Paddlers' Guides by Ed Gertler

If life were long enough and my skills great enough, I would paddle every river, creek, coastline, canal, ditch, etc. in the world.

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Paddlersguides.com by Ed Gertler

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Click for more info or to purchase Maryland and Delaware Canoe Trails, Garden State Canoeing or Keystone Canoeing. THANKS! CLICK HERE for a free sample map of Tonoloway Creek and Little Tonoloway Creek (As seen in Md & Delaware Canoe Trails and Keystone Canoeing).  Map includes description of Tonoloway Creek.

How I Started & My Philosophy on Guidebooks

HOW I STARTED

During the 1970s, my friend, the late Roger Corbett, had been self-publishing several nicely designed guidebooks. So I approached him to collaborate on a Maryland guidebook. He agreed, but partnering evolved to mentoring, and I ultimately launched my first book, Maryland and Delaware Canoe Trails, solo, but still bearing Roger’s trading name, Seneca Press. Keystone Canoeing followed in 1985 and then came Garden State Canoeing in 1992.

MY PHILOSOPHY ON GUIDEBOOKS

First of all, if life were long enough and my skills great enough, I would paddle every river, creek, coastline, canal, ditch, etc. in the world. To that end, I have been exploring waterways with unusual vigor and have accumulated a lot of knowledge that I would like to see benefit others. Writing guidebooks was the logical way to fulfill this desire.

I start with the assumption that people want different things from a guidebook. Some

want to find something to paddle nearby. Some specifically wonder what happens on that creek they cross on the way to work each day. Some are looking for the best places to go, no matter where they are. Some are like myself and would like to paddle or at least know about all of the streams. Some would just like to know a good spot to park and play. So I cram into my books as many destinations as possible, with care taken to provide a good geographical distribution.

I know what I need to select an itinerary and assume that my readers need the same. Specifically, they must know the difficulty, when there is likely to be adequate water, how to find out if there is adequate water, how to access the stream, how far it is between those access points, and last but not least, whether this stream a dump or a piece of paradise.

I think credibility is one of the most important attributes a person (certainly a guidebook writer) can have. To assure that, I make it a point to personally traverse (that may include portaging) every bit of any waterway that I describe. I hold the shuttle maps to the same standard, driving all of the roads. If any description is wrong, it is because I took lousy notes or things changed since I was last there.

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