The hubby and I had a great weekend paddling 10 miles of the Arkansas (that's "R-Kansas") River with a few Friends of the Kaw Members. Out of ten people, I was the only woman (par for the course), there was only 1 canoe, and one little brown dog named "Bean." The sea kayaks were great for the windy conditions. Half the time we didn't even have to paddle, just float with the breeze to our back. The water was cold (45F?) with the air temperature in the upper 50's, and it gave us both a chance to try out our new fuzzy rubbers (I feel like such a pervert whenever I say "fuzzy rubber") and dry tops. I have to say I loved the fuzzy rubber pants, they were perfect with a layer of wickers underneath. The dry top needs to have the neck gasket stretched out a bit more (does it always feel like that?), but that shouldn't be a reason not to use it more often too. Call us gear-heads, but out of the bunch (some were in denim) we were the most comfortably dressed for the conditions. We floated from just barely north of the Oklahoma border to just north of Kaw Lake. The tiny moss covered waterfalls that emptied into the river on the banks were beautiful. A couple of guys saw a family of beavers in their home on a bank, complete with the mother nursing her baby. Unfortunately we had floated down the wrong side of the island to see it. It was also the shallow side, my hubby had to pole himself off a barely submerged sand bar. I didn't have any problems with it. Hmm, the advantage of being a "little" paddler. :) At one point the river turned and headed straight into the strong wind. With the current going one way and the wind the other, the waves kicked up about 2 feet high. That was the only time the trip had any problems. The canoe capsized but fortunately they were within 5 feet of shore. They pulled the boat out, emptied it, and quickly changed clothes. Everyone was OK. Now I just need to get more of that fuzzy stuff for our next trip. :) Julie *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Now I just need to get more of that fuzzy stuff for our next trip. :) --------- I'm not much of a gear head and don't haunt the paddle shops much (none close by) so didn't really know what fuzzy rubber was (no sex shops here, either) so I did a net search and found this description right away at riversports.com: "This new material is the best since either pile or neoprene, cuz it's the best of both! The black urethane rubber as the outer skin is super warm and keeps the wind and water off ya. The fuzzy stretch pile is great insulation without that sticky neoprene feel, it feels like your flannel nighty!" Does that about cover it? If so, I guess I've been wearing it for a couple of years since my Henderson farmer john has a fleece liner. If I recall, it was half again as much as some of the others but I don't regret that purchase. _Wet_ wet suits are not among my favorite articles of clothing. I was looking at some Polartec 100, 200 & 300 pants & pullovers on sale for 20% off over the weekend. Tried to convince myself my current polartec shirts & vests & sweaters weren't going to be good enough under my new drysuit in <50 degree water. Lost the arguement and left empty handed :-(. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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