|
|
09-18-2009, 12:09 AM
|
#1
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,186
|
Paddling Sports
It seems like whenever I mention "paddling" on this forum, someone thinks a little "spanking" is about to take place! But for you folks into canoeing and kayaking, please identify yourselves. Who enjoys travelling our lakes and rivers via manual propulsion?
We previously had done mostly canoe camping in places like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in NE Minnesota, Quetico Provicial Park in southern Ontario, the Buffalo National Riverway in northern Arkansas, the Current and Jack Forks Rivers in central Missouri and similar places. But we've recently starting kayaking closer to home and we're enjoying it a lot. It's surprising what nice, peaceful places you can find just over the horizon from the skyline of Chicago.
Here's DW in her Perception Tribute 12 heading downstream on the Kankakee River in northern Illinois. This was part of a recent club outing and was a great day on the water. We travelled about 10 miles with a stop for lunch at a scenic spot in Kankakee River State Park.
__________________
"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
09-18-2009, 05:53 AM
|
#2
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Austin
Posts: 1,142
|
This is really different from the lakes and rivers of the northern midwest, but the best outdoor adventure I ever had was a canoe trip down Boquillas Canyon in Big Bend National Park along the Texas, Mexixo border.
DSC00171.JPG
This was 30 years ago, long before organized trips were common. We just put our canoes on the roof racks and drove there. We left one car at one end, drove back to the put-in area and hit the river. The Rio Grande is a nice sleepy river there, with an occasional set of gentle rapids. The scenery is fantastic. All dry desert and steep canyon walls. Once you enter the canyon, there is no way out other than the river for three days. I don't think we saw another soul the whole trip.
The photo above is from a blog. I'm too lazy to scan in one of mine. I believe organized trips are common now. There was some trouble down there some years ago. Some canoers were killed by a sniper.
|
|
|
09-18-2009, 07:19 AM
|
#3
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,154
|
We love it - in all sorts of different water. We've taken some kayak classes too.
We haven't quite gotten to the point of hauling kayaks with us, but sometimes I feel like we are just an hair away from taking the plunge (pun!). We rent when we can. I always look with extreme envy whenever we are camping at a park with water and someone else has kayaks with them.
We're probably just going to have to get a rack for the jeep and get a couple of general purpose single-person kayaks.
Did some kayaking down some rapids a couple of weeks ago - what a blast! Even though it was a rented sit-on-top and inevitably got filled up like a bath time.
In June we canoed down a Missouri river that was running way faster than normal, and canoed through some really swift water. Wish I have been in a kayak instead!
Audrey
|
|
|
09-18-2009, 08:19 AM
|
#4
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 984
|
I enjoy paddling, both canoes and kayaks, and usually own at least a couple of each. I paddle a sit-on-top a lot on my home lake. The best all around boat that I have come across is this one ( Phoenix Poke Boats) -- I have the standard version in kevlar and it only weighs 22 lbs. There is plenty of room and my lab can even go along (as he does with the sit-on-top and canoe).
I lived on the French Broad River in western NC several years ago so spent many days on the river. A friend and I used to canoe/kayak/camp/fish on the John Day and Umpqua rivers when I lived in Oregon a few years back -- lots of good memories.
|
|
|
09-18-2009, 08:32 AM
|
#5
|
Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
|
What is amazing to me as how shallow the water can be were you kayak . We kayak the bay ( which is in our back yard ) often and just glide over the oyster bars .
|
|
|
09-18-2009, 09:51 AM
|
#6
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 6,506
|
'nother kayaker here. Strictly flatwater type. Just spent a buch of days ignoring the world and kayaking. Dragged the trailer to a lakeside campground. There were only two other campers there. Benefit of retirement, all the w*rking folk and their kids are otherwise occupied this time of year.
The photo below was taken some time ago, it is at my favorite camp/launch site.
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/LS38DC%7E1.OMI/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/LS38DC%7E1.OMI/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png[/IMG]
This is my 18' kayak I built some years ago.
__________________
There must be moderation in everything, including moderation.
|
|
|
09-18-2009, 11:12 AM
|
#7
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,250
|
Kayak (sit in) and WW rafter here Due to USN commitments, not so much in past year
__________________
Make no mistake, my friend, it takes more than money to make men rich. - A. P. Gouthey
|
|
|
09-18-2009, 12:26 PM
|
#8
|
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: minnesota
Posts: 13,228
|
I like canoeing and kayaking and have done quite a few boundary waters/ Quetico trips and a couple of Everglades trips. When we were kids my dad rigged our canoe to sail, which was a blast. Currently I am without canoe as our aluminum one got lost in a storm (parked in dunes on Lake Superior, big storm, dunes changed and never found it.). My cousin has a number of canoes so I use her canoes. I do have a composite river kayak which I really like. Last year I bought my first inflatable and used that in the gulf last winter. I like the portability in the MH but dislike the set up and the wind vulnerability, even with a directional stabilizer. I HATE the cart I got to transport it, it is worthless.
Well, that was sort of stream of consiousness. . .
__________________
.
No more lawyer stuff, no more political stuff, so no more CYA
|
|
|
09-18-2009, 01:52 PM
|
#9
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Pasadena CA
Posts: 3,346
|
Pic of DW & I on a cave paddle, one of my son on another paddle and one of me on Alaska glacier paddle. We mostly do bays & oceans with some cave stuff. When we hit WW rivers we use an inflatable raft.
We currently have a single folding kayak, a double folding kayak and a wood kayak I made.
__________________
T.S. Eliot:
Old men ought to be explorers
|
|
|
09-18-2009, 10:10 PM
|
#10
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,637
|
We live in Vermont, close to the shores of Lake Champlain. We have kayaks and love to paddle there as well as on the Otter Creek and other lesser bodies of water. Having previously lived and worked in the DC area, whenever I'm out on Lake Champlain on a beautiful day, I stop and think that there's some poor SOB (it was me at one time) who is stuck on traffic on the Beltway, late for a meeting and really getting stressed about it.
__________________
friar1610
|
|
|
09-19-2009, 04:37 AM
|
#11
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 154
|
Yep, canoes and kayaks for me. One of each.
Had a great trip off San Juan Island a few years ago.
Pod of whales was really close.
Leaving Tuesday night going to North Arkansas.
Camp and fish below Bull Shoals Dam and go on the Buffalo again.
Best raft trip so far was on the lower New River; class IV and V.
|
|
|
09-19-2009, 04:44 AM
|
#12
|
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,346
|
No canoes or kayaks, but I do have a 10-foot PortaBote for the north branch of the Potomac River, putting in at Shepherdstown, WV or Williamsport, MD. With a 5 hp outboard I'll motor up the river a few miles and just drift back down with the current. Throw a line in the water and not really care if anything bites.
That's a good way to spend the day.
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
|
|
|
09-19-2009, 10:48 AM
|
#13
|
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,860
|
I prefer paddling longboards, but we're starting to see several kayak paddlers in the surf breaks.
They usually wear helmets.
__________________
*
Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
|
|
|
09-19-2009, 11:23 AM
|
#14
|
Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,066
|
I love to canoe and kayak. Just something about getting out on a stream and floating along, taking in all of the nature...
Haven't done any down here in the South b/c the places I've seen offerring rentals are swamp/river areas where there are gators. I just can't bring myself to get in a kayak thinking a gator might swim under me. It actually happenned recently to a friend of mine.
__________________
simple girl
less stuff, more time
(55, married; Mr. Simple Girl, 59. FIRED 12/31/19!)
|
|
|
09-19-2009, 11:33 AM
|
#15
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Austin
Posts: 1,142
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nords
I prefer paddling longboards, but we're starting to see several kayak paddlers in the surf breaks.
They usually wear helmets.
|
Hey Nords,
Have you ever kayaked to the caves on the Na Pali Coast?
IMG_0337.jpg
30 years ago I went on a Zodiac tour of the Na Pali Coast that included the caves. It was hair raising. We were in a big Zodiac with twin 150hp motors in maybe 6 foot seas. We caught a breaker and rode it right into the cliff, or so it seemed. At the last minute we could see the mouth of the cave then sudden darkness. We puttered through the cave and out the other side into a spectacular lagoon formed when the ceiling of an underground room collapsed.
The photo above was taken from a catamaran trip along the same coast a couple of years ago. They no longer allow motorboats into the caves for fear of disturbing nesting birds. At that time some company offered an ocean kayaking excursion there. It must be at least 5 or 10 miles of paddling. I wonder if they know what they are getting into?
|
|
|
09-19-2009, 12:56 PM
|
#16
|
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,860
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by IndependentlyPoor
Hey Nords,
Have you ever kayaked to the caves on the Na Pali Coast?
At that time some company offered an ocean kayaking excursion there. It must be at least 5 or 10 miles of paddling. I wonder if they know what they are getting into?
|
No, never made the time for it. But I hear that's a very popular kayak trip.
When I'm out on the water by myself it's almost always surfing. If my spouse is along then we're either snorkeling or diving.
There's a strong demand for "hidden Hawaii" adventure tourism.
__________________
*
Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
|
|
|
09-19-2009, 07:31 PM
|
#17
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,154
|
I tried to go on that trip, but it was cancelled when we reached the beach because the seas were too rough. Just as well, I probably would have been sick as a dog.
Audrey
|
|
|
09-20-2009, 12:56 PM
|
#18
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 969
|
youbet,
I enjoy all of the paddling activities you mentioned in your post. In fact, I spent more money (rental canoes) than I would like to admit floating down the Black River in Missouri which it sounds like you would like as well. (I have also spent quite a bit of time on the Missouri rivers you mentioned as well. They are similar to the Black.)
I have also spent quit a bit of time on sit-on-top kayaks both going down rivers in the Midwest and to get to interesting snorkeling locations in the Caribbean. I haven't ever tried the the whitewater version but probably will eventually.
__________________
If there's one thing in my life that's missing; It's the time I spend alone
Sailing on the cool and bright clear waters; There's lots of those friendly people
Showin me ways to go; And I never want to lose your inspiration
|
|
|
09-20-2009, 09:54 PM
|
#19
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,186
|
Thanks everyone for the interesting comments and info!
As mentioned above, DW paddles a 12' Perception Tribute, a trim sit-in weighing just under 40 lbs. I paddle an Ocean Kayak 13' Prowler sit-on-top. My knees are way past being shot and I can't squat, so it's tough for me to get into a sit-in. With the sit-on-top I just walk it and me out to thigh deep water, back up to it, and sit down. Then I swing my legs in and I'm ready to go. My grandson's physical therapist at Easter Seals helped me develop the technique.
I still get in and out of a canoe fairly well, so I'm currently looking for a solo model, perhaps a season end close-out. Solo canoes are very popular with the paddling club we belong to.
We still use a tandem canoe for serious camping, but once DW got a taste of havng her own boat and being "in control," solo boats became our transport of choice for day trips!
__________________
"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
|
|
|
09-21-2009, 03:00 PM
|
#20
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Atlanta suburbs
Posts: 900
|
We sometimes take kids for a ride in an inflatable, when the lake is flat.
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|