/jam, it was something that I practiced, but didn’t really use in my day-to-day paddling. The only time I ever use an outside edge heal in my canoe is for a sideslip with a sculling draw.

After being out in the Capella a couple of times, I now know what they mean by edging to the outside of the turn. This boat absolutely responds to an outside edge heal. Raise the thigh and butt to the side that you want to turn (or drop the outside edge) and the boat will gradually turn in that direction. Add a forward sweep and the boat turns faster. Adjust the edging while paddling forward and you can make subtle turns without resorting to correction stokes.

Why does this work in a sea kayak? Sea kayaks are displacement hulls. Edging the boat changes the hull profile, releasing the stems, and moving the boat into an outside edge turn. Leaning slightly forward engages the bow in a carve and allows the stern to skid through the turn. It might have worked in my canoes if I gave it a chance, but the effect is much more pronounced in the Capella.

I went back to Lincoln Woods to practice some more outside edge turns. Before going I had practiced using the paddled as a brace on shore while getting in and getting out of the boat, and I was much more stable on the water. I set up the camera to do some off side edge circles. My edging technique needs work (I think the pegs are still too loose), but the boat definitely turns. There were times when I had locked in a good off side edge and I could feel the stern skidding through the turn. I also did some shoreline paddling using only forward strokes and outside edge turns to follow the shoreline.

I still get confused about which way to edge – raise the side in the direction that you want to go seems to be the easiest for me to remember. Its definitely not intuitive yet, and is the exact opposite of what I have always done, but I’ll get there eventually. Hopefully I won’t screw-up my whitewater boating in the process.

Circles on an outside edge in the Capella from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo

Back to Lincoln Woods – Wet Exits and Edging in the Capella – August 17, 2022

Bill in his P&H Ocra

My spray skirt came in yesterday, so I asked Bill to spot for me at Lincoln Woods while I did some wet exits. It turns out that swimming out of a canoe for years is good practice for doing wet exits in a kayak. I did one without the skirt, one with the skirt, and popped out both times. Bill said that I was out of the boat so fast that I didn’t even get one side of my body wet. A bit of an exaggeration, but I was out fast and I don’t like being upside-down in the water. I need to work on that if I am ever going to learn to roll.

Me in my P&H Capella

We did a leisurely paddle around Olney Pond and I tried to practice some edging. I used Bill’s bow to figure out where the secondary stability was, and tried paddling some circles on an outside edge – it worked.  I was able to paddle circles with sweep and forward strokes.  Even without paddling, the boat was turning away from the side that I edged – pretty cool.  Definitely going to take some practice for me to get used to these outside edge turns, but I am beginning to see where the skill in sea kayaking comes from.

Lincoln Woods with the Capella - August 16, 2022

I got out for my first trip in the Capella, and I think I made a good choice with this boat. It is stable, picks up speed fast, and is more maneuverable than the Perception that I paddled at the kayak class. I tried some edging, and it responded best when edged to the outside of the turn. With the skeg down it tracked straight as an arrow. I set the paddle at 210 cm with 0º feather, just like at the kayak class. The toughest thing about this boat is getting in and out (fell out twice - one getting in and once getting out), and I still need to practice wet exits.

Me in the P&H Capella 166 RM

Lincoln Woods - June 13, 2021

I just got back from 4 days of paddling in the wind on Umbagog Lake. So what did I do today while Michelle went to visit the Brothers? I paddled in the wind on Olney Pond at Lincoln Woods. The place was packed - especially the beach.

Lincoln Woods - September 7, 2020

Third day of paddling in a row - a pleasant trip around Olney Pond at Lincoln Woods.

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My old Impluse has a new home – September 2, 2019

Glendale Rapid on the Branch in 2006

With the purchase of my new Outrage, it was time to make room in the boathouse by passing on my old Impluse to a new paddler, and Danny seemed like the perfect choice. I met him this morning at Lincoln Woods and he took it for a spin – deal done.

I bought the the Impluse in the fall of 2005 after taking the NHAMC Whitewater School in the spring. The first trip that I did in this boat was the fall draw-down at the Pcat, which I have done many times since. The next trip was the icebreaker trip on the Upper Winni the following spring, and then I did my first trip on the Branch with Bill Luther in June. The first picture that I have in this boat is running the Glendale Rapid on the Branch.

Shepaug in February 2008

In the fall of 2007, I started paddling with Matt and Scott, and took many trips to CT to run the Farmington. One of my favorite pictures in the Impluse is a winter shot from February 2008 on the Shepaug.

In 2008 or 2009 I bought my first Encore, and the Impluse became my spare boat. I used in for a few months in 2011 when my original Encore got stolen. Fortunately, I was able to purchase another Encore from Tommy, and the Impluse went back to being my spare. I think the Impluse will have a good new home with Danny.

Danny in his new boat - have fun!

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Mad River Outrage – August 18, 2019

New boat arrives home

I have a new boat – a 15-year old, but like-new Mad River Outrage. I bought it from Nancy Gero, and picked it up this week. A great find.

Mad River Canoe was founded in 1971 by Jim Henry in a shed at his home near the Mad River in VT. In its early years, Mad River was known for innovative designs and the use of new materials. Mad River was among the first to mold Royalex canoes in 1973, and introduced Kevlar to the canoe industry in 1974. Its best-known canoe, the Explorer, was introduced in 1975. Mad River merged with Wilderness Systems in 1998 to form Confluence Watersports, which would later acquire the Dagger, Harmony and Perception brands. 

Bags installed - ready to go

In 1995, Mad River introduced the Outrage whitewater canoe, which was designed by Tom Foster and Jim Henry. The Outrage is a fish-form design (widest section forward of the centerline producing a buoyant bow that is ideal for paddling upstream and rising over large waves) with soft chines, a shallow arch hull, and lots of rocker. Specifcations are:

• Length: 12'
• Gunwale Width: 25.5"
• Depth at Center: 15.5"
• Weight: 52 lbs.

First paddle at Lincoln Woods

Back in the old days a 12’ boat was considered short and a 13’ version, the Outrage X, was introduced for paddlers over 180 lbs. Today, 12’ is “old school”. Mine is the 12’ version with wood  gunwales, outfitting by John Kaz (Millbrook Boats) and hardly a scratch on the hull itself. All I needed to do when I got it home was adjust the straps and put in the bags.

I finally got it out on flatwater today. I am 50 lbs. over the old 180 lbs. max. weight, but it paddled fine. It is great at spinning and carving circles, but like all whitewater boats, it can be a challenge to paddle straight. I love the hip blocks and lack of foot pegs. I added an inch to the pedestal, which is now 9 inches - much lower than the 10 1/2 inches in my old Encore.

Outrage from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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Lincoln Woods - July 6, 2019

It's been a while since I had my whitewater boat out, so I took it down to Lincoln Woods for some flatwater practice.  I'm not as good as I use to be at carving circles - more practice needed!

Olney Pond at Lincoln Woods

Lincoln Woods Go! Paddle - September 16, 2018

I went out with Michelle in the Spirit II to paddle the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Go! paddle at Lincoln Woods.

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Lincoln Woods from RI Blueways

RICKA SUP Night at Lincoln Woods - August 17, 2017

We had a good time trying out SUP boards last night with EMS at Lincoln Woods. We had lots of boards to try, great staff to get us started, and a perfect night. I spent most of my time falling of the board trying to do pivot turns, but I was starting to get the back of it. Thanks to Joe, Benn, Cat and the rest of the EMS staff.

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Lincoln Woods from Rhode Island Blueways