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First female to solo thru-paddle NFCT to speak in Saranac Lake

Laurie Chandler, the first woman to solo thru-paddle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, will give a talk Friday at St. Regis Canoe Outfitters in Saranac Lake. (Photo provided)

SARANAC LAKE — Laurie Chandler daydreamed about moving to Maine for years. In 2003, she and her two children finally did, beginning a new chapter in life in a log cabin near the coast. Changing careers from forestry research to special education, she remarried, and discovered a new passion, wilderness paddling. After tragically losing her husband Chris in 2009, she began solo kayaking.

In 2011, a trip she called Paddle for Hope took Chandler across Maine on part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, raising $10,600 for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program. Soon, she was contemplating a solo thru-paddle of the entire NFCT, using a much lighter Kevlar canoe. “Upwards,” the story of her 2015 thru-paddle, is Chandler’s first book.

Chandler will talk about her adventure at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Regis Canoe Outfitters in Saranac Lake. She will sign books after her presentation. On Saturday, she will sign copies of her book at Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid from 3 to 5 p.m. 

Prior to Chandler’s talk, St. Regis Canoe Outfitters will host a party from 5 to 6 p.m. to celebrate their newly renovated boat launch and river wall. Food and beverages will follow a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The events are part of Celebrate Paddling month. For more information, visit www.celebratepaddlingadk.com.

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