Goin' Kayakin' today!

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Why break tradition this year?

Def

That's the trouble when your a naughty boy, you only get coal, or some other crap like sock's or really bad aftershave ;D

And yes voice of experience talking

[Grant Lamontagne]

No aftershave, but usually the socks and mouthwash.  I dunno, maybe my wife's family thinks I have poor hygiene?

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

No aftershave, but usually the socks and mouthwash.  I dunno, maybe my wife's family thinks I have poor hygiene?

Def

If there anything like my former in-laws, they probably just want to get the insult in wherever and whenever thay can

Beside's everytime you roll your kayak, that counts as a bath  ;D

[Grant Lamontagne]

Going out again today- when the lake looks like this, it's criminal not to!

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Whoa, that look's beautiful mate, have fun

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

So how was it boss?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Great.  Remember the other day when I said that I kind of overdid it?  Well I went a little farther today... I'll post some pictures shortly.

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Great.  Remember the other day when I said that I kind of overdid it?  Well I went a little farther today... I'll post some pictures shortly.

Def

I wondered what muppet in a red kayak in the middle of the river medway was up too

http://www.waterscape.com/River_Medway/map

[I'm Still Bison]

So Def,how you feelin' now? Icy Hot is a weekend warrior's best friend

[665ae]

Ok... I'd like to request that we stop talking about kayaking.  There are a million (slight over estimate) rivers, lakes, streams near me and I've starting thinking about how cool it would be to kayak them...

I don't need a kayak!  (but I'm starting to want one)

With the car/motorcycle thread and this thread, I'm going to end up with a new bike and a kayak before long...

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sorry Mikey, but you may want to avoid this thread, at least for the near future!

There are a million (slight over estimate) rivers, lakes, streams near me

The city I live in (Dartmouth) is known as the City of Lakes because it has has over 20 lakes within city limits.

I got a decent sunburn on my shoulders and arms, but nothing too bad.  All in all it took me about 3 and a half hours.  I knew there was a highway not too much farther than I'd gone last time, so my goal was to go at least that far this time.  Of course by the time I got my kayak set up and ready to go, the lake wasn't quite as calm as it appears in the photo above, but it still wasn't bad.  I had a fairly nice run, but at one point my Outdoor Edge Wedge knife in the water while hauling my kayak out to portage.  Luckily I have a bright orange and white lanyard on it, because the water was just deep enough that I would never have been able to see the knife by itself.  A quick dive later and my knife was safely back on my PFD and I was on my way again.

I bumped into a cormorant again and had to take his picture.  I dunno if it was the same one as last time since there are so many of them, but it was in the same spot.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

They pretty well let you get within arm's length of them.  They seem a little nervous, but I've gotten close enough to almost grab him.  Not that I would mind you- on top of that respect for Mother Nature thing, that beak is pretty darn sharp and those wings are strong!

So my goal was to find the highway, which isn't much farther than the end of Lake Charles, which was where I went last week, so I decided that was my goal.  I set out a little earlier this time (last time I was pressed for time since I had to pick up my wife) so I could take the trip a little more casually, and not be quite so worn out afterwards.  It was a good idea.  I'd say I probably covered about 15 miles on the round trip.  I would have gone a little farther just out of curiosity, but rapids made me pull out, and construction on the footbridge leading to the next dock kept me from going any farther.  I suppose if I really wanted to I could have tried to climb through some trees and put in, but I really had no reason to go any further, so I didn't bother.

Of course I had to portage about 50 yards to find the highway, and realize that I wasn't putting back in- otherwise I'd have left the boat at the dock to get a picture of the highway!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Those rapids drop the water level about 2 feet over a distance of about 25-25 feet, and I doubt a whitewater kayak would manage them, so there was no way in hell I was going to try and take my kayak over them!  Perhaps if the water was as high as it was a few weeks ago, I may have tried, but there were too many rocks sticking up, with less than an inch of depth in most spots, it just wasn't going to happen.  Although I will admit that I considered walking through and maybe trying to guide the boat my hand down them, but again, since i didn't have any plans (or time!) to go much farther, I decided it wasn't really worth the effort.

In case anyone doubts I actually made it to the highway...

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

As you can see, when in a kayak on a nice day, just about any scenery is quite nice.  These rockpiles are everywhere in some parts of Lake Charles because the water can go from 8+ feet deep to only a few inches in no time.  The bottom of this lake is almost all rock, probably a by-product of the canal's construction a couple of hundred years ago.  The canal is mostly natural, but much of it was enhanced with locks, widened, or dredged because this was originally the best way to move cargo into much of the province.  Needless to say, with the number of powerboats on these lakes now, they needed an effective way to let folks know where the piles were, so they piled them higher until you could see them from a good distance.

This was taken just after I turned around and was heading home.  It's also about 250 yards past where I turned around last time.  As you see, I didn't really make it much farther this time.  I doubt it was more than half a kilometer farther.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

This I took on Lake MicMac (the next lake down from the one I live on) and I like to call it "How do you know when Def's Kayaking?" since it's a Navy rescue chopper...

All in all, a great day, and I had (as usual!) a fantastic time.  I am a little stiff, but not too bad- just enough to know it's there, but not enough to get in the way.  It's raining today, or I'd probably be stupid enough to go out again!   Tomorrow is supposed to be nice though....

Def

[J-sews]

Ugh! I'm jealous! That looks way more adventuresome than what I did yesterday. Congrats on getting as far as you did. Always interesting to discover what lies up around the next bend! 

This I took on Lake MicMac (the next lake down from the one I live on) and I like to call it "How do you know when Def's Kayaking?" since it's a Navy rescue chopper...

All in all, a great day, and I had (as usual!) a fantastic time.  I am a little stiff, but not too bad- just enough to know it's there, but not enough to get in the way.  It's raining today, or I'd probably be stupid enough to go out again!   Tomorrow is supposed to be nice though....

Def

(Be sure to notify the authorities before you head out..... ;D

[Grant Lamontagne]

Fortunately, there's lots of bends left to explore!  Not much summer left maybe, but maybe next year...

Kind of annoying that I've lived here for seven years and didn't start this sooner!   :angry:

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Fortunately, there's lots of bends left to explore!  Not much summer left maybe, but maybe next year...

Kind of annoying that I've lived here for seven years and didn't start this sooner!   :angry:

Def

So how long is the kayaking season then? and does ice stop play?

[Grant Lamontagne]

The racers that belong to the boat clubs across the road start paddling as soon as the ice melts (sometimes even before) and keep going until the temperature drops below freezing.

I'm not that dedicated and I really really hate cold water!

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

The racers that belong to the boat clubs across the road start paddling as soon as the ice melts (sometimes even before) and keep going until the temperature drops below freezing.

I'm not that dedicated and I really really hate cold water!

Def

So that's what, about 8 - 9 months that the lake's are navigable then

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, something like that, but I like to wait till it warms up a bit!  You always get into the water at one point or another.

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Yeah, something like that, but I like to wait till it warms up a bit!  You always get into the water at one point or another.

Def

Can't say I blame ya mate

[Grant Lamontagne]

Here's a couple of kayaking pictures from some family friends in Alaska.  There is sooooo much about these that is wrong in my opinion!

The three seater is kind of cool though!  Don't see many of those.

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I'd be very wary of taking anything that floats near a big lump off ice like that

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

The tandem one look's very good, but I bet it's a right sod to carry on your car or trailer

[Grant Lamontagne]

It's probably easier than a solo because with a tandem or a trip you have other people there to help you!  With a solo, it's all you!

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

It's probably easier than a solo because with a tandem or a trip you have other people there to help you!  With a solo, it's all you!

Def

Don't you mean other people to ''delegate'' too ;D

[Grant Lamontagne]

Unless it's my wife in which case it's "supervised by."

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Unless it's my wife in which case it's "supervised by."

Def

Is your lass the adventurous type then

[Grant Lamontagne]

Nope... she's the drone type.  Get up, go to work, come home, eat supper, watch TV, go to bed.

But I'm doing my darndest to change that.  We've taken the inflatable out to some of the places I kayak and she's enjoyed it, but we never go very far before she's ready to pack it in.

Def