Rootsicles?

Belated post describing a Jan 18 trip....

I went out on my own on a cold, but not windy, Sunday. I wore the farmer john, hydroskin top, and splash jacket together for the first time. The temperature was in the low 40's to start with an expected high of 45F. I wore a thin wool cap to keep my ears warm. While the neoprene wasn't restrictive per se, it was a little binding as I was twisting my torso during my paddle stroke. I wondered if I was going to be chafed around the armpits when I was down. As it turns out, I didn't notice any. About halfway through the paddle, the clouds cleared earlier than forecast and the temperature started to rise to 50F. I shed the cap first, then the splash jacket, and just sweat through the rest of it.

Big lesson learned on this trip is - don't forget the camera! As I'm paddling around I notice icicles on roots in some spots that are north-facing. Most are scalloped out spots where the water has washed out dirt under moss or root supported ground. There are also icicles forming from water dripping out along clay layers in the soil. Really neat. Really wish I'd brought the camera to get some pictures.

Little lesson learned - the wetsuit outfit will be just fine for temperatures in the 30's or when I think I can get wet when the water's cold. The winter so far has been either really cold, or rather warm; not many highs in the 30's.

Several 1st's Today

Today was ...

• first road trip for a paddle
  
• first highway speeds for kayaks on our truck
• first group paddle with folks from the Catawba Cruisers (Lake Wylie, Rock Hill SC and downstream)
  
• first time using a mailing group to meet up with folks
• first time on Mountain Island Lake

We met Ray, Dorothy, Mike, and Andy at the North Canoe Access in the Latta Plantation Preserve - hooking up via the Google-based paddling group that Jeff pointed me to in a comment on an earlier post. I was stressing out due to rain the night before preventing us from loading the boats on the truck on Saturday and bullet point #2. We had to do everything that morning. The 7am alarm wasn't enough lead time for us to leave at the desired 8:30am. We made the 9am real deadline and arrived at the put-in at 10am. The group was already in the water and waiting to see if we'd make it. Fortunately, nothing went awry on the road. I would have been more than a little annoyed if the straps on this fancy rack get-up weren't tight enough to keep a kayak from going airborne at 70 mph.

Conversation on the water went very well. Everyone was relaxed and having a nice time. Andy, Mike, Kathleen, and I had all bought boats in the last few months. And Ray and Dorothy had multiple boats apiece! We went west and south on the lake then east towards (and up) Gar Creek. I was surprised by the number and size of big rocks on the shore and IN the water. Mountain Island Lake seems somewhat bigger than Moss Lake but less developed. Here are some of the pictures taken - for hopefully, just the first of many trips with this group. It was cloudy, so the pictures are on the dark side. By the way, Kathleen can't wait for her splash pants to arrive tomorrow. She's sick and tired of carrying beach towels to cover her lap.

Ray in his red Dagger Atlantis (a 17 footer), Kathleen, Dorothy in her recycled plastic Old Towne Cayuga 110.

Mike and Andy - notice their excellent taste in kayak manufacturer. Necky Manitou's dominated the day's paddle: Mike in a Sport, Andy in a 14 (footer), and me in a 13 (footer).

Big rocks on the shore.

What look like little rocks - but this is out in the middle of the freakin' water!

A beaver almost did this tree in. Another Hugo and this one's a goner.

UPDATE (Jan 13): A friend of mine has a self-described "money pit" on the cove to Gar Creek. He crushed my fantasy by saying the water here is actually quite shallow so those rocks, in the water, aren't quite as magnificent as I thought.

More (and better) pictures by Ray and Dorothy.

Garage Storage Racks

Another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place ... long term storage of the kayaks in the back of our garage. Our previous location, on our covered back porch, was neither esthetically pleasing nor stable. The two kayaks, 12ft and 13ft, sorta fit under/alongside our 24ft rowing shell. But Kathleen's Pungo 120 was just leaning up against the shell supported by a hair, almost. A good wind and it was pushed right over. Now ... here we go!

These are from Suspenz Kayaks. I found them via paddling.net. They're more expensive than plain old J-cradles available at the local stores, but much better engineered in proportion to the higher price. If the J-cradles were $30-40/pair, I might have been tempted. $69 vs $99? No way! I was able to adjust the strap and bottom bracket after taking the picture, so the kayaks hang better now. The trick now will be to NEVER EVER bring the cars in too far.