The Iceman Gone!

So the ice is gone. I should be able to get onto the lake on Monday. It looks beautiful. A little choppy, but no whitecaps. Sail on Kayak Dreamer!

A Story About Walking & Paddling

It is a warm 13C/55.4F degrees in eastern Ontario this afternoon. Clear and sunny with the wind 16km/9mph out of the SE.


My walk was 5.6km/3.5mi. It took me just over one hour. It was 5,705 steps and I burned 417 calories. Very invigorating and head clearing.


I also drove down to Lower Rideau Lake to see that it is still covered in ice. The Tay River is open, but I did not have anybody to file a float plan with so I'm here at home instead.


Patience my friend, patience. There is still snow on the ground and although it is melting. The lake will not be clear for paddling until after all the snow on the ground is gone.
However we are supposed to receive a substantial mount of rain in the next couple of days so that should help turn the ice to liquid.
It has been 30 days since I posted the hope that 30 days hence the ice would have melted! It seems to be par for this very long, severe winter. At least the Great Lakes froze over more this year than in the last 20 years, so that will raise the water levels. Superior already has displayed higher levels in 2013. Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario should have significantly higher levels this year as a result of the freeze over.




Last year I successfully completed the Paddle Canada Basic Skills Kayak Course, click on: now.
Eighty days from now will be the Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Level 1 Skills Course. Here is a link to the Paddle Canada course outline.


This year I will conduct my kayak trips using the correct procedures.
I will file a float plan.
I will carry a first aid kit.
I will carry an emergency kit comprised of flares, etc.
I will plot my course on charts using the compass to establish bearings and back bearings.
I will carry enough food and water and gear for an unexpected night put-in.


Some of these things I learned last year in the FW course and some I have been learning from books and video in anticipation of this years course.


I remember very much the two lessons from last years trips, namely:


1) Spending an unplanned night in a raging thunderstorm on the isthmus between South Otter Lake and Doe Lake.
2) Paddling to Port Elmsley and ending up in Poonamalie by mistake.


It is not a question of will 'something' happen, it is an understanding that 'something' will happen! And I need to be ready.


So I will not be making the trip to northern Georgian Bay this summer. I do not have the required experience yet. I would have been making the trip with another kayaker with more experience than myself. But that is not the intention.
Next year after completing the Sea Kayak Level 2 Skills Course, here, I will be ready for that trip.


The reading/learning that I have been doing these past number of months are clear. Sound judgement requires one to operate at the current skill level ... not gamble our lives or safety, or that of others, by taking chances. 


So instead I am planning a trip after the Level 1 course. It will be from Rideau Ferry to Kingston and back. That will be a trip that I am confident about the conditions. 


So this is the end of this episode of the story, the journey, the dream.

Into The Single Digits

It is a beautiful sunny morning here in this part of eastern Ontario. The temp is finally into the single digits again at -7 degrees Celsius/19.4 Fahrenheit, yay!
It is forecast to reach a high of +1 or 2C for the next couple of days.
There may be a few nights of minus's in the double digits, but within the week, both day and night temps will be in the single digits!
So I am encouraged. Maybe the lakes will become liquid within the next 30 days or so.


First of let me link you to Alaskagraphy. Bixler and Krystin are Alaska sailboat sailors who enjoy going on hiking, fishing and hunting trips on their sailboat. They also have made a couple of good quality movies of some adventure trips in Alaska.
If you are sensitive to fishing and hunting, this may not be for you.  The fish they catch and the bears they shoot end up on the dinner plate.
This is the first one, about an hour long; Boats, Beaches & Bears 5 Months Sailing In The Last Frontier.
It is excellent viewing and learning fare.


I am still practicing the compass and chart navigation. To assist me in that effort, I recently purchased a book titled Sea Kayak Navigation Simplified by Lee Moyer for around $18.00. It is very clear and simple.


Time to start checking out the camping and kayak gear. I'll be ready!
More than likely my first trip will be down the Tay River to Beveridges Lock and into the Rideau System at Beveridges Bay. It is convenient at least. The Tay River is less than a block away from my front door. I can put in there conveniently without having to use the car even. Maybe a one nighter or two.


Dream, live the dream.

The Lakes Are ...

... Well, they are still frozen! Patience, Jebb ... patience!


It is going to be an excellent season! I'm going to fish from the kayak this year.
This year my formal kayak education will consist of the Paddle Canada Level 1 Skills weekend. Then of course there are the kayak/camp trips too. More kayaking during cottage week too.


So I have been checking out some water adventure & outdoor vid's at You Tube to keep the dream stoked.
Here is a link to a really good sailing site by Bixler & Krystin:


http://alaskagraphy.wordpress.com/


They also have some very good video's at You Tube of their adventures sailing, fishing, hiking and hunting up in Alaska.


My "Mike Poliszuk" You Tube site has a number of subscriptions to boating, camping and outdoor fun video's.


I was down at Lower Rideau Lake again yesterday. The ice fisher's are enjoying the long fishing season this year. Some of the huts have started coming off of the lake.


So still dreaming about kayaking, camping, fishing and water and stuff.


Ciao for now,


Mike.

Welcome Aboard!

It is so energizing to watch a dream become reality.


One of my goals since last July has been to find or develop a paddling partner or group. It has been a concern to me, that except for the courses I took, I haven't paddled with anybody who has more experience than myself.


So I updated my Goodreads account the other day to indicate that I had read: A Paddler's Guide To Killarney and the French River by Kevin Callen. That prompted a good acquaintance of mine to make me aware that he also had three of Callen's books. 
Now I knew that Dave did have a sailboat at one time. Dave has a proven track record as an adventurer. It turns out he also has a couple of kayaks, as well camping gear.


What makes him unique is that he has extensive outdoor/survival experience. Previously he has had careers with the police department and with armed forces in an international hotspot.


So him and I are planning a kayak/camping trip to Northern Georgian Bay for 9 nights in early July.


And when stuff starts happening on Georgian Bay, I couldn't ask for a better survivor, a better soldier to be with.
He can be counted on!


Philip Edward Island is crown land. It costs nothing to camp there. It is also an immediate safe haven because when the water on Georgian Bay turns wild, it offers a nearby water exit.


I can hardly wait. The weekend before our trip I will complete the PC Level 1 Kayak Skills course. To follow that up with an 11 day trip really will be fun, a wonderful experience!
Even better, now I won't have to do it alone. That length of time on Georgian Bay will be a challenge of sorts. It certainly is an "envelope pusher" for me.
Later in the year I will do a three night solo trip to be followed by two other overnight trips of one or two nights each. Perhaps Dave and I can partner up if our schedules allow. 


The experience this year will be invaluable for next year's trip to Lake Superior!

Brittany Kayaking

This is really cool! It shows capsizes, rescues, a failed roll or two ... I can relate to that!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGvoLrADm_s

Enjoy!

Frozen Out

Winter is here. For the next six days it will be minus double digits Celsius.
The lakes were frozen days ago and this cold spell will freeze the rivers as well.

Still it was a good first kayak season for me.
I was able to average 10 times on the water per month. My last time on the lake was November 17. Life has been good and busy as usual.
I achieved my goal ... I successfully rolled the kayak ... twice!
My research enabled me to find a practice routine that works. The routine is the paddle float technique. It requires attaching the paddle float to the paddle and practicing the "hip flip". Paying special attention to not raise the head while executing the move.

So now I will concentrate on a camping trip or two over the winter. If I can do two trips I will be happy. Of course, Frontenac Provincial Park is  must. Maybe Mew Lake at Algonquin Park. Mew Lake is car camping or yurt camping. Frontenac is hiking in ... no car camping unless you walk at least a mile and a half back to the car.
My winter camping at Kingsford Lake taught me well: after dark, stay put.
Of course if there is a group of you, that makes a difference. The problem is finding people with the desire, experience and equipment to camp in sub zero weather. I think I will try out the winter sleeping bag in the car first, this week. In the parking lot.
It is going to be minus 18 or thereabouts for the next week or so. A good time to check it out.

The thing about Frontenac is that both times I camped there in the winter, the park belonged to me and the coyotes and the Canada Goose. I was the only human in the 14,000 acre piece of heaven.
To be precise, at the time I had a wonderful girlfriend so I wasn't entirely alone.

 The similarity between camping by yourself and kayaking is this: Risk Management & Planning.

My three night kayak camping trip to Doe Lake this past summer was the first time I had ever camped alone. It was the first time  I had kayaked alone as well, because it was only the second time in my life I had kayaked. On the way home from Doe Lake I had a three hour kayaking adventure on Devils Lake.

Solo kayaking, from a safety standpoint is not ideal but it takes time to find and establish a kayak community. It takes time to get involved.
I accomplished  some important skills in four months. Especially the rescues. That was the bulk of my time on the water. Even though it was solo, it was very productive as far as self rescue is concerned.

I gained experience. The most valuable lesson I learned on my kayak camping trip is this: things will go wrong. Events will occur that will demand good judgement. There will be significant challenges.

I loved every second of it.

So kayaking is on hold until the thaw. Hopefully I will establish some contacts.