Early morning paddle

TLR

TLR

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 5, 1998
Messages
1,568
Well as it's getting late in the year here there aren't likely to be too many more good days to get out and paddle, so when I saw the weather report for this morning I knew I had to take advantage of it. It was about 26 degrees at sunrise with a 6-7mph wind. A little choppy until the sun came up and then it went calm with just a very light 2-4 mph breeze.

When I got to my launch point I realized that the freeze had started. The area where I put in is protected and there was a sheet of ice between a 1/2" and 3/4" thick out about 40 feet from shore. I'd never used a kayak to break up ice before but it worked well :)

Once I got out into the Mississippi it was absolutely beautiful. I went out at a place called mud lake where the river pools out wide from Lock and Dam 11. As I got out towards the Wisconsin side I realized I was surrounded by thousands of ducks. They took off and swirled around me for almost ten minutes. It sounded like fireworks going off all around me from their wingtips on the water.

I paddled around for about and hour and forty five minutes before heading back to get cleaned up to get some work done. Total paddle was a little under 4.5 miles. Not bad for the last morning of November!

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very nice! I want to go out in a blizzard. in the winter what kind of entry do you do (dry/ wet). also, what kind of clothing and gear do you wear/ use in the colder months
 
Rockywolf said:
I've never kayaked but I want to learn! Tips?
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My best tip is to find someone who knows how to kayak (not necessarily just someone who bought one from the local sporting goods store) and go out with them first. Then do your research and find a kayak that fits you. That will mean sitting in it in the water before buying it.

edited to add: Make sure you've got the right safety equipment, particularly if you're going out alone. As most of the places I go have a current and lots of snags, wingdams etc. I always wear my lifejacket. Make sure you have a whistle, knife and light attached to it. I bought a lifejacket specifically for kayaking which makes wearing one much more comfortable when paddling. It also has pockets and I keep my cell phone, a fire starting kit and my boat registration, cc and DL in those pockets in sealed pouches. I also always have a throw bag attached to my kayak. I could use it to help someone else if they're in trouble but also myself if I had someone to throw it to. How horrible would it be to have someone within throwing distance but neither of you having a rope. Also you need a way to bail water, whether a sponge or pump. Imagine sitting in freezing cold water as it sloshes around. That's a no go in the winter.

Be extremely aware of your environment. In a kayak or canoe you can get dumped over hitting things that even a small john boat would shrug off. Look for snags, wingdams, rocks, trees and the like by scanning the surface of the water for weird movements, flows and eddies.

I find that even though lots of people may have a recreational or fishing kayak many/most don't know how to be safe in them and haven't thought safety and awareness through.

nickortizzle1035 said:
very nice! I want to go out in a blizzard. in the winter what kind of entry do you do (dry/ wet). also, what kind of clothing and gear do you wear/ use in the colder months
Click to expand...

My goal is to get in and out with out getting wet, especially when it's cold! I try to find a place to put in from shore if possible as that 's easier for me. I have gotten in and out a few times by myself off of a floating dock but that's not easy in this kayak since it has a small cockpit opening.

As far as clothing goes I have a pair of softshell pants I've been wearing that are working well in the kayak and then I have on a wicking shirt, fleece and then a goretex jacket over top of that. Yesterday was the first day my ears and neck were getting cold so I wore my wool buff which I can pull up and still have on my sunglasses and ball cap. I have some neoprene gloves on order. Yesterday was the first time my hands really got cold. I've tried regular mechanix gloves and the like but have found that they hold water to much and make my hands colder then having them bare. I also got a pair of neoprene paddling shoes which are working really well. I wear a size 14 shoe and trying to find something to wear in the boat without having my feet cramped against the deck wasn't easy. Being neoprene they're also great in case I do get my feet a little wet getting in as they still stay warm.

In my opinion you really need a waterproof jacket in the winter. I also have a convertible skirt for the cockpit. It has suspenders and comes up to my chest. It is perfect for days like yesterday when I had some rollers and the wake off of a barge rolled water over my bow and splashed me more then usual. In my opinion one should not go out in the winter by yourself on the Mississippi without a way to seal the cockpit.

I also keep a drybag with spare pants and a spare thermal shirt in the forward compartment in case something weird were to happen and I got wet. Since I'm going out by myself getting hypothermic could happen fast with bad consequences. Even though I'm not generally out in remote areas around here, I still see few people early in the mornings. Yesterday other then the barge as I was heading out I saw no one on shore or in a boat.
 
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Sweet. What kayak is that?
Been thinking about getting plugs for the scupper holes in my SOT so I can still play with it on flatwater(without literally freezing my butt off!) once it gets colder. The idea of breaking through ice to get out on the water...that is so cool. It only gets cold enough to freeze the lakes rarely, and for a few days at a time here, but when I read that sentence it struck a chord with me, and became one of those things I just want to do:D

Rockywolf said:
I've never kayaked but I want to learn! Tips?
Click to expand...
Wait 'til summer! :p
Read up on them, and rent some to see how they fit you, and that they do what you want before buying, so you can establish your own preference rather than going strictly on other people's opinions.
Buying my own kayak and my first rental were more than a year apart. I'm much happier with what I bought than I would be with what most people have(mostly see stuff similar to the inexpensive rentals with few features).
 
ACC (Arkansas Canoe Club) and many other paddling organizations offer clinics. Often, as in the case of ACC, the clinics include sessions at a University's indoor swimming pool so that practice and training can be done year round. Certified instructors are on hand as well as the chance to borrow and try different boats. Outdoor stores, manufacturers and outfitters occasionally sponsor demo days and sometimes demo craft are sold at a discount at the end.

I don't yak, but it is my understanding that the ability to roll is of ultimate importance, just like self-rescue skills are in canoeing. Traveling in a group is a good idea, particularly for novices. However, one of the attractions of canoeing, for me, is solitude. When possible I tend to go to places and times when there are not others around.
 
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OwenM said:
Sweet. What kayak is that?
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It is a Prijon Yukon Expedition. I really like it. I just got it this fall from a semi-local sale through craigslist. It's 8 years old but is in excellent shape having only been used a few times and apparently kept indoors.

Codger_64 said:
I don't yak, but it is my understanding that the ability to roll is of ultimate importance, just like self-rescure skills are in canoeing. Traveling in a group is a good idea, particularly for novices. However, one of the attractions of canoeing, for me, is solitude. When possible I tend to go to places and times when there are not others around.
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Codger- the club idea is an excellent route to find people to learn skills from.

Only some kayaks can be rolled. Most of the recreational kayaks don't have the thigh bracing that you need to be able to do it. Mine does but I haven't had the opportunity to work on that skill. Also rolling a yak is only really useful if you have a skirt that seals around you. All whitewater yaks and most sea kayaks use such a skirt and then it would be useful. Mine doesn't although with the skirt I have there'd likely be less water to come in then others.

For most recreational kayaks you use the same basic principles for self rescue that you would with a canoe. Everyone should roll in their boat close to shore during warmer months just to see what it's like and what it would take to get back in and get the water out. It's a sobering experience when you realize how bad a dump into frigid water away from shore would be.

The solo issue is the conundrum :) Because of my schedule I can and like to get out when most others can't. Like you I tell most people they should go out in groups but love being out by myself. I just work hard to take calculated risks and not get myself in trouble.
 
TLR said:
It is a Prijon Yukon Expedition. I really like it. I just got it this fall from a semi-local sale through craigslist. It's 8 years old but is in excellent shape having only been used a few times and apparently kept indoors.



Codger- the club idea is an excellent route to find people to learn skills from.

Only some kayaks can be rolled. Most of the recreational kayaks don't have the thigh bracing that you need to be able to do it. Mine does but I haven't had the opportunity to work on that skill. Also rolling a yak is only really useful if you have a skirt that seals around you. All whitewater yaks and most sea kayaks use such a skirt and then it would be useful. Mine doesn't although with the skirt I have there'd likely be less water to come in then others.

For most recreational kayaks you use the same basic principles for self rescue that you would with a canoe. Everyone should roll in their boat close to shore during warmer months just to see what it's like and what it would take to get back in and get the water out. It's a sobering experience when you realize how bad a dump into frigid water away from shore would be.

The solo issue is the conundrum :) Because of my schedule I can and like to get out when most others can't. Like you I tell most people they should go out in groups but love being out by myself. I just work hard to take calculated risks and not get myself in trouble.
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Excellent points. Every year I see people needlessly putting themselves and others at risk, mostly in canoes. I help them when I can, but training and/or experience are much more important, IMHO. One of the attractions of small boats like canoes and kayaks is that they are inexpensive to buy and widely available to rent, even for a short day-trip.

There was little training available back in the day when I first started canoeing, a few years befor the "Deliverance" movie came out and made the sport quite popular. One could get a Boy Scouts merit badge which taught some basics and, IIRC, there was a Red Cross book available. I learned at a summer camp when I was seven or eight, it seems. But that didn't prepare me for what I did later, taking risks in wilder whitewater. As the sport has evolved, so has the equipment and resources for training.

Training, whether self taught by reading and watching instructional videos, or attending clinics, or hooking up with an experienced group has gone a long way in making for a safer, more enjoyable sport.

IMHO, if one is going to spend most of their time solo, it is wise to do a bit of study and practice in self-rescue techniques. Whether that means learning to roll a kayak, reboard a swamped boat, unpin a boat, properly rig a boat to avoid entrapment, choose the right equipment or whatever, it all adds to the enjoyment.

I took my 34 year old son out on a local river for some smallmouth fishing yesterday evening. He mentioned that he wanted to repeat one of his early whitewater experiences (he was 14), even though it scared him to death at the time. We spent most of that trip rescuing unprepared canoeinsts and treating people for near-hypothermia from a river near flood stage. I guess the experience, half his lifetime ago, stuck in his memory.
 
You have a big set of clackers my friend to possibly roll into that cold water. :eek:
 
The pictures and story really made me yearn for a paddle too.
A drysuit will protect those clackers :)
 
LOL the goal is to not roll. I just work real hard to make sure that doesn't happen. Besides if I do go in those clackers won't be big at all :)
 
TLR said:
My goal is to get in and out with out getting wet, especially when it's cold! I try to find a place to put in from shore if possible as that 's easier for me. I have gotten in and out a few times by myself off of a floating dock but that's not easy in this kayak since it has a small cockpit opening.

As far as clothing goes I have a pair of softshell pants I've been wearing that are working well in the kayak and then I have on a wicking shirt, fleece and then a goretex jacket over top of that. Yesterday was the first day my ears and neck were getting cold so I wore my wool buff which I can pull up and still have on my sunglasses and ball cap. I have some neoprene gloves on order. Yesterday was the first time my hands really got cold. I've tried regular mechanix gloves and the like but have found that they hold water to much and make my hands colder then having them bare. I also got a pair of neoprene paddling shoes which are working really well. I wear a size 14 shoe and trying to find something to wear in the boat without having my feet cramped against the deck wasn't easy. Being neoprene they're also great in case I do get my feet a little wet getting in as they still stay warm.

In my opinion you really need a waterproof jacket in the winter. I also have a convertible skirt for the cockpit. It has suspenders and comes up to my chest. It is perfect for days like yesterday when I had some rollers and the wake off of a barge rolled water over my bow and splashed me more then usual. In my opinion one should not go out in the winter by yourself on the Mississippi without a way to seal the cockpit.

I also keep a drybag with spare pants and a spare thermal shirt in the forward compartment in case something weird were to happen and I got wet. Since I'm going out by myself getting hypothermic could happen fast with bad consequences. Even though I'm not generally out in remote areas around here, I still see few people early in the mornings. Yesterday other then the barge as I was heading out I saw no one on shore or in a boat.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I have kayaking for years and never go out when it's very cold out. I think I may give it a try this winter
 
TLR said:
LOL the goal is to not roll. I just work real hard to make sure that doesn't happen. Besides if I do go in those clackers won't be big at all :)
Click to expand...

Isn't that the truth. Go in a man and come out a boy. I'd like to get a wet suit but I resemble Santa a wee bit too much these days.
 
Dry suits are much larger cut but cost like you wouldn't believe. In fact, a canoe is often cheaper. And not as likely to get wet in, at least in my experience.
 
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