Archive for June, 2009

From a dead beat to an old greaser, here’s thinking of you.
-tull

Ok, so I turn 44 in a few days. I’ve not rolled much since winter. So with air temperatures hovering at 102f according to my car and two banks I went out to Devil’s Lake to cool off and to just check in with my inner kayaker. Read the rest of this entry »

Behind the guarded walls I used to go
Upon a summer wind theres a certain melody
Takes me back to the place that I know
Down on the beach
– chris rea

There are times when I know I’m much more cautious than most when it comes to taking new paddlers on the water.  I realize too that people will  sometimes follow almost anyone, anywhere.  They trust that the guide is an “expert”.  Besides sometimes it’s hard for a new paddler to distinguish the danger levels between a bass boat on the local lake and a kayak on open water. Many in fact never really grasp the concept of risk in the natural world at all.  Not until they find themselves in deep, deep trouble anyway…

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I went to a symposium.. blah, blah, blah… I’ve been writing these little reports about paddling symposiums long enough now that I can easily put myself to sleep. It doesn’t mean a lot to say something like “we all learned a lot and everyone had a great time..”. While true, it’s about as engaging as saying, “I like Ice Cream”… So these days I’m a bit slower to post an overview of an event. I’m finding I like the little stories, or even momentary weirdnesses much better.. Take this trailer for instance.. Read the rest of this entry »

How’d you like a nice glittery pink kayak?  This one is from SeaKayakingUK.  I was amazed at the number of glittery kayaks here at the ISS symposium. These days you can find glitter pretty commonly on SeaKayakingUK & P&H kayaks. It was only a couple years ago when glitter was one of the things that made Rockpool Kayaks unique.  At least Rockpool still has the mighty stars! Read the rest of this entry »

Just popping in from the motel to share a bit about the day.  The weather here on the lake is volitile and changing quickly as is the way on Lake Superior.  The air temperature inland was pushing 85f while near the water the air temp was in the upper 60s at the symposium grounds and barely above 60f on the north coast.  That meant that throughout the day black clouds would gather steam over land, only to stall and blow out over the lake.

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Ok, so I know nothing about this odd looking little kayak.  It just happened to be sitting near where the coaches meeting was held here at the ISS symposium.  A group of us gathered around the owner who is a student at the event to listen to his experiences with the Warren Light Craft “Little Wing”.  It’s certainly unique…and you can only assume manufactured by fans of Jimi Hendrix.

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So small in times such as these
Slow Burn
– bowie

Presented here is a collection of photographs from our morning paddle south of Washburn on Lake Superior.  All the photos  selected share a common sense of color and feel to express the ears-back sensation of a rare moment of calm on Lake Superior.  Those of you who have paddled on Lake Superior before will know just how rare and even a bit spooky, glassy, calm water on Lake Superior can be. Read the rest of this entry »