Ah, yes. The joys of kayaking. What was it Kednneth Grahame, the
author of the Wind in the Willows once wrote: “There is nothing — absolute NOTHING — half so much worth doing as simply
messing-about in boats.” So true. What Grahame should have added is how much better it can be when messing about in
boats, to be in Mexico. Cases of Corona about $5, fish taco stands, fresh mangos for a nickel. The Times
has a piece about
paddling in San Felipe, down the ribbon of baja California. This is an old haunt of mine, so I was glad to see
the article. San Felipe is one of those classic baja towns, small dusty, a bit sleazy, but the kind of place you can
blow a week doing nothing. Nothing but the enjoyment of kayaking, beer and fish tacos.
“Stitch and Glue” Kayak Project
A guy who lives in Bremen, Indiana, decided to build his own kayak (or “yak” as he
calls it) and seems to be having good luck with it so far,
according
to a South Bend Tribune article. His “stitch and glue” kit which he used to build his kayak includes:
The wooden frame is African mahogany, covered with fiberglass and several coats of resin, held together by resin
and some intricate wire stitching.
He has hit a number of local kayaking hot spots without sinking so far. One addition he still feels he needs to make
however, according to the article, is to install a cup holder for his coffee. I can dig that.
Kayaking the Oman Coastline
Mark Evans is a pretty adventurous guy by most counts. He has been to the North Pole on camping trips and kayaked in
some pretty frigid waters around the coast of
Northern Svalbard. Now he has turned his sights
to the Middle East and is currently kayaking around Oman, a country
he has already visited multiple times. Evan’s total trip, which will take several months, is around 1,700 kilometers.
His support team is keeping up with details on his journey, tracking his daily mileage on a map of the Oman coast, as
well as uploading the latest photos and messages from Evans. While the details of his journey, which started Dec. 16,
are sparse at this point it still looks like a great ongoing adventure to check in on now and again.
Paddling with Lewis and Clark
It was pretty much one of the greatest adventure sports
expeditions of all time. It’s been written about in books and articles ad nauseum, and several
films have been made (though none yet starring Kevin Costner), but here
nonetheless is a dandy little
online article
about the famous Lewis And Clark expedition. This trip takes a slightly different tack in that it focuses on paddling
sections of the Missouri River where L&C navigated in unwieldy pirogues.
Of course, if boating is not your thing, then you might take a look at the Lewis and Clark
Trail site, which features a fairly detailed description of the trail and it’s
history. It’s probably far too cold now (though a little snow didn’t stop L&C), but hiking the L&C trail has
long been a goal, and so now could be a good time to take a look at the trail and start planning for summer.
Paddling Around California’s State Parks
Could you see yourself paddling through the California state park pictured on the right? It
happens to be called Big River State Park and
is one of several parks mentioned in a recent article by the
California State Parks Foundation on great places to paddle in the Golden State.
Other parks highlighted as excellent locations include
Delta Meadows,
Morro Bay State Park and the
Salton Sea State Recreation Area. The Salton Sea location
in particular looks to be promising – located in the desert region, this landlocked body of salt water offers a 14 mile
“kayak trail” which kayakers can follow along the shoreline to one of two special kayak camps equipped with showers and
kayak racks. On this particular body of water, which abounds with millions of birds during the winter, the kayak
becomes the perfect birdwatching location.