Traditional Paddlers Gathering Registration is now OPEN!

Space is limited so sign up now at our website!

extra, extra, read all about it...

The St. Cloud Times just did a quick little article on the Greenland Kayaking demo/clinic that we are running this Sunday. Check it out... here.

i (heart) kayaking.

Sometimes (okay a lot of times), between the planning, the teaching, the promoting, and yes even politicking involved with kayaking, I start to wonder where the fun went. When I first started in this sport, I took my little rec kayak out on the local Wisconsin lakes and rivers several times a week and just paddled. My form was terrible, my paddle was heavy, but my heart was light. Arm paddling along at a couple miles an hour, I was having the best time in my life. Now, my schedule each year is filled with kayaking commitments that often come with the weight of responsibility and I worry that at some point will kayaking lose it's appeal to me. I've found myself in the uncomfortable position of being an instructor when more often than not I'd much rather be the student. I alternate between feeling confident and proud of what I've accomplished in this sport and feeling inadequate both as a paddler and as a coach.

With all that said, some days (like today), I wake up, see the sun shining, and in my heart I know that I love kayaking. That is all.

Tripping…

As I am starting to get ready for my first sea kayaking trip of the season, I am realizing very quickly that I’m extremely out of practice. I don’t know what to bring, how to pack it and if my new kayak will even hold everything I need. I’ll have to dig up my old packing lists from a couple years ago to make sure I’ve got everything covered. I guess like everything else, packing and preparing for a trip is a skill that takes practice to maintain.

I’m heading up to the Apostle Islands this Friday for a season opener weekend with some local friends (including Ron S, Ron O, and Chris G) and I’m really looking forward to it. Last year was unexpectedly busy and I actually only saw the Apostle Islands from an instructor capacity and actually didn’t due ANY kayak camping at all. Add to the fact that it will be pretty cold up there and I need to bring bulky winter gear and the worries start.

Thankfully my paddling companions are all experienced kayak campers and I’m sure they’ll be patient with my bumbling. I am thrilled to be able to test my Nordkapp LV laden with gear for the first time as I think it will be rock solid.

Thanks to Ron S. of Novorca Paddles for helping me install my kayak compass this weekend and also helping me repair my Greenland paddle which proudly bears the scars of many miles.

Is it bad that I’m feeling cold already just thinking about setting up camp and stuff up on the Apostles? I’m such a wimp.

It’s finally spring!

It’s finally spring! It definitely was a long time coming and I’m definitely looking forward to another active summer. Besides the whitewater/sea kayaking/greenland style kayaking stuff, I’m going to be working on improving my tennis game as well as biking more (road and mountain). Heck, I’m even doing some less traditional sports such as giving archery a try tomorrow and I’m taking badminton lessons for a couple months with the S.O. (who’s really good already).

Midwest Mountaineering had their whitewater demo day on the Vermillion last Saturday which was a ton of fun. It was my first time on moving water since last fall and although I was a bit rusty, I started to remember some things by the end of the day. The water levels were a little low but both Railroad Hole and Donut Hole were great for surfing. The above picture was taken by Nora and it’s me attempting to surf Donut in a Jackson Hero which is a river-runner/creeker. It’s a fun boat although my Allstar is much better suited for surfing/spinning.

I’m also sporting my new NRS Mission drysuit featuring the much hyped eVent fabric. It claims to be several times more breathable than Goretex which is a tough claim to quantify outside of a laboratory setting. I did work up quite a sweat that day on the river and stayed nice and dry. It’s by far the most comfortable drysuit that I’ve ever worn and the material is nice and soft. NRS did a lot of smart things including reinforcing areas that see particular wear (I appreciated the Cordora reinforced seat and fabric reinforced knees as I was slipping and sliding down the path to the river). What they also included were suspenders in the drysuit itself which holds the suit up nicely particularly when taking a break and you have the top of the suit down. Overall it’s a very well thought out suit and I’m impressed and happy with it. We’ll have to see how it wears over the upcoming months.

Looking forward to these next couple of months it looks to be pretty busy. In order I have an early season Apostle Islands trip with the Rons (Ron O and Ron S), the Midwest Mountaineering Expo, a Greenland style kayaking talk/demo/rolling clinic at St. Cloud State (here's the flyer), Kettle River Paddlefest, teaching at Canoe-U, surfing at Sturgeon Falls in Canada, Canoe-U graduation weekend, continual planning for the Traditional Paddlers Gathering (registration open May 1st)… whew!

Traditional Paddlers Gathering website now up!

Thanks to my co-organizer Chris Gmeinder for his hard work designing this site. Fundraiser t-shirts are now available for sale on the website so please support our event!

Remember, registrations open on May 1st and we anticipate that we'll be filling up our event very quickly so keep an eye on that date!

http://www.qajaqmn.org/

Fundraiser T-shirt for Traditional Paddlers Gathering

Although it is still over half a year away, I've been busy working on plans for the Traditional Paddlers Gathering which will be held near Akeley, MN on Sep 5-7, 2008. We have affiliated with Qajaq USA this year and we are lucky this year to have some of the top greenland style coaches in the country coming to Minnesota to work with us. To help offset some of the travel costs of these wonderful mentors, we'll be selling Northern Lights Qajaq Society t-shirts in the upcoming months. I have my order in with the printers and hopefully we'll have a website up and running soon where we can start selling some fundraiser shirts, but here's a sneak peak. The website will be http://www.qajaqmn.org/ once it's up and running. (The shirts are going to be printed on high quality Hanes Beefy Tees for that extra softness that we all love.)

Many thanks go to Jo Hamilton for her wonderful artwork. :)