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!
Pesky Gaskets
Published September 19, 2011 | 
As the summer fades to autumn and both the air and water temperatures begin to drop, we’re once again faced with the prospect of dealing with those pesky latex gaskets. Now it’s my position that latex gaskets are not uncomfortable if worn properly. For the moment let’s take these pesky wrist gaskets for example. They were causing a bit of swelling in the back of my hands if I wore them for hours on end. I stretched them out AGAIN for 48 hours with little effect. I was thinking I may have to trim them. Tight gaskets can sure ruin your day on the water!
Well, before you get cutting, there is one last thing to check. Something so silly that it’s easy to overlook… Are the gaskets rolling or folding over on your wrists? Sometimes it happens when you first put them on, sometimes they will work roll back over time. (That’s what happened in my case). If so, simply rolling them back out and removing any folds, creases, or other pressure points may do the trick. The latex should be smooth against your skin. Also, make sure to pull them back on your wrists far enough that the movement of your hands does not start them rolling back down again. For me, that was the solution. Nothing like applying a little patience and observation before getting out the knife!! Anyway, if you’re having trouble with your new gaskets. . . even after you’ve tried stretching them. . . make sure they aren’t just getting rolled up or folded before you get out the knife. One thing about cutting your gaskets, if you get it wrong you can’t put it back…
Backyard Adventure
Published September 19, 2011 | 
What amounts to a dream anymore?
A crude device; A veil on our eyes
A simple plan we’d be different from the rest
And never resign to a typical life – broken bells
It’s raining this morning and not quite 60 f. The weather seers say that the day will turn warm and sunny… eventually. Oh well, if I’m going to get my paddle time in today, I need to do it right away this morning. This will count as day two of my “100 miles to winter” paddle to celebrate the 100th anniversary of my local state park. I think it’s cool that in a month of days I’ll be able to see the world pass from the greens of summer, through the jubilant colors of fall and then in the end, to the charcoal sketched environment of late fall, all from the seat of my kayak. It should be a fun little backyard adventure, only requiring an hours paddle time over about 35 days. For the most part I’ll be posting the log over at devilslakewisconsin.com. I fear many über kayakers will find it a bit silly, a bit “quixotic” if you will, but I look forward to having an opportunity to spend the next month talking about paddling and our amazing state park with folks may not yet suffer the addictions. 
OK, time to head out for day 2.
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Posted in Enviroment, My Paddling, My Weird Life, Outdoor Recreation, Paddling, Quixotica | 
devils lake, wisconsin | 
1 CommentWisconsin River Pics
Published September 18, 2011 | 
Now, the thing is.. we probably could have stopped to climb Ferry Bluff yesterday. I mean, we did actually did make the boat landing in Arena long before dark. On the other hand, it’s hard to guess how much time it will take to get from one point to the next, especially this time of year. That’s just the way it is on the lower Wisconsin. Will the river be flowing fast, making our planned day trip take only a couple of hours? Will the river be low and slow causing the same distance to take most of a day to cover? I think we were in the middle this time around. Everyone scraped bottom from time to time, but not quite everyone actually had to get out and walk!
As we always seem to say, everyone had a great/spectacular/fantastic time, and we did. Nature has a way of making that happen. You start with a bunch of strangers getting safety instruction on a beach and then within a very short time on the water, you find the participants quickly forming into social sub-groups that will happily keep themselves entertained throughout the day. Of course, it helps when the group is mostly women… (Guys often take a lot longer to break out of their shells.)
Anyway, let me stop rambling and share some pics…
Back to the Wisconsin
Published September 16, 2011 | 
Tomorrow morning I’ll be joining a group of paddlers on a day trip down the Wisconsin river put on by Rutabaga Paddle Sports Shop of Madison, Wisconsin. The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway is one of the state’s most popular destinations providing some 90 miles of paddling from below the dam at Sauk Prairie south-west until reaching its confluence with the Mississippi near Wyalusing state park. Our day trip will only cover about 14 river miles, but should offer plenty of opportunities to enjoy all that the Wisconsin has to offer. Continue reading
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