Posts Tagged ‘lake columbia’

Free as a bird,
it’s the next best thing to be.
Free as a bird.
– beatles

It’s almost New Year’s Day again.  That means it’s time for the annual Fog Bowl at Lake Columbia in Portage, Wisconsin.  The fog bowl is the day when ice locked kayakers around Wisconsin finally crack and  decide to take  any open water they can get.  This is it. Lake Columbia is actually a large cooling pond for the big Columbia coal fired power plant that serves much of the area.  The horseshoe shaped pond is about a mile long and about half as wide.  Water exits the plant on one side at nearly 90f and cools as it flows around the “U” to the intake on the other side.  Read the rest of this entry »

I had hoped for sun but that hope faded quickly as thick dark  clouds continued to pour over the horizon. What’s more the wind began to howl out of the south kicking up the straight north south channel of Lake Columbia filling it with pushy waves and cats paws.  I ran with the waves up to the power plant and tucked in behind to see if the outflow offered anything to play in. .  Of course compared to what the power station in Sdot Yam has to offer, this little puppy is pretty disappointing. The best you can do is sit on the eddy line and spin. Read the rest of this entry »

A Hydro-field cuts through my neighborhood,
Somehow that always just made me feel good,
I can put a spare bulb in my hand, And light up my yard – Bare Naked Ladies

Saturday I had a quick paddle on Lake Columbia with another local kayaker. We had not really met before so there is always that funny space where you try to find a comfort zone with a stranger, but all in all I think we had a good time of it. Although I’m glad the power-plant is near by and keeps the winter water warm, I ecstatic that I no longer need it to get my fix. See you next year LC!

Sunday it was up early for a quick 2 hr drive south-east to Milwaukee for a day paddle with JB. Now, it was going to be 65 F here at home (our first really comfortable day of spring) and maybe 54 F on the lake in Milwaukee. So it had crossed my mind to stay here and go hiking, but in the end the siren song of the urban shore drew me to the beach. John and I met as we had last time, (in February) near a place called Bradford Beach. For strangers to Milwaukee this is an easy to find destination. You just drive on the interstate until you can go no further. It literally comes to an end at a stoplight along the shore. You turn left and drive past an art museum (why are they always on the water??), past a yacht club (of course), and within a couple miles you find the park. Easy peasy!

Before we had unloaded the boats we met a couple from Michigan who were over exploring the town. Everything in Milwaukee is in a “Ward” just like a hospital so the conversation was all about finding a “ward 3″ which is here, and “ward 4″ which is over there. . . . When I think of “ward” I’m looking for “Walley and the Beav” As it happened, the couple we had met were members of the West Michigan Kayakers group and I hope to see them again at the symposium. One of the great things about sea kayaking is how the web of paddlers is constantly making new connections and everyone seems to be just one connection away from everyone else. That’s very cool.

After a year or so we launched out into the freshwater sea. (It takes me about a year to get geared out.) We paddled south a bit then straight out to a monstrous green bell buoy which was about 3 miles off the coast and about 5.5 miles from our launch. We had a relaxing 2 ft roll out of the north east and an irritating south-west wind just strong enough to mix up the lake surface a bit. As we approached the buoy and the wind turned south-easterly we discussed a silhouette that started out as a kayak, then changed to a fishing boat, then to a canoe as we approached. In the end it was a big brand-new green guide boat. These are sort of like canoes only wider, with oars and whicker chairs. Now if you own one, don’t email me and say it’s nothing like a canoe. C’mon, a kayak is like a canoe with a top on it depending who you ask. I have been getting this feeling guide boat folks are a little sensitive about their watercraft. In my story it looked just like a canoe until we got up close enough to see the owner’s hair blowing in the wind. We had made it within maybe 10 yards of the buoy but as we chatted with the GB, we slowly drifted south east until we were some 75 yards or so from the green bell. Being caught up in a conversation about drysuits and VHS which were notably absent from the guide boat, I was being pulled away from our initial goal.

I’m sure John was at least a little disturbed that I wanted to paddle back out to the buoy instead of turning back, but I needed to “touch” a place I hadn’t touched before. Yes, maybe I’m a bit “touched” as well. So be it! When my oldest kids were little I used to have them stop as we walked through town to touch a tree, a rock, a leaf, or some other object. I wanted them to stop in the middle of the mundane and make a connection, just for a moment with something more meaningful. You often miss a big beautiful timeless oak if it’s growing between a sidewalk and a road. I wanted them to be able to see it hidden in an urban camouflage and think of it there 250 years ago in open oak savannah.

So. . . it’s “STOP, LOOK, TOUCH. Ok, let’s go. . . “

The point is I do this myself all the time. Often when I hike I want to take a moment to make some minor little connection with a rock-face that has stood long before any of us was a “chocolate bar in our father’s back pocket” and will stand long after we’re all ash. In this moment I touch eternity. Then I lift my fingers from the stone, turn away and turn to ash. Life is fleeting. On a much more basic plane touching a big green bell tied 3 miles off shore is still a magnet for me. However, when you are in a bit of a rolling sea you will be content to paddle around at a safe distance! Wow are those things big!

As we paddled back I noticed I was having momentary lapses of vertigo. I think I must not have eaten enough. I would set my focus on the compass and regain my equilibrium but it’s still a pretty funky feeling. Like you could just fall right over. My two big, fattening, frosted, kwikie-mart donuts seem to NOT have been the best pre-paddle snack! I’ve got to watch that next time. I think I will dose up on a little Dramamine next time as well.

So now it’s back to another work week. Maybe later today I’ll paddle. Maybe I’ll go hiking. Then again, who knows what I might do!

- dm

Had a nice day out at Lake Columbia yesterday. Even paddling the ugliest lake in the world cannot dampen the excitement of a warm spring day!

I’ve updated my site navigation just a bit to add a “video clips” section. Not sure what I will do with it yet, but stay tuned. For the moment there are just a couple clips from the afore mentioned ugliest lake in the world!

Cheers!

- dm

“Now I’ve been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come” – Cat Stevens

Oddly I don’t plan kayaking days, (as disjointed as this post is you can see I don’t plan them either) at least not within a 30 mile radius. It’s just impulsive. In the summer I’m often working on the computer by 6 am or so and by 1pm I have to get away. So I’m either out on a hiking trail or out on the water. I’ve found those spontaneous paddle days are always the best for my head.

When Mary and I first heard Leon Somme comment in an interview that he and Shawna got along better on the water in that there was no bickering about “car keys” and the like, we could relate to that. However, the fact that you have to plan, organize and pack for the trip means there are a lot of “car key” issues coming up before you actually launch. It often takes us an hour or so on the water to get back in touch with our other selves and find that free easy flow again. Some days I think we would be better off to just toss the car keys in the lake and be done with it!

What got me thinking about planning surprisingly was not the summer. Yes, there is much to plan. Over the weekend I received an Instructor Survey from the West Michigan Symposium and I have to think about what I would like to teach. You can tell it’s my first time ’round with this stuff. I never thought before about what I would “like” to teach. That’s a little more democratic than I’m used to. Usually in standard classes you just pack everything into a half day stew. It will be nice to be able to take a little more time on a subject. Time to be sure you are actually teaching and not just “giving overviews”. Hmmmm, what subjects do I want to teach? That will take some doing. But that’s another story, as Owl said to Pooh on a rather blustery day.

We actually planned a kayaking day at Lake Columbia, our only liquid water play spot this time of year. Spending the first day of spring on the water seemed like a good idea. First it was just us, then another couple then another. Great! Then we had a ton of snow, life conspired and soon it was back down to just us. Then again the tables turned and my oldest son decided to come. When we got to the launch there were other kayakers on the water and in the time it took to unload our gear other paddling friends we hadn’t expected joined us as well. So we were back up to a group again. Pretty darn cool!

We paddled about 50% of the horseshoe lake and rolled back into the rocky launch all feeling a bit out of shape as spring tends to always point out. I took a bit of time to roll and play. (Just for fun I added a sloppy roll video from the day to the gallery. See the bottom of the list) In fact this was the first time I had tried a scramble recovery in full drysuit and winter gear. Well, the first time I was right over the back side. Second time I found I could get up easily but sliding back into the cockpit in my normal way was not happening with all the extra gear. I bailed. Third time I moved more more forward than usual and just plopped it. That worked. Now, how would you approach that in an ocean cockpit? Something to try someday. . .

So I want to get a playboat. Mainly for surf & local rivers but who knows where it will go. . . So I think I’m leaning to either liquidlogic “Hoss” or “Gus”. At the moment the Gus is in first place, but who knows what I’ll think a week from now.

So there’s my hackneyed post. Oh heck, spring is coming and I’m just happy to be getting back out on the water in 40+ degree days. Everything else is CAKE!

-dm

Ok. . . . So. . .

Prologue. . .

Christmas Eve we had a family emergency and spent the night on a long drive and then in an ER late into the night. After another long drive back home we did a rush Christmas for the sake of our young son and then we were off again to Madison where our family member had been transferred to the UW hospital. The following night we again had no sleep just due to nerves I suppose. Then after a day’s rest I came down with a killer infection that had me up with extraordinary jaw pain for 48 hours! So again no sleep!

In the end Mary was able to run down to Madison to pick up my boat which was waiting to be repaired after our wild rescue in Two Rivers and I was able to paddle it for the day and will have to run it back.

———————————————–

This year about 30 or so cars arrived for the paddle. We spent about 2 hours on the water and enjoyed a little rolling practice in the warm water of Lake Columbia. Then everybody went to the Cactus Club in Portage for lunch and a drink. We were surprised to see a big “WELCOME BACK KAYAKERS” sign! Cool. The community had to find it odd to see all the Kayaks and Canoes strapped on cars up and down the streets. The weather turned bad quickly this afternoon and everyone headed out into the sleet and rain to get home before it got too bad. Now it’s time for me to go take another pain pill.

. . and for Ross & Alex you can get THIS IS THE SEA from Rutabaga or you can buy it directly from Justine’s website at CackleTV.com

Happy New Year! See you at Canoecopia!

Update: Photos from New Year’s Day Paddles in Gallery.