Re: [Paddlewise] New Years Eve paddle in MN

        A New Year's Day Paddle has long been a tradition here in NJ.  Of
course, the water's a bit warmer but we go through ice every now and then.
We've had as many as 55 show up for some of these.....
Usually we do Cedar Creek, a Pine Barrens river, about 8-12 miles.  It's
moving water so usually open but as we go along the cranberry bogs a sheet
of ice is always likely.
    On some we've stopped, cooked up some hot soup, and on an occasion or
two broke out the champagne as well!

>I want to know, will anyone else be trying anything like this? Any advice
for
>the virgin arctic paddler?
        Usually it's not a problem but we might carry an axe or a peavey
with us.  The center of the water would be open but sometimes the edges are
frozen over thick enough to keep a canoe from crashing through to shore.
A friend also carries a grapple hook on a long rope.  If the ice is thick
enough, he tosses the grapple ahead, then hauls himself to it.  Mostly not a
problem in NJ.
JP


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