Now that 2010 is over does anyone have any high points, from a paddling perspective, to share? -- Kirk Olsen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
My Thunder Bay breast cancer survivor dragon boat crew had an exhilarating race in Duluth/Superior. Everything came together perfectly. Ever have a day when you are "on"? Well that day all 20 paddlers, drummer and steers were "on". The best two runs in over a dozen years of practising and racing throughout the summers. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
PW, I didn't really do anything altruistic or with team spirit, but I've had an occasional bad year in the past, so I'm happy to brag about 2010: Crossed to all 23 offshore oil rigs in Southern California to raise awareness of them after the Gulf disaster, survived a great white shark attack, ran the Grand Canyon with a Greenland paddle, and won the Greenland Week competition in Washington State. And something else hasn't been announced yet. Duane Southern California *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Early in the year I made my first trip to Black Canyon on the Colorado River below Hoover Dam. A magical time! BC Story http://www.sandmarks.net/Ring.html BC Photos http://www.sandmarks.net/BC/Black%20Canyon%20Thumbs1.htm I spent quite a few days hunting Blue whales off of Dana Point and had one amazing photo op! Blue Whales http://www.sandmarks.net/WhaleThumb/WoeisMe1.htm Got a visit from a paddler from Australia, Jacqui Stone who came to visit SoCal. Having lived in Australia for a year as a kid, I really enjoyed hearing her stories about my old haunt. Got to show her my home waters and take her out about the town a bit! Photos http://www.sandmarks.net/JacquiUpOver.html I joined three friends for a paddle to Catalina, where we had a whole beach to ourselves at Goat Harbor. To have such solitude just 20 miles from LA seems unimaginable! I also had a great trip to Santa Cruz Island in our nearby Channel Islands. It is another amazing spot for kayaking, hidden so close to LA. That and just a lot of ordinary good times with friends! As my friend Duane said recently, ever year kayaking seems so good, you think the next year can't come close, but some how they always seem to get better! Mark Sanders On 1/6/2011 6:02 AM, Kirk Olsen wrote: > Now that 2010 is over does anyone have any high points, from a paddling > perspective, to share? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Kirk Olsen wrote: Now that 2010 is over does anyone have any high points, from a paddling perspective, to share? I had a number of high points in paddling this year. I guess the first would be that my aging body still lets me paddle and have fun doing it. (But it gets harder every year.) I passed my ACA Instructor Level 5 assessment, quite a feat considering the above. Best of all I got to share my love of this sport with a lot of teens through wilderness therapy trips in the Everglades and in Maine. The ability to combine fun with service makes me the luckiest person alive. Looking forward to a better year in 2011. . . Jim Tibensky *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Thu, Jan 6, 2011 at 6:02 AM, Kirk Olsen <kork4_at_cluemail.com> wrote: > Now that 2010 is over does anyone have any high points, from a paddling > perspective, to share? > > My high point for 2010 was the knee replacement surgery in June. Sure, it pretty much wiped the summer out between recovery and physical therapy (and the drugs, let's not forget the drugs). But it also opened up some new avenues; some of which had been closed to me for many years. 2011 looks like it will be a good year. :) Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Linda's 99-year-old mother, who lives with us, needed more care in 2010, which made it difficult for us to get away. So our kayaking highlight was the one time we were able to get out on the water in June, a few weeks before my 66th birthday, and practice our rolls. I wanted to do 66 rolls on my 66th, but I started a new medication a few days before that might have affected my equilibrium, and my urologist recommended against it. Chuck Holst __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5769 (20110108) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Kirk asked "Now that 2010 is over does anyone have any high points" Long overdue response on this - yes we had a truly wonderful Alaskan paddle in July/August. Thanks again to all on this list who helped with suggestions about food, routes and helpful comments about our preparation. Natasha & I are most grateful. A special thanks to Bob Carter in Petersburg, Alaska - who (after lots of useful tips via email) took the time to come down to his town's Ferry Terminal and say hello as we passed by on the Columbia. Our time on shore was restricted, as the Columbia was trying to make up lost time - so we had opportunity for little more than a 'hello' and a quick look at the tide tables and charts that he'd brought along for our benefit. I have to say that Bob's warm welcome to Alaska was typical. We had nothing but the kindest of treatment from the many good folk we met along the way. Perhaps as paddlers do anywhere, we stood out a bit from the general throng of cruise-ship tourists, but we certainly felt that people went beyond the motions of 'Have a Nice Day'... We flew directly into Vancouver (from Auckland), along with our refreshed folding K2 Feathercraft, our paddling gear (including 3 split GPs), all our camping gear and personal kit. I had managed to keep it just grams under the old airline baggage limit. The spreadsheet was prodigious ;-) We picked up some local food items & camp-gas canisters and made it down to Bellingham (WA) for the weekly departure of the Northbound Alaska ferry 'Columbia'. What a great experience she gives a traveller. We pitched our tent on the afterdeck (with many others) and enjoyed good facilities, food & friendly fellow passengers on the 60-hour passage up to Juneau. At daybreak in Juneau, we transferred to the impressively quick (38+ knots on my GPS) cat ferry out to Sitka where we would begin our paddle. At the end of the next 14 days, we had paddled about 400 km of wonderful coastline, though the Myriad Islands, into White Sulphur Hot Springs, the tiny settlements of Pelican & Elfin Cove, to the whale-watching Mecca of Point Adolphus and across Icy Straits and into Glacier Bay. There we explored the Eastern arm and got up to the face of the tidewater McBride Glacier to paddle amongst the bergy bits and experience the glacier calving at first hand. I have to say that this was probably the only moment (of the entire trip) when I missed being in a single - as the K2's forward and after cockpits differed on the safe distance from the face. We survived both the debate and the potential Gino Watkins moment - to pitch our northernmost camp. The nearby shoreline of house-sized bergs strained & groaned continuously, making it a cool but noisy night. The weather was pretty kind to us - the only lay days were occasioned more by feelings of 'can't bear to leave here just yet' than by 'don't want to head out into that'. We had our tarps, our drysuits and the right expectations for enjoying a misty rainforest coastline. We swam a bit - but more for cleanliness than amusement. We met no other kayakers on the water, met 4 parties of kayakers in camps (2 couples and 2 groups) and met 2 other parties in power-boats. So, for days at a time, we had the world to ourselves. Weather radio reception was much better than the internet VHF coverage maps led us to expect - which was a bonus. I bought a tiny new AM radio as a backup to augment our VHFs, but its only use was in the middle of one night, when Natasha got tired of talking to herself (I was fast asleep) and turned the radio on to 'keep the bears at bay' - which was much on her mind at that moment. We were pretty scrupulous about bear hygiene - 100m 'kitchen' distance from tent, using bear-proof containers (hard-shell) for all smelly stuff, etc. As bear-country neophytes, we may have been over-cautious; but a number of Alaskans seemed to take the risks seriously - so we followed suit. For whatever reasons, our bear encounters were experienced safely with us on the water and the bears on land. The dear, eagles and the multitude of sea-birds were great and the sea-otters, sea-lions, orca and humpbacks were seldom absent for long. The otters were cute. The sea-lions were stroppy ;-) At the end of the Glacier Bay exploration, we rinsed off, folded up and took a Cessna back to Juneau. As we had a few days in hand (our bad-weather allowance), we decided to have a brief look at Alaska's goldrush neighbourhood (Skagway & Chillicoot) and fly back to Vancouver from Whitehorse (cheap fare). So, what were the take-homes ? The kayaking was fun and extending, the scenery was stunning, the wildlife was awe-inspiring. We have some wonderful memories. Should they dim, we have about 3600 photos to refresh them. Perhaps more than anything, we have a sense of accomplishment that we set ourselves a challenge and pulled it off. Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Sounds wonderful. Are we going to see some of those photos? Brad Crain Quoting Paul Hayward <pdh_at_mmcl.co.nz>: > Kirk asked "Now that 2010 is over does anyone have any high points" > > Long overdue response on this - yes we had a truly wonderful Alaskan paddle > in July/August. > > Thanks again to all on this list who helped with suggestions about food, > routes and helpful comments about our preparation. Natasha & I are most > grateful. > > A special thanks to Bob Carter in Petersburg, Alaska - who (after lots of > useful tips via email) took the time to come down to his town's Ferry > Terminal and say hello as we passed by on the Columbia. Our time on shore > was restricted, as the Columbia was trying to make up lost time - so we had > opportunity for little more than a 'hello' and a quick look at the tide > tables and charts that he'd brought along for our benefit. > > I have to say that Bob's warm welcome to Alaska was typical. We had nothing > but the kindest of treatment from the many good folk we met along the way. > Perhaps as paddlers do anywhere, we stood out a bit from the general throng > of cruise-ship tourists, but we certainly felt that people went beyond the > motions of 'Have a Nice Day'... > > We flew directly into Vancouver (from Auckland), along with our refreshed > folding K2 Feathercraft, our paddling gear (including 3 split GPs), all our > camping gear and personal kit. I had managed to keep it just grams under the > old airline baggage limit. The spreadsheet was prodigious ;-) > > We picked up some local food items & camp-gas canisters and made it down to > Bellingham (WA) for the weekly departure of the Northbound Alaska ferry > 'Columbia'. What a great experience she gives a traveller. We pitched our > tent on the afterdeck (with many others) and enjoyed good facilities, food & > friendly fellow passengers on the 60-hour passage up to Juneau. > > At daybreak in Juneau, we transferred to the impressively quick (38+ knots > on my GPS) cat ferry out to Sitka where we would begin our paddle. > > At the end of the next 14 days, we had paddled about 400 km of wonderful > coastline, though the Myriad Islands, into White Sulphur Hot Springs, the > tiny settlements of Pelican & Elfin Cove, to the whale-watching Mecca of > Point Adolphus and across Icy Straits and into Glacier Bay. There we > explored the Eastern arm and got up to the face of the tidewater McBride > Glacier to paddle amongst the bergy bits and experience the glacier calving > at first hand. > > I have to say that this was probably the only moment (of the entire trip) > when I missed being in a single - as the K2's forward and after cockpits > differed on the safe distance from the face. We survived both the debate and > the potential Gino Watkins moment - to pitch our northernmost camp. The > nearby shoreline of house-sized bergs strained & groaned continuously, > making it a cool but noisy night. > > The weather was pretty kind to us - the only lay days were occasioned more > by feelings of 'can't bear to leave here just yet' than by 'don't want to > head out into that'. We had our tarps, our drysuits and the right > expectations for enjoying a misty rainforest coastline. > > We swam a bit - but more for cleanliness than amusement. > > We met no other kayakers on the water, met 4 parties of kayakers in camps (2 > couples and 2 groups) and met 2 other parties in power-boats. So, for days > at a time, we had the world to ourselves. > > Weather radio reception was much better than the internet VHF coverage maps > led us to expect - which was a bonus. I bought a tiny new AM radio as a > backup to augment our VHFs, but its only use was in the middle of one night, > when Natasha got tired of talking to herself (I was fast asleep) and turned > the radio on to 'keep the bears at bay' - which was much on her mind at that > moment. > > We were pretty scrupulous about bear hygiene - 100m 'kitchen' distance from > tent, using bear-proof containers (hard-shell) for all smelly stuff, etc. As > bear-country neophytes, we may have been over-cautious; but a number of > Alaskans seemed to take the risks seriously - so we followed suit. > > For whatever reasons, our bear encounters were experienced safely with us on > the water and the bears on land. The dear, eagles and the multitude of > sea-birds were great and the sea-otters, sea-lions, orca and humpbacks were > seldom absent for long. The otters were cute. The sea-lions were stroppy ;-) > > > At the end of the Glacier Bay exploration, we rinsed off, folded up and took > a Cessna back to Juneau. As we had a few days in hand (our bad-weather > allowance), we decided to have a brief look at Alaska's goldrush > neighbourhood (Skagway & Chillicoot) and fly back to Vancouver from > Whitehorse (cheap fare). > > So, what were the take-homes ? > > The kayaking was fun and extending, the scenery was stunning, the wildlife > was awe-inspiring. > > We have some wonderful memories. Should they dim, we have about 3600 photos > to refresh them. > > Perhaps more than anything, we have a sense of accomplishment that we set > ourselves a challenge and pulled it off. > > Best Regards > Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Brad asked: Are we going to see some of those photos ? I shall try to get some up - but we've been asked to do some presentations at a couple of forums - and I have wild hopes of doing an article for a magazine - so I've been holding back a bit on doing a bare-it-all splash on the web... I do have a nice one of the K2 moored to a useful bergy-bit at a lunch stop. I keep meaning to send that to FC, as I think they'd like it. We were a bit religious about tying the boat to something when we came ashore. I just couldn't face featuring in one of Matt or George's masterly dissections, if I ever had to start swimming after my kayak and all my gear. It just didn't bear thinking about - so notch one up for "Deep Trouble". Best Regards Paul *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 7:15 PM, Paul Hayward <pdh_at_mmcl.co.nz> wrote: > Kirk asked "Now that 2010 is over does anyone have any high points" > > Long overdue response on this - yes we had a truly wonderful Alaskan paddle > in July/August. > Nice report, Paul. That was certainly a high point all right!!! I'm still thinking that my muthah-ship makes the perfect place to camp without the worry of bears. But that's just me. :) Happy New Year. You got two summers (if you can count any time in Alaska at any time of the year as "summer"). Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Craig said: muthah-ship...perfect...camp without the worry of bears Craig, I will freely acknowledge that a mothership would have come in very handy on one occasion. After putting in a long day (that for tidal reasons had begun at 03:30), we reached one of the few islands in upper Glacier Bay, in search of a off-shore (bear-unlikely) tent site. Coming ashore at the obvious flat meadow with wide sight-lines (to allow the bears - which wouldn't be on the island anyway - to avoid startling themselves into untoward and regrettable violence); what should we find but half an acre of trashed strawberry patch almost knee-deep in bear scat... Tears were very nearly shed. Happily, a long afternoon nap put things right for Natasha. I am now sold on the deep links that remain in the modern mind between wood smoke and security... with the occasional cheerful crackle being completely inaudible to ears that can mouse-detect at 100 paces. I pitched the tent half a mile along the shoreline from the bear meadow, and festered around quietly while Natasha got about 4000 winks. It was great fun to sit on a remote & pebbly beach, surrounded by vistas of glaciers, the fluke-splashing of miles-distant humpbacks and prosaically type in some trip notes on my little 11" notebook - which proved a great success. It gave us a lightweight backup of all our paperwork - from tickets to the 570 pages of the Alaska Pilot. It accumulated the daily download of all photos and allowed their immediate transfer to a flash-drive (data-stick) for a tiny secondary backup in a secondary drybag (my VHF's Aquapac). It held all the charts that we didn't print (as opposed to all those that we had printed, annotated & laminated) in case we chickened out on Plan A and needed to re-route. Also, it lasted its hoped-for 10 hours between visits to places like Park Headquarters in Glacier Bay - where we took a lay day to view the museum, watch the film, wash some clothes and reacquaint ourselves with hot water ;-) As a multi-purpose device & tool, I think it earned its weight allowance. For any geeks amongst you, I should note that it's not an Atom-based unit, but an Acer ULV dual-core which cheerfully runs W7x64 in 4GB - allowing me to have several VMs running for testing purposes. Not, I hasten to add, when sitting in Glacier Bay; but I did mention it was multi-purpose... Craig also said: You got two summers (if you can count...Alaska ...as "summer"). Well we got what we had expected in coastal Alaska's mild & misty weather. A daily 'Rain Likely' was the catch phrase that we lived by, but there was a decent amount of blue sky to keep us happy and (except for the night amidst the ice field), we didn't find it cold. Further from the coast, in Juneau and more-so in the Yukon, there was lots of warmth and sunshine. The preliminary 1.5 days in Vancouver and the final 3 days there and in Victoria were high summer and much appreciated. We put our heads in the door at Feathercraft in Vancouver - to say thanks for such a splendid vessel - and they kindly let us take one of their newish semi-inflatable sit-on-top doubles out for a hoon round the harbour. Great fun! Then in Victoria, friends led us out for a day's play in the Oak Bay Islands (East of Victoria) in a couple of borrowed singles - which was also great fun, if slightly weird after weeks of doubling. So, I think we got a good shot of Northern Hemisphere summer before returning to our vicious Auckland winter, where the water temp drops scarily below 60F and it's almost always too hot to wear our drysuits... Makes it difficult to complain ;-) Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 5:46 AM, Paul Hayward <pdh_at_mmcl.co.nz> wrote: > Craig said: muthah-ship...perfect...camp without the worry of bears > > Craig, I will freely acknowledge that a mothership would have come in very > handy on one occasion. > Thanks for more details, Paul. It would be really nice if you could transcribe one of your presentations into a web story with photos. Lots of us would love to take that trip; even vicariously. I confess to a certain amount of trepidation when thinking about camping in grizzly country (which is only about 200 miles away, as the grizzly bear wanders). An RV is not considered enough protection. Apparently an island isn't either. But the muthah-ship would require a seriously determined bear unless he can figure out how to climb up the outdrive. Anyway, I don't blame your significant other for being intimidated by the idea of camping among them. Not at all. Glad you survived your vicious winter down there. We had 3-inches of snowfall last night and I'm thinking about going out and using my snow-blower on it. You know you live in snow country when you have your own personal snow-blower. And I have a tractor with a blade on it, too; but that's too big for where we live now. Handy on the farm though. Enjoy summer! Craig *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Paul, Glad you guys had a great trip. I admit I was tempted to grab my boat and follow you guys. The outer coast off of Sitka is beyond wonderful. I paddled it back in the late 80's and the memories of big rolling waves, boomers, craggy rocks , puffins and soaking in the Hot Springs bring back great memories. Glad the weather allowed you passage. For the rest of you folks I will be glad to give advice on paddling in Southeast Alaska. If any one wants to come to Petersburg and paddle to the LeConte Glacier let me know and I will gladly give you a place to stay while you are setting up your trip. keep on paddling Bob On 1/11/2011 6:15 PM, Paul Hayward wrote: > Kirk asked "Now that 2010 is over does anyone have any high points" > > Long overdue response on this - yes we had a truly wonderful Alaskan paddle > in July/August. > > Thanks again to all on this list who helped with suggestions about food, > routes and helpful comments about our preparation. Natasha& I are most > grateful. > > A special thanks to Bob Carter in Petersburg, Alaska - who (after lots of > useful tips via email) took the time to come down to his town's Ferry > Terminal and say hello as we passed by on the Columbia. Our time on shore > was restricted, as the Columbia was trying to make up lost time - so we had > opportunity for little more than a 'hello' and a quick look at the tide > tables and charts that he'd brought along for our benefit. > > I have to say that Bob's warm welcome to Alaska was typical. We had nothing > but the kindest of treatment from the many good folk we met along the way. > Perhaps as paddlers do anywhere, we stood out a bit from the general throng > of cruise-ship tourists, but we certainly felt that people went beyond the > motions of 'Have a Nice Day'... *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:54 PDT