A Long Weekend

Sat.'s plans for a paddle were thwarted by my little dog getting bit by a BIG dog. Off to the emergency vet and $800 later he was home safe and sound, albeit slightly dopey. So, most of the weekend has been watching over him and making sure he gets all his medicine. He didn't eat much the first day and he seemed to want to make up for it today. A good sign.

So I'm reading this great book written by Nathaniel Stone, "On The Water." He rows (yes, facing backwards) from NY, through some barge canals to the Great Lakes, down the Ohio River to the Mississippi, out into the Gulf, around Florida and back up the East coast. Basically he circumnavigates the eastern third of the US. What's so interesting is, right now, Jake Stachovac is doing almost the same thing, called the Portage To Portage Paddling Project. You can find his daily blog by the same name. He's just reached the Gulf the last few days, but he started in Wisconsin, so he has quite a ways to go. What's interesting is both share many common ideas and thoughts; and I can relate to both of them.

".......waking up in the morning had become more of a habit than an opportunity. Days were becoming forgettable; they blended too quickly in memory. It was time to derail the train, jump off, and walk into the nearest forest."

-Nathaniel Stone

I feel this way most days. I yet haven't summoned up the courage Nathaniel and Jake have though.

BIG Rain!

An edit to my previous post. Apparantly a very strong high which has held off El Nino from the west coast is now gone. A 200 mph jet stream is headed our way and emergency teams are preparing for flooding which is supposed to occur with LOTS of rain over 2-3 weeks. Hopefully I'll still sneak out tomorrow (Sat.) before the real rain begins on Sun.

Rain. Rain. Rain!

Well, I'll be put to the test....... my plans for kayaking through the winter will be challenged this weekend. I have 3 days off and I was going to get out on the water at least two. But rain is beginning Fri. night, with a really big storm predicted for Sun. and Mon. The forecast is for showers Sat., so I'm planning to still go. It's not very cold, but I won't know what the winds will be like until later. Keep your fingers crossed!

How Many Kayaks Do You Own?

Well, in searching and reading the many kayak blogs I have discovered, I've also encountered many different types of kayaks and additional kayak activities. By this I mean kayak marathons (which I'm still not sure what that means), surf skiing, and long distance events like the Missouri 340 or Yukon 1000. So maybe someone can comment on my entry tonight, and give me a detailed description of what this all means. Regardless, I am now intrigued with this idea of taking a longer paddle in an organized manner which I know is not the "sea kayaking" I am familiar with. Also, how does one decide what kind of kayak to buy for these kinds of events? There are surf skis and racing kayaks. What are the primary uses of each or the pros and cons of either. How does one find out about events in their area? And, how do people get their boats to all these places? They certainly can't be driving all over the country. Or do they?

What You Do When It's Dark Already!

Get home at 5 PM. Run the dog, well, really she runs to catch the numerous throws of the frisby she demands. Go grocery shopping. Cook dinner........now I'll write about kayaking since I can't actually do it today! Also I'm getting more familiar with my GPS and the things I can interface with the computer. So I overlaid my route from Sat.'s paddle onto Google earth to show you what I did (and what it looked like). It's probably more exciting for me than you. But a beginning. So here it is:

The route is that "snakey thing." I'd like to change that to more of a line but I haven't figured that out yet. So, if anyone has any suggestions or ideas, I'm up for input.

Well, based on the tide chart, doesn't look I'll be getting out for another 1-1/2 weeks. Have to depart from the marina about an hour before high tide so the the slough I missed last weekend is deep enough. And getting around Blair Island is my next trip.

1st Winter Paddle

Success! Yesterday was my first paddle of the winter season. First time hauling my kayak on my new car and using the new rack. All went well. Put in at Redwood City Marina about 10:50AM. It was 61º and the water was calm but there was a lot of fog. Not too busy at the ramp. I guess the clouds kept most away. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area you're surrounded by water and you can get to lots of places without having to drive long distances. The trade off is there are reminders of civilization around every bend. Lots of industry nearby and big electrical towers along the route. Didn't like that part of it, and I was solo today. I think with the cruddy weather it would have been more fun with my partner along. Especially when I started to get a little cold and tired.

Redwood City Marina

I felt pretty good the first 1-1/2 hrs. I had planned well; brought hot tea with a little treat from Peet's Coffee, water, Powerbar, and some ShotBlocks. Not too much wildlife today. I guess the clouds kept them away too. But when I stopped for some tea, up popped 5 seals. They didn't want to get too close, and kept an eye on me. I was hoping to find the slough that went around Blair Island; a wildlife preserve, where lots of seals pup and birds stay. But I never found the turnoff. I kept along the main slough, Corkscrew, for about 3-1/2 miles, checking my GPS. I figured I'd missed the turnoff but I'd never paddled in this particular slough before, so I thought I'd check it out until it was time to turn around. Saw a few Egrets, Pelicans, geese, ducks, and a very cool bird on the way back. I'll have to try to find it's name as I don't know if I'd ever seen it before. It was camped on a large wood post in the main channel. Just as I got my camera ready a power boat went by, and off it flew. No picture!

saw the seals here

All in all, it was a good day. Accomplished 3 hours of paddling, investigated a new slough, saw a little wildlife, and made it back home. Already planning the next day and doing my homework so I can find that channel around the wildlife preserve.

The Beginning; Jan. 1, 2010

My first entry, ever. I haven't even read that many blogs to be truthful. I probably only learned what a blog actually was a year or so ago. At the time I thought they were kind of stupid. Who'd want to put their private thoughts online? But I watched this adorable movie last night (with a glass of champagne), "Julie & Julia," which was intriguing to me. Well, of course, I knew very little about Julia Child, and Meryl Streep was spectacular in the part. I also really liked the juxtaposition of the two stories (both true by the way), and was a little disappointed Julie never met Julia. Clearly, Julia was an inspiration for Julie on many levels.

Julie, also never a blogger (like me), decides to blog about a challenge she sets herself to: cooking the entire set of recipes from Julia Child's cook book. NO, I'm not going to cook all those recipes (or even a few), but what was so interesting to me was blogging about something you had a passion for. I could do that. Writing about your process while in the midst of the challenge; investigating your emotions, the ups and downs, heck putting yourself out there (that in and of itself a challenge for me). Are you grasping the intriguing part yet? You're probably asking yourself (anyways I hope so), "well, what's her challenge, what's her passion?" My passion is the outdoors.

Today I wrote my first entry, in my first blog. I put myself "out there." My challenge? To kayak through the season. Yes, through the winter, which is not that demanding in northern California (well, compared to those snowy parts of the world). My challenge? To get outdoors.......cycling, hiking, backpacking, and kayaking. And if I'm lucky, I'll get to meet a few of you on-line, or on the water or trail, who may share in my challenge, my passion.