In association with Hikercentral.com
and Goingoutside.com
In association with Hikercentral.com
and Goingoutside.com
I'm David, this here is my wilderness paddling site.
You should bring all these things when you go canoeing, or else you could get in bad trouble.
| MOSQUITO COILS | We all hate mosquitoes and wish they were all dead, at least we can keep them at a distance. | |
| STOVE | My Trailstove has never let me
down, it's great, I love it. The Trailstove is a very light wood stove, light enough for canoeing, in fact it's the lightest stove in the world if you include the weight of fuel that you have to bring. It's very reasonably priced to. | |
| TARP | A tarp has so many uses, it won't save your life on every trip but it will make things easier on every trip. | |
| WATER FILTER | A good water filter
is a very useful item but it's not entirely necessary. If you have a pot
and a light weight wood stove such as the Trailstove you can disinfect all the water you need by boiling it. It's worth it to bring one though just for the convenience of having cool drinking water at once, when you boil it you have to wait a while until it cools down but in an emergency that's ok. | |
| FIRST AID KIT | Rather than going on about what kind of first aid supplies you need to bring I recommend buying a ready made kit, they usually come in little orange pouches. | |
| STEEL WIRE | If you don't have a piece of steel wire you might regret it. You can fix a lot of stuff if you have some. | |
| FIRE TOOL | You need to be able to make fire. The easiest way is to bring some cheap disposable plastic cigarette lighters with you. Always bring a few for backup even though they rarely break, not even if they get wet. I usually bring three but I have never even had to use the backup lighters, but since they weigh practically nothing it's OK. |
HOW TO MAKE AN IGLOO
PICK A SPOT
You should build your igloo on a level surface where the
snow is at least 3 feet deep. There should be enough hard snow for your igloo,
if the surface snow is powdery there's probably hard packed snow a bit deeper.
Large bumps on the surface of the snow it usually means that there is a large
object below the snow such as a boulder or a large stomp, they can get in the
way so it's better to pick as flat a spot as possible. Don't make your igloo
bigger than it needs to be. Mark out in the snow where you plan to have the wall
of your igloo.
CUT BLOCKS
Cut
out blocks from the area which will be the inside of the igloo. The lower blocks
should be about 1 foot thick, 3 feet long and 1.5 feet high, the higher blocks
should be about 6 inches thick, 2 feet long, and 1 foot high. If you size the
blocks as I have said above you will need approximately the following number of
blocks:
Sleeping 1 person, 6 feet inner diameter: 30 blocks
Sleeping 2 people, 7
feet inner diameter: 40 blocks
Sleeping 3-4 people, 9 feet inner
diameter: 60 blocks
Don't worry if you think you'll have trouble fitting, once the igloo is
finished you can carve out a bit of space for your feet from the inner
wall.
The hole resulting from
your cutting will be the floor in the igloo so you want a sleeping area for each
person as high up as possible, a general purpose area that should be a bit lower
to allow for mobility, and a deep entrance hole that extends outside of the
igloo. The entrance hole should be as narrow as possible while still allowing
you to get in and out without too much discomfort. The deep entrance hole will
absorb the cold air and release it to the outside while the warm air will rise
and stay trapped inside the dome.
BUILD A SPIRAL CIRCLE
Place your largest and widest blocks in a circle around the
hole where you have been cutting out your blocks, the blocks should be tilted in
towards the center. Start with the block that goes on top of the entrance hole,
the whole entrance hole must be traversed by one single block with plenty of
support on both sides. Cut the blocks so they form a spiral, make sure that the
block covering the entrance hole is the largest block.
BUILD WALL
Add
blocks to the wall until you only have a small opening in the roof. Before you
get to the point that it's hard to get in and out of the dome move any blocks
not yet used to the inside of the dome so you can put them all up in one sweep
from the inside.
TOP PIECE
When all the blocks are in place cut the final top piece to the
right size. If you can wiggle it out from the inside and lower it down into
position that's great, but if your hole is very circular this won't be possible,
you'll have to put the block on top of the dome from the outside and then lower
it down from the inside.
FINISHING
Fill any cracks with
snow.
Make a little doorway over the entrance to keep snow out.
You have
to make at least one air hole in the roof to ensure proper ventilation. Without
good ventilation you could run out of oxygen, very dangerous.
Smoothen the
inside of the dome to prevent water dripping.
Your igloo is now ready to be lived in,
check your air hole periodically to make sure it's not blocked. If you've done
everything right you will be quite comfortable.
Christiansted, VI
The park was created to preserve one of the finest marine gardens in the Caribbean Sea. The elkhorn coral barrier reef that surrounds two-thirds of the island has extrodinary coral formations, deep grottoes, abundant reef fishes, sea fans and gorgonians, and the occasional sea turtle. At the eastern most point of the reef is the famous underwater trail; both novice and expert snorkelers will enjoy the passages through the reef. The island, which has an overland nature trail and white coral sand beaches, is a rookery for endangered brown pelicans and a nesting area for three species of sea turtles. Seasonally Buck Island Reef supports one of the last remaining protected nesting populations of endangered hawksbill sea turtles in the eastern Caribbean. Visitors can take daily trips to the park. Once there they can enjoy the tropical island its extraordinary array of marine life and tropical flora and fauna while leasurely swimming in the crystal clear waters, or snorkeling or SCUBA diving through the fantastic reef or hiking over the island while getting a birds-eye view of the reef and sea below.
CONTACTS
Email - BUIS_Superintendent@nps.gov
Fax- 340-773-5995
Write to
Danish Custom House, Kings Wharf
2100 Church
Street #100
Christiansted, St. Croix, VI 00820-4611
Phone
Visitor Information - 340-773-1460
TRAVEL BASICS
Operating Hours,
Seasons
Buck Island Reef National Monument is open year-round.
There is no overnight camping on the island; the park is closed from
sunset to sunrise.
Getting There
PLANE - American Airlines, US Air, and Delta
all fly into the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
CAR - Travel by car to downtown Christiansted or to Green Cay Marina east of Christiansted. There are six concession companies that provide transport by boat to Buck Island Reef NM from these locations. REMEMBER WE DRIVE ON THE LEFT IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS!
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - Buck Island Reef National Monument is accessible by park licensed concessionaires or private boat and is a 5.5 mile (8.8 km) sail from Christiansted on St. Croix. Concession boats are available at Christiansted Wharf or Green Cay Marina. Privately operated boat must abide by park regulations and maneuvered slowly through Monument waters and watch out for snorkelers at all times.
Weather & Climate
Light weight clothing for hot
temperatures is suggested. Long sleeves, pants, sturdy shoes, and bug
repellant are recommended for hiking. Visitors should take necessary
precautions to avoid sunburn. A sunblock of SPF 30 or higher is
recommended. Remember to drink water regularly.
Accessibility
All concession boats to Buck Island Reef NM are
able to assist disabled visitors. Buck Island Reef has a concrete pier on
the south side where boats can dock and assist persons off onto the
island. There are no roads or sidewalks beyond the pier, just sand
beaches, however, wheel chairs with large tires have maneuvered over the
beaches. There is one concession vessel that has a glass bottom for
underwater viewing without getting wet. You don't need to swim to enjoy
the sites of the park!
Getting Around
The only way to get to Buck Island Reef NM is
by boat; private or park licensed concession operation which has daily
trips, full or half day. The trip is between 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hour
depending on whether you sail or motor boat to the park. Once at Buck
Island Reef you continue to move between the beach and reef by boat. There
is only one foot path on the island which takes 45 minutes from beach to
the reef overlook and back down to the beach. All other sites can be seen
by walking, swimming, or snorkeling.
FACILITIES
Visitor Centers
SCALE HOUSE
AT CHRISTIANSTED NHS
Open All Year 8 am to 5 pm
Phone -
340-773-1460
Location - The Scale House Visitor Center serves as
the visitor contact for people on St. Croix. There is no contact station
for visitors on Buck Island Reef NM.
Closures - Visitor Center
is closed on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years Day.
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