Green Halloween
Published October 26, 2011 | 
OK, so I mentioned that I should wear my drysuit for Halloween this year… That brought up the suggestion that I could wear a green drysuit and go as the Creature from the Black Lagoon… “Centuries of passion pent up in his savage heart!” and all… Of course we’d have to get some of those cool webbed gloves as well.. Now I probably don’t dare ask the folks at Kokatat if they can make a Creature From the Black Lagoon Green drysuit with special webby, clawed, footie type socks… You know.. I always thought Richard Carlson had a little something pent up as well..
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
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…
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
Is that an orange bunny in your pocket?
Published August 16, 2011 | 
I’m sure you know by now that some of the quirkiest things catch my imagination sometimes. Take the Kokatat Bahia Tour PFD for instance. I was wandering around the shop at Rutabaga last Sunday when this caught my eye. It’s PFD with a bit of officious looking paper and big orange rabbit ears in the pocket. On closer inspection, I realized that what I was looking at was a demonstration of how the Bahia Tour allows you to keep your fishing licence quickly accessible for when the game warden shows up. I don’t fish, but if I did I could imagine it being a pretty nice feature. In fact, maybe having it displayed so prominently would save you from having to talk to the DNR guy at all. Of course, where’s the fun in that?? On the other hand, that still doesn’t explain the rabbit ears. Quite the conversation starter… “Is that an orange bunny in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? ” Continue reading
Today
Published August 10, 2011 | 
Today is Wednesday, August 10th, 2011. The heat wave that has gripped my little part of the world has broken. Well, It’s changed anyway. The Costa Rican humidity has passed and average high temperatures is back around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Today I’m meeting a new rolling student who’s driving down from LaCrosse for a bit of coaching. I love private classes.. I also feel a bit humbled by the fact that someone would drive so far to hang out with me for a couple of hours. I’ll tell you one thing, I want to see her rolling before the days out. Now here’s a few more thoughts that popped into my crazy head this morning… Continue reading
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