Cold Purple Toes
Published October 26, 2011 | 
Such a beautiful color I wear upon my skin
And a perfect shade of purple on a flower permanent
- pop evil
It’s getting cold. Day 19 down and some 40ish miles to go. Well, I shouldn’t say it’s cold exactly, it’s not “winter paddling purple toes cold”. It’s that slowly seeping sort of cold that sneaks up on you over time. In fact, today I re-learned an old lesson about dealing with cold weather paddling. Keeping your feet warm can be tricky, and it’s not always about the gear. Continue reading
Miles
Published October 25, 2011 | 
Alone and bored on a 30th century night. / Will I see you on the price is right?
Will I cry? Will I smile? / As you run down the aisle.
It’s all been done – BNL
There’s no one out here but me and the guys working on the railroad tracks along the shore. Day 18 of my “100 miles to Winter” paddle is in the books. Each day I can feel winter getting a bit closer. There was ice in my boat on Saturday and the last couple days have just been cool and cloudy. Occasionally I catch glimpses of the sun through the thick, late October clouds. Today I made a mental note, there are now fewer miles ahead than behind. 56 miles down, 44 miles ahead. I’m reminded of a story I read about a guy who took his bike across country awhile ago. He said that when he started, everyone he met said, “Wow, you’ve got a long way to go.” They would often look at him as if he’d somehow fail in the end. People often assume that big things can’t be done. It’s something in our DNA. Then one day he noticed something… People he met were now saying things like, “Wow, you’ve come along way.” That’s when he knew he must have crossed the half way mark. Not paying close attention, he had to go back and check the math. He found that he had come just a bit over half way. Continue reading
ICE!
Published October 22, 2011 | 
It had to happen sooner or later! Yesterday, October 21st, 2011 was the fist day I had to scrape frost off the windows on my way out to the lake for the day’s paddle. It got worse. I had a bit of water in the cockpit from paddling the day before and it all came out in chunks. I can expect to see a lot more ice in the coming weeks. I need to put in 16 more days to complete my 100 miles and it’s certainly not going to get any warmer!
YaY, wAves!
Published October 21, 2011 | 
I’m just about ready to head out the door for today’s excursion around the lake. Yesterday was a good ride. Strong winds out of the north were pushing up some fun waves to play in. I’ll take any day when the water isn’t flat! I’ve posted a few more pics from yesterday’s paddle over on DevilsLakeWisconsin.com. Still some miles to go! Oh, and just for fun I paddled with my Sealskinz paddling gloves by themselves… and yep, my hands were wet and cold in just a few minutes. I had to hide behind a rock and put the pogies back on!
The Devil On Your Shoulder
Published October 14, 2011 | 
On Mondays, I never go to work / On Tuesdays, I stay at home / On Wednesdays, I never feel inclined ? Work is the last thing on my mind
On Thursdays, it’s a holiday! ? And Fridays I detest ? Oh it’s much too late on a Saturday
And Sunday is the day of rest – TMBG
We all know, paddling is an addiction, but to be fair, there are days. You wouldn’t think it would ever seem like a challenge to paddle a couple of miles in the morning, but it can be. Not because it’s hard or because you’re facing the rage of the wild seas or whatever, but because we’re human. Just the simple act of dragging your hide outside and schlepping your kayak to the beach on a cold, windy morning can be a challenge to overcome. Continue reading
Bone Head Paddling
Published September 29, 2011 | 
A kiss on the wind and we’ll make the land – k. bush
You could probably guess I was running a bit scattershot the last few days. It sure showed up this morning I can tell you. I ran the morning obstacle course out the door with the intent to be on the lake for day 8 of my 100 mile paddle. Getting to the lake was the easy part. Yeah, I was wearing my sexy base layers.. but what I didn’t do was bring my outer layers. Oops! Well, I was there wasn’t I? So with the sun shining through some broken clouds to the east I figured I could get away it. Continue reading
Pour
Published September 26, 2011 | 
You know what they say about cross-country skiing don’t you? It’s fantastic as long as your dress for it! It’s the same for paddling of course, especially when the floodgates of heaven open up over your head! I’m seriously loving my Kokatat GOR-TEX Anorak. (I’d really be loving my Romany as well, if it weren’t getting about 3 cups of water in the back every time I paddle!!)
Today, by 8am I was again heading out into Devil’s lake to take a few more miles. 82 to go. I got started on this silly quest when the local Friends of Devil’s Lake State Park held a summer long “Hike 100″ event to celebrate the park’s centennial year. Hey, I’m all for anything to get people out and exercising, but how could they leave out paddling?? Grrrrr! Well, Day 6 is in the bag… a wet, drippy bag!
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