It’s that time again…
Published January 27, 2011 | 
It’s the time of the season
When the love runs high
In this time, give it to me easy
And let me try
With pleasured hands
– zombies
Here in the Midwest there is a clear border between winter and “the season”. The season is that short window of time where we get to run out the doors like freaks and get our Ya-Ya’s out before we have to once again lock ourselves in out of the cold for another 4 or 5 months. Oh boy! Continue reading
Posted in Events & Symposia, Paddling | 
door county, great lakes sea kayak symposium, Inland Sea, QajaqTC, WMCKAYeah, Whatever, But It’s Hadas!
Published January 20, 2011 | 
Uh, oh, many, many, many nights go by, / I sit alone at home and I cry over you.
What can I do. / Can’t help myself, ’cause baby, it’s you.
Sha la la la la la la la
– beatles
So Reed has a new website!! Ok, yeah, whatever, but that’s Hadas Feldman on their header!! See, I know what’s really important! The picture dates all the way back to 2003, when Hadas, Justine Curgenven & Alexey Sitnokov paddled their way up the Kamchatka coastline. The 600 kilometer journey was featured in the first CackleTV, ‘This is the Sea’ DVD. Ok.. to be honest I’m a total fan of all things Reed and it’s soooo about time they had a new website. Very cool. Still, seeing Hadas on the top made my day.. almost made me want to buy a Reed Storm Cag… but then I realized.. I’ve already got one!
30, The New 50?
Published January 20, 2011 | 
Don’t cry
Don’t raise your eye
It’s only teenage wasteland
– who
I don’t know about you but when it comes to outdoor sports/recreation, I’m not worried about young guys kicking my a** any more. I came to a sort of epiphany. No, I didn’t surrender to being 45 years old and accept that I’m over the hill. I didn’t bow under to the fact that my body is not capable of what it once was. No, I realized that the majority of people, including the “young guys” simply don’t get around much anymore. In fact the majority of humans (in our culture at least) participate in very little physical activity. There’s like a zillion studies to back that up. Heck even the military is getting freaked. While there’s a small minority of us that have truly physical jobs or that participate in any sort of sport, most of us don’t. We’re becoming a sedentary, obese and diabetic society. So for what it’s worth, if you’re active.. kudos.
As far as aging is concerned, I’ve got a theory about that; I think 60 might be the new 40, simply because 30 is the new 50.. Let that sink in for a moment. If you’re “older” and active, don’t worry so much about losing a step. The truth is, you’re still gonna kick a lot of a** out there. On the other hand, maybe that’s something we should all be worried about…
Dylan Break
Published January 19, 2011 | 
Not Dark Yet
Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day
It’s too hot to sleep, time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I’ve still got the scars that the sun didn’t heal
There’s not even room enough to be anywhere
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there
Well, my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there’s been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don’t see why I should even care
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there
Well, I’ve been to London and I’ve been to gay Paree
I’ve followed the river and I got to the sea
I’ve been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain’t looking for nothing in anyone’s eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there
I was born here and I’ll die here against my will
I know it looks like I’m moving, but I’m standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can’t even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don’t even hear a murmur of a prayer
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there
- Bob Dylan
Snowshoe Oblivion
Published January 18, 2011 | 
How cold is a heart
When it’s warmth that he seeks?
-sting
You know you’re not lost. I mean, with snowshoes all you need to do is head back where you came from. You have tracks to follow. Still it can be a bit unnerving. I was out hiking along a trail I’d hiked, run, and biked a billion times before. I figured that instead of beating up the cross country ski trail I’d simply walk through the woods. For a time I simply kept the one lone set of ski tracks to my left as I went. Over time though, the tracks were fading under the continued snow fall. Continue reading
Perspecitve
Published January 18, 2011 | 
Yesterday in the midst of a heavy snowstorm a drive lost control of a large semitrailer which went off a high bridge and crashed into a very frozen Mirror Lake below. One person was killed. If you paddle on Mirror Lake much at all, you’ll quickly recognize the bridge. The span crosses about 200 feet above the lake and shakes and roars like a dinosaur when large trucks pass over head, the din amplified by the high sandstone walls. All the pictures we’ve seen in the news were shot from above and softened by the heavy snow. They don’t really give you a sense of what happened. Having looked up at that bridge from below many times, I get shivers thinking about how terrible that accident must have been. The truck didn’t simply drive into the lake, it plunged into a deep gorge. My thoughts go out to the families of the drivers.
Look at your children / See their faces in golden rays
Don’t kid yourself they belong to you / They’re the start of a coming race
The earth is a bitch / We’ve finished our news / Homosapiens have outgrown their use
All the strangers came today / And it looks as though they’re here to stay
– bowie
If you’ve been following along you’ll know that paddlers Justine Curgenven & Barry Shaw have had to take a few days of RR from their attempt to circumnavigate Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America. The reason? Barry has been suffering some painful tendinitis due to overly tight drysuit seals around his wrists. Now I can guess that “off-the-grid” they’ve received all sorts of advice from the folks who made Barry’s drysuit. I also think they got a little covert commentary from a rep or two. Now what I was wondering was, that with all the emphasis on social media these days, wouldn’t you think various reps or manufacturers would have jumped in and offered some thoughts and ideas on their blog or Facebook as well? Continue reading →