tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-340288152024-03-05T02:18:26.777-05:00ruminationsA log of what I'm up to, esp kayaking year round, plus random stuff that catches my attention.Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-77533842469128666282011-05-15T17:43:00.000-04:002011-05-15T17:43:29.894-04:00More high waterSince last post the lake got yet higher, but on this day was back to about the same.
It was starting to rain (and forecast through next Wednesday) as we launched from Converse Bay and headed south. Destination Lewis Creek.
A friend had told me she has to wade or row to get from her house on Long Point so I wanted to take a look. The camera's battery was pretty low, so it died earlyDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-13547594517952623762011-05-02T11:21:00.001-04:002011-05-02T16:13:37.632-04:00More floodedSince last week's trip onto flooded Lake Champlain, the water has risen another couple of feet to a record high of 102.8 feet.
At the Converse Bay boat ramp there was a guy getting his truck lined up to haul a boat out who repeatedly warned us how cold the water was and how rough with 5 foot rollers once you got out of the bay and we shouldn't go out in (mere) kayaks. When it was Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-90984393398486574202011-04-25T17:05:00.001-04:002011-04-26T07:26:16.247-04:00Winooski F&W
"Launching at 2 pm from WInooski F&W in Colchester, then heading out to the lake.It's a raw, wet, and windy day." (water 34 degrees, air mid 30's, 30+ knot wind, and sleet/rain at time of posting)
By trip time the precipitation had stopped, air temp was up to 40, but the wind was holding up.
The Winooski boat ramp is far enough up river that it's sheltered from the lake, so Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-45447118475437092282011-04-18T11:08:00.002-04:002011-04-18T11:27:21.224-04:00SpringtimeSpringtime? On Saturday the water was 35, the air a little warmer, a good wind predicted, and the lake is officially in flood. But... there were 2 separate kayak trips. I opted for North Hero in the morning as I had a commitment later in the day plus rain was more likely in the afternoon.
The beach we'd normally launch from is under several feet of water so we're startingDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-21166452558238971802011-03-15T08:43:00.003-04:002011-03-17T18:56:31.602-04:00Maple has terroir! Who knew?From Vermont Public Radio:
"Henry Marckres is the maple specialist for the Vermont Department of Agriculture. He's tasted maple syrup almost every day for nearly 3 decades! He's judged contests around the country, sampled batches from sugarmakers from Highgate to Bennington, and he's the arbiter of quality for the state of Vermont.
He spent some time with VPR's Jane Lindholm and shared his Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-79877313192685802822011-02-10T11:20:00.005-05:002011-03-15T08:33:38.306-04:00More snowI think I've had to shovel snow every day in the last week except Saturday. Saturday was a technicality.
I had tickets for the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chamber ensemble in Rutland (about 70 miles south on Rt 7.)
Kayak buddy Sam lives pretty close to Rutland. He switches over to back country skiing once the snow builds up and is always trying to get me to come down there,Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-28546068124591489122011-01-26T08:45:00.001-05:002011-01-26T08:54:32.742-05:00Skating the LakeAs much as there are some paddlers who will seek and find whatever liquid surface remains on the lake through the winter, there is the flip side.... people who relish the frozen surface, maybe hiking to alpine ponds in search of skateable ice in October.
We just had a few days of cold weather, one morning clocking in at minus 20 to 30 F depending on where in the state. I asked Phelps to Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-19728356807923369012011-01-23T10:07:00.001-05:002011-01-23T10:13:32.070-05:00Cool tripDespite the zero degree morning Dave called for a paddle yesterday. Without the wind, it feels warmer Shelburne bay looks totally frozen up, but things are clear on the broad lake side of the point.
We went south, letting Dave play ice breaker on the thin stuff between Meach Island and shore. Turnaround point was a bit north of Charlotte town beach.
Lots of ducks about and at least Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-24037575348925485672011-01-16T08:56:00.005-05:002011-01-30T08:05:55.285-05:00South Pole CentennialNext antarctic summer marks the 100th anniversary of the race to the pole betwen Scott and Amundsen.
An article in today's NY Times describes the expected tourist boom at the pole, people arriving by plane, maybe skiing the last few miles, or trekking from the coast:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/world/16pole.html?_r=1
One event is a reenactment of the race, with teams following both Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-14797847993467408112011-01-03T19:36:00.002-05:002011-01-03T19:48:52.995-05:00End of the year paddlingHmmm... I see I've been pretty slack on the blog lately, only one post since September, and it's not even about paddling. I'll wrap a couple of trips into this post.
Tom, Dave, and I went on our last trip of the fall on Dec 18 from Converse Bay and headed south.Pretty much everything in splash range of the lake had some ice.Including the the raft that set out on a round the world Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-56728039394109655422010-12-02T14:21:00.000-05:002010-12-02T14:21:54.909-05:00Deer hunting for college students
My daughter is a student at Vermont Tech in Randolph. She tells me that many of the rules for dorm life stem from behavior that has caused problems in the past.One such rule in the manual is you can’t hang a deer carcass in the shower. This wasn’t because of one deer, but on one occasion ALL the showers in a dorm had deer hanging.Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-47009867027726732362010-09-20T20:19:00.000-04:002010-09-20T20:19:18.366-04:00Not quite a festival, but a long GP weekendOur local club just had a full weekend of classes with Turner Wilson, Cheri Perry, and their intern (not sure that's the right term, maybe touring partner?) Adam Hansen from Greenland.
There's been a surge interest for skill development since that squall hit a club trip a few posts back. "Hmmmm.... maybe all that rolling, heavy bracing and such aren't just parlor tricks for those boyz in Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-73021892268745546382010-09-09T10:27:00.002-04:002010-09-09T19:22:47.450-04:00Oswegatchie Canoe TripLast week a friend asked if I wanted to go camping, maybe a backpack in the Adirondacks to get away from everyone, catch some solitude.
I figured there wouldn't be much solitude on any of the normal backpack routes on Labor Day weekend, so I suggested a water trip. Once you get to a pond with no road access (have to carry your boat from another pond) the crowds thin out pretty fast. Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-90895234705693263462010-07-05T15:04:00.000-04:002010-07-05T15:04:13.983-04:00Earlybird specialEvery year Burlington celebrates the 4th of July on the 3rd. Apparently that gives them a better price on the fireworks, which are set off from a barge in the harbor.
Waterfront restaurants start the party with bands etc in the afternoon, and carnival rides are running in the park. Before it gets dark there's a stunt plane act that does loops, hammerheads, etc while streaming colored Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-61182312759541414512010-07-02T12:53:00.003-04:002011-02-04T08:21:16.655-05:00It's a twista!I mean to post about this a while ago, but better late than never!
This was a Wednesday night club trip (read mixed ability) starting at the Sandbar boat launch, at the base of the road causway to South Hero island.
We headed S to Malletts Bay. At the north end of that bay there's a cliff featuring a peregrine nest, and one of them was flying about.
From Kayak2010
The forecast was forDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-83705202514386734252010-05-25T09:45:00.000-04:002010-05-25T09:45:07.610-04:00Malletts BayI got a short notice call from Sam Sunday. He was in the Islands, looking for a paddle on the way home. Winds forecast for South 15-20 kt. Waves should be good around the mouth of the Winooski, but a little complicated to give directions over the phone. Malletts Bay is easier to get to and he'd never been there, so that was settled.
With the short fetch (see map) any kind of southerly isn't Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-54055103809890733252010-05-06T09:10:00.001-04:002010-05-06T09:11:23.781-04:00skinboat awareness, excitementThis weekend was the first back in the skin boat. As I was getting ready a tourist lady (guessing, since she was in a group that was taking pictures of each other with the lake in the background) came over and asked if it was a skin on frame. Then last night, as I was strapping the boat on the car someone rode up on a bike and asked if it was a Greenland kayak, and did I use one of those anarakDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-68327919686483988492010-04-11T10:43:00.006-04:002010-04-14T16:17:00.647-04:00Another week, and cold againLast week it was in the 80's. Yesterday started with sleet and snow, but cleared up in time for the paddle.
A stiff onshore breeze left me wondering if a seal landing on the road would work.
Starting at Shelburne Farms and heading north, there was a lot of reflected wave action. Not the most friendly for non-waterproof cameras, but there were a couple of opportunities on the return.Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-23215674041837588592010-04-05T13:10:00.000-04:002010-04-05T13:10:59.335-04:00One week and 60 degrees warmerStrong south winds, so what we were breathing was probably in Carolina a couple of days earlier. 80+ degrees and sunny though the water is still in the mid 30's.
5 of us showed at Ferrisburg town beach and headed south before crossing to the NY side The Palisade on split rock mountain had this waterfall, good for a cool-off.
The waterfall water was somewhat warm, but the lake is Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-26313590257609461362010-03-27T18:32:00.000-04:002010-03-27T18:32:28.727-04:00More signs of springChives are up, and Molokai racers come out to train. It's still below freezing though.
Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-85202434447407237512010-03-17T08:46:00.000-04:002010-03-17T08:46:20.273-04:00Happy St. Patty's DayA few years ago I was making pancakes and had no buttermilk, so looking in the fridge, blueberry yogurt was the closest substitute. The blueberry juice and yellow cornmeal combined to make green, to the amusement of all. We did a repeat of that for St. Patrick's day, and have ever since.
Today I had them with some just-made maple syrup from the backyard tree.
Some maple trivia:
Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-8170543091664195132010-03-14T13:47:00.000-04:002010-03-14T13:47:31.448-04:00Signs of springThe sap is running
3 trucks/cars fell through the ice on Schroon Lake.
People who've been skiing and ice biking all winter showed up to paddle.
Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-594077436703545872010-03-08T09:03:00.001-05:002010-03-08T09:07:09.709-05:00WHere's my sap?Freezing nights, 40 degree days. That should be ideal for sugaring, but I tapped my one maple tree and the hole is totally dry. Consolation prize... also great paddling weather.
This has been the least frozen winter I've seen. We haven't had to go far afield to find open water at all this winter. Oakledge is the closest of our normal summer launch points and was looking pretty Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-53711988110441964722010-02-13T08:11:00.000-05:002010-02-13T08:11:55.544-05:00America's CupNo kayaking likely this week. One of the regulars is sick, another has to work. There is a pool session tonight, but I'm going to see the Capitol Steps.
Meanwhile, the America's cup series is going on now in Valencia. 2 multihulls, both roughly 100 feet long. Apparently both teams have spent more on lawyers than the boats. Can't we all just get along?
Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34028815.post-35177326863937769292010-01-31T12:26:00.000-05:002010-01-31T12:26:40.379-05:00More pool
Another pool session this week. Have to get back out in the lake!
The people that wanted to learn to roll sea kayaks did come this week. While they were learning some stretches I got to use Dave's stealth roller (pictured below.) Maple roll worked well, and did a few hand rolls. Back in my own boat I worked on various off side things, upside down paddline, and managed to get a few breaths Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04472848930999735814noreply@blogger.com2