My 2 cents: I am a novice kayak paddler with some experience with both businesses. I took the Trek & Trail 3-hour basic safety course before a guided trip a few years back. In retrospect it was totally worthless. However, I was subsequently entered into their computer as qualified to rent kayaks and thus I could potentially paddle to Sand Island with only that much training. Chuck Holst's recent post shows that even that seemingly benign trip can potentially be a problem on Lake Superior. On the other hand, I cannot comment on their full formal instruction. It may be excellent. I just don't like the fact that they will rent me a boat with such a worthless "qualification" -- and potentially get myself in trouble so easily. I took George Gronseth's week-long course last summer and recommend it highly. It was fully worth both the money and the 30 hours each way my middle-aged body had to endure in a car. Another Midwest alternative: The Canoe and Kayak Institute at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. I have heard good things about them but have no first-hand experience. They have a web page, but I don't have the address. If you're interested, I can try to dig it out. Larry Snow > ---------- > Mel wrote: > Are there any other schools I should be aware of? Or is there something > horribly wrong with Trek & Trail that I should avoid them? Or is the > Kayak Academy that good that it would be worth the extra $600++. > > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Oct 07 1998 - 04:58:10 PDT
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