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PADDLE THE EVERGLADES, FL AVERAGE FEBRUARY TEMPERATURE: AIR 72° F, WATER 68° F Between wayward dead bodies and the abuse from drunken booze cruisers, paddling in Manhattan can be a battle under the best of conditions. Add the chi lly breezes of winter and even the most hard-core paddlers are li kely to blanch. Fortunately, a three-hour flight to Miami puts you within striking dis- tance of the River of Grass (aka the Everglades), the largest remaining sub- tropical wilderness area in the United States. This 1.5 million-acre patchwork of marshes, mangroves and clumps of trees teems with birds, alligators, croc- odiles, manatees and dolphins. A low-impact, low-noise canoe is the best way to explore and see this wildlife. Wintertime-with its cooler temperatures and smaller amounts of psychotically swarming mosquitoes- is the perfect time to go. Weekend warriors can spend a few days touring around while dedicated paddlers can tackle the 99-mile, seven-to-nine-day Wilderness Waterway between Everglades City and Flamingo City. You can camp on chickees (ele- vated wooden platforms) as well as on land and beach sites. Flights from NYC to Miami fall within the $200 range (Fort Lauderdale is roughly an hour from Miami and tends to have much cheaper flight options). From the Miami air- port, rent a car and head west on US-41. After approximate ly 70 miles, turn off at the exit marked Everglades City. Buya park permit ($10) at the park entrance. Get your food and water for the trip in Everglades City. Everglades National Park Boat Tours (941-695-2591) rents canoes ($20 per day) and, for $100, will pick up you and your canoe in Flamingo City and return you to Everglades City at the end of your trip. For information on Everglades National Park, visit www.nps.gov/ever or cal l 305-242-7700. SURF RINCON, PUERTO RICO AVERAGE FEBRUARY TEMPERATURE: AIR 80° F, WATER 78° F The name Rincon is evocative of tropical surf paradises, of a place where you can ride perfect waves al l day and tipple mysterious-sounding cocktails all night. Rincon doesn't have the remote feeling of G-Land and you're more like- ly to be drinking Bud than Bintang, but the winter waves are world-class and the water is a pleasant 78°F. Best of all , TWA and Continenta l offer direct flights from Newark into Aguadilla (a small airport only 40 minutes from Rincon) for around $300. The four-hour flights are designed with the wave- seeking weekender in mind, with departures from NYC around 9 PM Friday and return flights around 6 AM Monday. Which means that, traffic willing, you can work until 5 PM on Friday, surf all weekend, and be back at your desk by 11 AM on Monday. The on ly catch is that the flight arrives in Aguadilla around 2 AM, so make sure to arrange taxi service with your hotel/guesthouse in advance. You may be a little groggy after your 2 AM arrival, but who thinks about sleep when head-high (or larger) waves are waiting right outside your door? SIERRA SAVE 35-700/0 a a v e n t u {tfuE" Save on name brand clothing, footwear and gear you trust for all your outdoor adventures. TMfJIN(j 1'O$r OUTLET STORE SIERRA a