Spring is in the air – well, OK, maybe it’s just on the calendar. With all this snow just think how happy the whitewater boating enthusiasts will be come run-off time. And while the snow is still piling up, it’s time to begin thinking about the upcoming paddling season and getting your gear in order.

It’s also a good time to check out your local YMCA or YWCA or other institution with a pool to see if there exists an opportunity to rent some on-water time to practice your strokes and rescue skills on warm, clear water.

Last Friday night I had a chance to get in some pool time at the Old Town High School pool with some friends to go over a demonstration we’ll be doing at the Sportsmen’s Show next Saturday afternoon. Once again I’ve volunteered to help show canoe and kayak rescue techniques at Wallace Pool at the University of Maine.

Friend Karen Francoeur of Castine Kayak Adventures always jumps at the opportunity to show others how to paddle safely, how to pick the right boat for the situation, and what to do if you capsize. Several of us get volunteered to join in to play roles as victims and to attempt to demonstrate how to right a swamped boat. (I usually wind up drinking a bit of the pool and taking home another bit in both ears.)

If you’re looking for a good chuckle, show up at 2:45 and 3:30 p.m. Saturday and catch our show. Joining us in the pool this year are Paul Faria of Pittsfield, who’s our canoe expert; sea kayak guide Deb Merrill; and friend and fellow paddler Robert Causey, who is new to the stage this year. (His previous stage experience involves excellent solo classical work with his acoustic guitar, but don’t look for fine music to emanate from the pool during this performance. He might even be in disguise, I don’t know.)

We’ll attempt to show you what happens when you get in over your head, and Francoeur will lead us through a series of rescue techniques for canoes (in one session) and kayaks (in another session). Don’t look for miracles from me. I’m black and blue from our pool session Friday night. But we’ll do our best to leave you with something to ponder.

Let’s go shopping!

Last Saturday was a madhouse at the Cadillac Mountain Sports store on High Street in Ellsworth. Their advertised 40 percent-off storewide sale drew throngs who lined up before the 8 a.m. opening, waiting for some of the best deals on brand-name outdoor gear. I had decided ahead of time that I wanted to buy a new liquid fuel stove and had settled on the MSR DragonFly. I’d done some research and liked what I saw. I own a couple of other MSR stoves that are great, so my mind was made up. I had called ahead to be sure they had one. I was psyched to be on the doorstep when they opened Saturday morning.

I mentioned the sale to Francoeur and her eyes lit up. Could she tag along? Only, I said, if we leave early.

We did and stepped up to the end of the line (about 40 or so others were already queued up) just minutes before staff members threw open the doors and were nearly trampled in the rush.

I made a beeline for the stove counter to camp out, elbows sharpened. It took a while to get someone to open the case, but I got what I came for (actually two because Francoeur wanted one, too). I was ready to leave, but we kept bumping into folks we knew, and Francoeur kept picking up stuff she couldn’t possibly live without. It was around 10:30 a.m. when we finally left, and the place was still jumping.

By afternoon the store was pretty well picked over, according to colleague Scott Haskell, who took a more leisurely trip Saturday.

Back in Bangor we decided to stop off at Epic Sports to buy some stove fuel. They didn’t have any in stock, but as we chatted with the sales staff about the new coffee press for the JetBoil stove, the topic of the Ellsworth sale came up. Guess what? (Don’t tell the boss, Brad Ryder.) We were offered the same, one-time discount. Well, shut my mouth and empty my wallet. That little discussion got me a new cook cup for my JetBoil and a coffee press for it plus a new Osprey winter backpack.

Francoeur did her best to empty her bank account as well. Don’t ask: There was one backpack, one JetBoil, and at least another bag full of stuff when we left the store.

We still didn’t have any fuel, but we’d found a bunch of bargains. A not-so-quick trip to Bangor Hardware (the boss, Dick Hanson, is a paddler, too, and we had to talk shop) finished off our magical shopping spree. It was a little after noon. I tell you, it’s dangerous getting up early and shopping. I still had more than half the day left and already I was broke!

Of course we had to plan an afternoon outing to Mud Pond to try out some of the new gear. We checked in with Causey and set a rendezvous time for 3 p.m. He’d bring the dogs (the four-legged variety) and we’d bring the food.

Turns out both of us were a bit late, but we set up a kitchen in the snow on the far side of the lake out of the wind and cooked up a storm. Burritos, stroganoff, rice, and chicken made for fine dining. As the sun set on the far side of the pond, we repacked our gear and headed home.

The stove, by the way, performed superbly. It roars to life on full throttle, boiling water in a jiffy, and it’ll turn down to a whisper to simmer – like it did for the bean and rice burrito filling. I’m 99 percent satisfied. The other 1 percent? It’s a noisy little bugger, particularly in comparison to the MSR WindPro I own that runs silently. But it and my other canister-fueled stoves need TLC when it gets cold outside. The canisters, which are also expensive, need to be gently heated for them to produce enough fumes to make the stove efficient. With the liquid fuel stove (which replaces an old, worn-out Coleman Apex), I’m ready for any weather. Let’s go eat!

Paddle Smart Safety Symposium

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll do it again. If you are thinking about purchasing a kayak and would like to arm yourself with some advice and knowledge, mark your calendar for May 14. That’s the date for the fifth annual Paddle Smart from the Start Safety Symposium. The free event is at the YWCA this year and will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Epic Sports’ Brad Ryder and Castine Kayak Adventures’ Karen Francoeur, the U.S. Coast Guard, and sea kayak guides John Rice, Mark Goff, and yours truly meet regularly. We put this event together to offer you advice on kayak and gear purchases, trip and outing planning, on-water rescue and safety demonstrations, and a host of related topics. Our goal is to help make your outing on the water as safe as it can be and for you to be able to assess the risks involved and decide whether to head out on any given day and return safely.

We’re planning again to dunk the mayor (he’s agreed to help out, but I’m not sure he knows he’s going swimming), and there will be a good selection of exhibits and seminars to suit all paddlers.

Baxter Park reservations

Thinking about camping in Baxter State Park this summer? Friend and hiking nut Brad Viles passed along this reminder the other day. The new rolling reservation system requires you to make reservations four months or less in advance. Check your calendar because it’s June now and July’s sneaking up quickly. Go to the park’s Web site at www.baxterstateparkauthority.com for complete details on how to get on board. Note that mail that is received at the headquarters in Millinocket more than four months and seven days ahead of camping dates will not be processed and will be returned to sender.

You can call to make reservations, but only 10 days prior to the start of your desired trip, and chances are good your choices will be limited because of the rolling reservation system. You are also restricted to one reservation per call and one call per day and will have to have a credit card in your hands to make payment over the phone.

Keep it clean

If you’ve thought about using one of those backpack hydration bladders, you may have wondered just how to keep it clean and fresh. Here’s a tip Viles passed on when we talked the other day: try using one of those denture-cleaning products. The tablets will do the work for you.

Thanks, Brad for the heads up.

Or you could follow the directions one water bladder maker, Nalgene, suggests: To clean, add 1 tsp baking soda to 1 cup water. Shake, empty and rinse. Then add 1 tsp lemon or lime juice to 1 cup water. Shake, empty, rinse, and dry.

In either case don’t forget the drinking tube and the bite valve in your cleaning regimen.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.