Imagine coming into the beach after a long day's paddle. Your arms and back are aching, your skin is itchy from sweat and salt spray. By the time you've carried all your gear up the beach and brought the kayaks up above the high tide line, you're tired and getting chilled. The thought of taking a dip in the water is the farthest thing from your mind. But after soaking up the heat in the heat of a wilderness sauna, you'll welcome the chill of the water. A few trips between the sauna and the water will wash away the grime and fatigue, and leave you feeling relaxed and revitalized at day's end.

An easy-to-make portable sauna can add a whole new element of luxury to a kayaking trip and, if it's a cool drizzly day, there is no better feeling than being able to say, "Excuse me, I need to get to the water-I'm getting too hot."

The sauna is a place to relax a kayaker's sore and tired muscles, it will warm you deep down if you are chilled, it will relieve any congestion you may have had, and it will open skin pores for a deep cleansing, as it refreshes your mind and body.

I'm an engineer and a gear fanatic, so one of my favorite parts of a kayak trip is when my friends ask, "So what did you bring on this trip?" What comes out of my hatches next is usually good for at least a few laughs. I had an idea that a portable hot tub would make me some new friends in a hurry, but after a couple of weak attempts, I chose the path to a sauna. In a sauna, I would have to heat only a small amount of water and the air, which takes a whole lot less energy than heating several gallons of water.