AMC Outdoors, July/August 2003

By Katharine Wroth

It covers three-quarters of the planet. It makes up two-thirds of the human body. Water is everywhere, within and without us, inescapable.

But it wasn’t always part of AMC life. The club founders wanted to study rocks, and trees, and altitude, and barometric pressure. Streams were obstacles on the way to the peaks; lakes and oceans a view from the top.

Still, it didn’t take long for members to get interested in the flow of things. In 1885, Rosewell Lawrence described a journey on Lake Parmachenee in northern New Hampshire. “We started the next morning to row down the lake,” he wrote. “To him who loves the wilderness, the view was one of surpassing beauty, both restful and refreshing.”

The numbers in search of rest and refreshment grew, and there was no turning back the tide. Whether in a craft with ancient roots, like a kayak, or something more newfangled, like a sailboard, AMC members have explored every river, lake, and coastal inlet in the region. And they’ve helped protect the areas where they play.

Today each chapter runs events on the water. Some boast well-established committees — like the Boston, New Hampshire, and New York–North Jersey groups — which offer instruction, river cleanups, and a multitude of trips each year. Others are newer, or smaller, or take a different tack. Read on to discover how some of those “well-kept secrets” are helping members escape the heat this summer.

— Katharine Wroth is Senior Editor of AMC Outdoors.

Visit the links below to read about three different chapters that offer water sports and activities.

Aqua Culture, intro  |  Boston  |  Narragansett   |  New York-North Jersey