Kayak Skeleton

The skeleton of my new kayak is complete.  Actually, this is just the mold of the new kayak.  The forms will be removed after the deck and hull are formed.  I think everything is ready to start stripping the kayak.  I'm trying a new technique with stripping this kayak.  I've used a router to bead and cove the edges of the cedar strips, which should help them fit into place.  Previously, I've used a plane to fit the edges together.  The bead and cove should make the stripping part go much faster.

This is the first cedar strip kayak I've build so I want to take my time getting it set up.  I know the deck and hull are build separately, but I'm not sure how the deck and the hull will fit together.  I have the general idea, but I also know the devil is in the details.  I'm not sure how closely the deck and hull have to match or what some of the potential problems might be when trying to fit them together.  However, I've built enough different kinds of boats to feel confident that I will figure it out when the time comes. 

New Kayak

I am at last free from my burden of building a new patio, and ready to start a new kayak.  A friend gave me some old street paving bricks that his grandfather collected after the Cleveland World Fair in the 1930s.  I could not pass up such a find!  This was a very time consuming project that I've been working on since mid summer.  At last I am free!

I bought the plans for the Gullimot L, which is an 18 foot long cedar strip kayak.  I am tall, and this model seems to have more leg room than most of the other kayaks plans I've seen.  It should also weight about 41 pounds when done.  I plan to start cutting out the forms this weekend.

My plan is to position the cockpit so that the kayak will be balanced on my shoulders, and I can portage the kayak on my shoulders when necessary.  I have a solo 45 pound canoe that I can comfortably portage on my shoulders for a half a mile, and uncomfortably up to about a mile or more.  The kayak I brought on this years trip weighed about 66 or 67 pounds.  It was just too heavy to portage very far.  It was also too heavy for my portage wheels, which bent and finally broke.

I'm going to try to finish the kayak by May 2013 so that I can do a test run in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota at that time.  This year's NFCT trip taught me that portaging a kayak can be fairly easy if you have all of your gear in small dry bags that can be easily transferred into a large Duluth pack for transport.  I have some ideas for making portage wheels for my next NFCT through paddle.   

Catastrophic Failure

I forget to mention that just before taking my kayak off the wheels to load it on my truck, they failed catastrophically.  Since I would not have a reason to ever put them back on the kayak, I decided to see if I could figure out why they were so wobbly.  As I was moving them around to find the slack, a bolt broke and the entire system fell apart.  I had put very little pressure on the wheels.  They would never have made even one more portage before failing.  I am incredibly shocked to have the good fortune of having this failure 10 feet from my truck and not on a portage someplace.  Had this happened on a portage, I would have had great difficulty in getting back.  This reinforced my idea on having a kayak that is easier to portage on your shoulders. 

It also reinforced my instinct of leaving the NFCT until I have a better portage system.  My instinct told me that it was not safe doing a solo trip with a questionable portage system.  There are too many other potential problems that will require a functional portage system.  In the event of severe weather, injury, or illness, I would need to move quickly and with as little difficulty as possible.  I could not do this with my current portage system.

Portage system before failure

Portage system after Failure

Lessons Learned

I did my best to experiment with as many different portage systems before leaving as I could.  I'm not sure that I could have done anything differently in this regard.  This was always the one thing I had the least confidence in.  Maybe it was because this was the only major item I did not build myself.  I certainly live too far away from the NFCT to experiment directly on the trail with new gear.

My kayak weighs 66 pounds and all of my gear including food, water, life jacket, and kayak seat weigh 45 pounds.  When portaging, I put nearly all of my gear in a Duluth Pack usually leaving no more than about 15 pounds in the stern of my kayak.  The gear that I left was only the gear that would be balanced over the the portage wheels.  This apparently is too much weight for the portage system I was using.  What I don't understand is that other people seem to have been portaging similar weights without their portage system failing.

Kayak
I'll build a light weight cedar strip kayak that will give me the option of portaging it on wheels or on my shoulders when the portage trail is rough.  I did not have that option on this trip. Due to the length of the portages, my only option was to portage my kayak on wheels.  I'm going to build the kayak with a cockpit shaped and balanced to be used as a portage yoke. 

I believe kayaks are safer and faster on the water, but harder to portage.  They are less vulnerable to the wind and waves than solo canoes.  If I can get the cockpit shaped and balanced correctly, I might be able to design a kayak that is almost as easy to portage as a canoe. 

Cart
I'm likely going to build a cart with the following features:

• Fits under the middle of my kayak so that it takes less effort to hold up one end.
• Has a bracket that fits over the kayak which will help keep the kayak and cart in alignment.
• Has very large diameter wheels that can go over rocks and roots.
• Is sturdier than the commercially available carts.
• Can be folded and strapped to the back of my kayak.

I also want to experiment with pulling the cart rather than the kayak.  Maybe there is a reason the commercially available middle carts that I've seen seem to be designed to be pulled by the kayak rather than being pulled directly.  It seems like if the cart is pulled rather than the kayak, there is no way the wheels can become skewed when hitting a rock.  It also seems like it would be easier to get the cart and kayak over larger rocks and roots because you would be pulling up as well as forward.

Days 7 & 8 - Journey Home and Back Again

Since I have no car, I decided to take a bus home to get my truck instead of waiting until next weekend when Anne can pick me up.  The lady at the motel was nice enough to let me keep my kayak at her motel for the weekend.

The bus ride was a fun and crazy experience.  You always meet interesting people on the bus.  One of the tricks of bus riding is to always look at who is sitting behind you.  I forgot this basic fact when selecting a seat from Albany.  I sat in front of a young woman with her three year old son because the seat next to me was open.  To her credit, she tried to control her son.  One of the techniques she used was to threaten to have to police put her son in jail when ever he did not listen.  She would pick up her cell phone, and pretend to talk to the police.  She would descibe her son's behavior, and tell the police to come and get him.  This was actually kind of effective especially when coupled with a few smacks.

She got off in Rochester, NY.  A schizophrenic man took the seat behind me around this time.  I heard him talking to the woman he was sitting next too.  He was living in Boston, I think.  He said he lost everything and was eating out of a garbage can.  He also said he was 58 years old and never married.  He was going back to live in his home state of Indiana.  The woman next to him moved or got off the bus, but he remained talking.  Actually, it was mostly muttering.  He was mutter something about "scumbags" and would often break into laughter.  At one point, he caughed on me, and I had to yell at hm to cover his mouth.  He was very appologetic about that incident.

I arrived back in Cleveland around 3:30 AM on Saturday morning.  My sister picked me up from the bus station, and took me home.  Speaking of bus stations, the one in Cleveland was awful.  It was very dirty.  After seeing the restroom, I decided it was best not to get anything to eat there.

I slept a few hours, woke, and was back on the road by about 9:15 AM.  I had to go back and pick up my kayak and gear in Saranac Lake.  That trip was mostly uneventful.  I was listening to "Journey to the Center of the Earth".  I need to look up when that book was writen.  It was fun listening to the description of geology.  I'm going to guess that based on the description of the geologic time periods and fossils, the book was written around the middle of the 1800s.

After that book ended, I started to listen to Jack Karroac's "On the Road".  It was interesting to hear about life in the late 1940s.

I finally got home the second time around 2:00 AM after nearly driving 1,000 miles.

Day 6 - Dilemma

My current portage system is bent and wobbly.  Is my kayak too heavy for it?  I do not know.  I thought that my kayak weighs about 55 pounds, but I think it might be heavier.  I can portage a 55 pound canoe very comfortably 200 rods (~3,300 feet).  I can not portage my kayak on my shoulders for more than about a quarter mile without strain and pain where the kayak rests on my shoulders.

I talked to the outfitter in town.  He has no suggestions.  If I understood him correctly, he helped design the portage system that I am currently using.  He sells the same brand of end cart along with some middle carts like the one that I already tried.

According to the map, I might have more portages along the next 63 miles than anywhere else on the NFCT.  Unless I can scout the rapids before running them, I intend to portage the 8 to 10 miles or so of Class 2 water.  While I should have no difficulty in running them, I tend to be a conservative paddler.  I do not take any unnecessary chances.  While portaging this section will be difficult, the consequenses of mis-reading a rapid can be catestrophic.  With a good portage system and a downward sloping dirt road, I would not have a problem with this portage.

OK, so here's my problem.  Do I buy something that already has proven not to work in the long run, buy something over the internet that I have yet to try, or re-think my entire system?

I am not going to buy something that already failed.  My best guess is that it was not a defective portage system, but that my kayak and gear are too heavy for it.

I am also not going to buy something online, and then take it on the next section without trying it.  What I would do is buy it, have it shipped to the motel, and try it out on the portages around Saranac Lake.  This will take several days, and would effectively end my chances of reaching the end of the NFCT in the time I have remaining.

I decided to end my trip here, build a new light weight kayak (and possibly even a portage system), and re-start my NFCT trip in a year or two.  I enjoy building boats as much as using them.  I wanted to build a light weight cedar strip kayak for this trip, but did not have time.  I think I could build a new kayak that weighs somewhere between 40 and 45 pounds, and I have some ideas to design it to be portagable on my shoulders.  I do not have that option with this kayak.

Day 5 - Raquette River Falls to Saranac Lake Town

I just experienced a new kind of hell today, but before i get into that, let me first describe the beauty of the day.

I was up early, and on the water by a little after 7:00 AM this morning. It was a beautiful morning. Most of my stuff dried over night. The Raquette River is spectacularly beautiful. It was a quit mostly bug free morning. The bug was more interested in mating than in eating me. I could see thousands if not millions of bugs hovering over the stream. A few had mates. Most were still looking for a mate I suppose.

The current was going in my direction, which made paddling a leisurely experience.

My concern was missing Stony Creek.  Stony Creek enters Raquette River. The map says that it enters just after log cribbing. I could not keep track of my position along the stream. I had a sense of my speed and distance to Stony Creek so all I knew was an approximate time that I should be there. The map scale was too large to keep track of my position along the stream. I found Stony Creek just after the log cribbing were the map said it would be.

Stony Creek was amazing! It was a maze of stream channels. I watched for the stream flow to pick out the main channel from all of the dead ends. Following the strongest current was the only way to find the right channel. The dead ends mostly looked just like the main channel.

Stony Creek meandered wildly back and forth. With each bend, I had to completely stop and turn. I lost momentum and had to spend extra energy starting forward motion again. The beauty of this section was worth the effort.

I arrived at Indian Carry portage just before 10:00 AM. This is a 1.1 mile portage with 0.4 miles on a rough trail. The remainder follows a dirt road to the put-in. The map says this is doable with a cart, which is mostly correct. Except it was not what I was able to do. This is where the hell really began.

The wheels on my cart are loose and floppy.  I have no tools.  The cart frame is bent and maybe something with the wheel axis also bent. The wheels either point down and in toward the center of the kayak effectively reducing the distance between the wheels or they point up and inward causing the wheels to rub on the kayak sides. They also seem to become skewed in another way causing them to drag.

I met a woman on the portage with an extremely light canoe and gear. She said that the outfitter by the tennis courts in Saranac Lake are very experienced, and should be familiar with the problems people are having by this time on the NFCT.

It took nearly two hours to do this relatively easy portage. I was so exhausted when I finally reached the end that I had to rest at lease another 30 minutes before moving. What happened is that when the wheels turned inward, any bump on the trail caused my kayak to flip over. I was having this problem on the Raquette River portage too. My kayak might turn over every 5 feet or it might take 50 feet. It never took more than 50 feet even when taking it very very slow unless I put the bow under my arm and physically wrestled the kayak upright when it wanted to flop over. This was exhausting! `

I had taken my pack and all of my gear to the gravel road on the second half of the portage. I expected most of the hard part to be over once I reached this point. Instead, it became even harder. Now the wheels flopped inward rubbing against the kayak. I tried several times to get them straight, but to no avail. I ended up mostly dragging the kayak to the put-in having to take several breaks during the portage.

I don't know which direction the wheels flopped was more difficult. I also did seem to be able to control their direction of flopping..

I made it to the put-in utterly and completely exhausted. I could barely move at this point. I filtered some water, hydrated, ate some lunch, and rested for the paddle ahead. I finally moved on when some teenagers came by with big dry packs. It looked like they were out on an over night canoe trip, but I did not see their canoes.  I wanted to get out of their way.  I supposed that others were portaging them or they intended to go back for their canoes..

It was a fairly short paddle to the Bartlett Carry portage. A map with more detail would have helped with navigating this section, but it wasn't that hard to find either. With larger scale maps, many more than 14 maps would be needed to navigate the NFCT.

The Bartlett Carry portage should have been super easy. It was not. I had to drag my kayak uphill about 0.2 of a mile, and then down a portage path with it constantly wanting to either tip or lock up. Once again, I was exhausted by this portage.

The paddle after this portage was again spectacularly beautiful. It was also very fun kayaking through the locks.   I arrived in the Town of Saranac Lake around 7:00 PM.  The outfitter is closed so I got a motel room a short distance away.  The lady who ran the motel was nice enough to let me park my kayak on her lawn.  I will talk to the outfitter in the morning.

I think I paddled about 26 miles today in spite of the difficult portages.

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=8459M/44.31553N/74.12051W
Saranac Lake

Day 4 - Long Lake to Raquette River Falls

My emotions are up and down today. I started today with the despair of knowing I have some very tough portages that need a kayak yoke, which I do not have. Then, I met a woman who runs an outfitter in Long Lake who helped me figure out a good way to portage my kayak. Later, I went through the experience of dodging thunderstorms on Long Lake and standing under a rock and then later under a tree while it rained and hailed.

The thunderstorms were actually really beautiful.  There is kind of a low mist that develops on the lake, and I like the sound of rolling thunder.  The rolling thunder seems to be caused by lightning inside clouds rather than from lightening striking the ground.

I paddled about 4.5 miles into the town of Long Lake this morning. I thought that my watch said it was 9:30 AM when I woke. There were thunderstorms during the night. I decided to sleep in until they passed. I must have started early than i realized because I was in Long Lake by about 9:30 AM. There was an outfitter near the beach where I parked my kayak.

Stacie ran the outfitter. She was the first outfitter who knew anything about portaging. She just opened three days earlier and was still putting away this year's merchandise. She told me about a portage yoke made for kayaks. It was in a box, but she offered to put it together so I can try it out. She told me to do what I needed in town, and to come back in an hour.

I had breakfast at the local diner. It was fun wandering around town like I did on the AT. I love this part of travel. You meet people and see things you would never see if you were traveling by car.

When I went back to the outfitter, Stacie had the portage yoke assembled and ready to try. It was supposed to fasten onto the cockpit rim, but nothing we did made it stay on. We even tried to put it on after I had the kayak on my shoulders. It would not stay, and it was not able to fit near the kayak balance point. Then I realized that if I turn the kayak around, the cockpit was perfectly shaped as a portage yoke. It was also perfectly balanced. Stacie gave me some foam blocks to slip onto the cockpit to soften the load on my shoulders.

Several thunderstorms came up while I was out on Long Lake. I hid out on a island with no trespassing signs while the first thunderstorm passed. I hid under a very large rock. However, the wind blew the rain into the crevasse where I hid.

I tried to make it to a NFCT lean-to shown on the map before the next thunderstorm arrived. I could see it where it was shown on the map. I kept looking until the thunderstorm was getting close. Then I hid out in the woods for about a half hour as the thunderstorm passed. There was lightning and hail. I did not put my rain jacket hood up when it first started raining. When I did put it up, it was filled with rain so I got soaked in spite of the rain gear. After the thunderstorm passed, I moved on down the lake.

The headwaters of Raquette River was a maze. It was very pretty. Another thunderstorm came through while I was looking for the next lean-to. There were so many channel, and the NFCT map is a large scale map that doesn't show enough detain to pin point your location. I never found this lean-to. However, there was plenty of cover under the trees that covered the channel. I was not the high point and felt less danger than I did on the open lake. I followed the current downstream through the maze of channels. I understand that "Raquette" is French for Racket. They are pronounces the same. The river is named because this maze of channels resembles a tennis racket.

Most of the thunder at this time was rolling thunder that seemed to be limited to the clouds.

I stopped briefly at Deep Hole Lean-to for lunch.

It took two hours to portage the Raquette Falls portage. This is a 1.1 mile portage. The terrain was rough in places. There was also a broken canoe as a warning not to attempt these rapids.

I portaged the kayak on my shoulders part of the way. I carried everything else, and then went back for the kayak. I was able to wheel the kayak slowly. The wheels are kind of loose and wobbly. I think this is the design. I could keep the kayak from tipping only if I held the bow under my arm and kept wrestling it upright. This is very difficult!

I met a NY State DNR guy at the end of the portage trail. We talked about what's to come. The good camping apparently comes to an end soon. He told me a former thru paddler was camping a few miles downstream, and this guy told him the rest of the NFCT sucked. I don't know what that means except maybe it has little camping in places.  We talked about portage systems. 

I think I did about 21 miles today, which isn't bad with all of the t-storm hiding out I did, and also my stop in Long Lake. I have my tent set up under a lean-to to help dry everything out from last night.

I can't write anymore because my head lamp is going out.

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=82zwq/43.97435N/74.42349W
Town of Long Lake

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=83CkX/44.10271N/74.32068W
I think this is my camp site

Day 3 - Raquette Lake to Long Lake

Everything was going great until this last portage. My portage system is not working. I need a portage yoke for this portage. Why do none of the outfitters have portage yokes? Because no one is selling them, I believed the portages did not require them. I can get around rocky portages as long as they are short. The Buttermilk Falls portage was steep and rocky, but I had relatively little difficulty. I portaged my stuff first, and then came back for my kayak. I can pick it up and around the short rocky stuff, which wasn't too much of a problem.

The last portage was way too long for this method. I tried carrying the kayak on my shoulder, but it is too heavy to do that for long. I used the wheels when ever I could. I ended up dragging the kayak along sections without rocks. I need to figure out a different way to portage on these rough terrain portages because my kayak will never make it to the end if there are many more portages like this. I too probably could not take the beating of too many more similar portages either.

I'm going to try to call my friend Paul when I am in the town of Long Lake tomorrow. Maybe he can find a kayak yoke he can have shipped to me somewhere along the trail. I

Anne left around noon to go back home. I miss her. It will be hard to be separated the next few weeks. I'm not sure why I am driven to do trips like this. I know what I am getting myself into. I know that it will take all of my physical and mental strength to see it to the end.

I've been thinking about this trip for years. I've been trying to find someone to go on a very long Boundary Waters trip like from end to end, but I've not been able to find anyone foolish enough to do such a thing. So here I am! I've been thinking about this trip since I first heard of the NFCT a few years ago.

The paddle through Raquette Lake and Forked Lake was beautiful! These are very pretty lakes. There are fewer people out on them, and the portages are easy. My portage system worked wonderfully. I would pull up to the shore, get out, attach my kayak wheels, remove some gear, and just walk to the next put-in. How crazily easy is that??? I could not imagine such ease of portaging. 

This is my first day alone. Unlike the AT, I do not expect to meet many people along the way with whom to kayak. At best, I expect to talk to a few people along the way.

I did 18.5 miles today, which is not bad for getting such a late start. It's 9:00 PM so I better go to sleep. I want to be up at 6:00 PM and on the water no later than 7:00 PM. I expect a couple hard portages tomorrow. I will see if my kayak can take the beating. 

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=82MsJ/43.81316N/74.6564W
Today's start

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=82XtC/43.90467N/74.52783W
Very easy 1.5 mile portage

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=82fEA/43.92617N/74.4765W
Camp Site

Update on Joe

Joe is currently in the town of Saranac Lake, NY.  He has been having great difficulty with his portage wheels (despite good results on the first 2 days).  So much so that, given the amount of portaging ahead, he may decide to abort the mission at this point....if he cannot devise a better system.  He is currently evaluating options and his situation, and is staying in a motel in Saranac today. 

Update on Joe's status:  We are guessing that he is either not in an area with Cell coverage; or he has been abducted by jet ski riding aliens...

Day 2 - Enthropy is Real!

Today was another easy 10 miles or so.  I bought the Padde Boy All Terrain end cart portage wheels this morning, and got to try them out on a few portages.  I made a strap that I can loop over my shoulders to keep the kayak weight off my arms.  This works well.  Because this system has wheels with a bracket that fits over your kayak, the wheels do not become skewed when a wheel hits a rock.  I really like this.  What I don't like with an end cart is the weight that you have to support.  I'm bringing a Duluth Pack to pack at least the gear stored in the front hatch on each portage. 

Another thing I like about this portage system is the ease of putting the wheels on and off.  I actually do this while the kayak is still in the water.  The wheels then strap to the deck of my kayak behind the cockpit.  I can feel that the center of gravity is a little higher, but not so much that it is a concern.  I also don't think that I will notice this when I have gear in my kayak.

Anne dropped me off at the town of Inlet this morning.  There were some very pretty lake the trail goes through.  My favorite section of the trail was in Brown something stream.  You put in at the end of a wooden boardwalk.  There was a beaver lodge near the entry point, and a beaver dam just down stream.  I had to exit my kayak to get it over the beaver dam, and I stepped out too far from the dam.  I sank up to my waist. 

I made it to Raquette Lake in early afternoon.  Anne was waiting for me.  She paddled around in the kayak a little.  I bought her a spray skirt as a late b-day present this morning.  The spray skirt fit well, and Anne did fine kayaking.

I talked to a guy doing invasive species work at Lake Raquette.  He just graduated college with a degree in Natural Resource Management.  His job this summer is to try to prevent a species of lake weed from spreading into other lakes.  It is not yet in Lake Raquette.  He told me the name of the invasive lake weed in Raquette, but I do not remember the name.  I showed me what it looks like so I will recognize it when I see it.  He was also telling me about a study project he is working on with Loons.  He has to canoe a lake to record the number and location of loon nests, and then record the number of loon eggs, loon youngsters, and unhatched eggs.  He also has to send egg shell samples back to someplace in Maine.

I'm back in the motel looking at all of my stuff spread out all over the room...order to disorder.  According to the second law of thermo dynamics, I will have to put a lot of energy into organization this evening and tomorrow morning.

I feel very good doing the short sections I've done so far. I feel no soreness or pain. I was feeling a small amount of pain in my left arm yesterday. I was concerned because this is the arm with the torn tendons. However, I was only concerned because of the distance remaining. It was only a small amount of pain. I had no pain at all today until I kayaked several miles, and then the pain was less than it was yesterday. So far so good or am I being lulled into a false sense of security?

http://fms.ws/81cno/43.74521N/74.78256W

 http://fms.ws/81lw7/43.81322N/74.6564W

Day 1 - The Ordeal Begins (Kind of...)

Anne and I drove to Old Forge, NY this morning. We arrived in Old Forge around 4:00 PM, and I put in at the entry point around 4:20 PM. It was a beautiful day to start. The sky was blue and the wind was light and even mostly at my back.   Over all, it was a pretty easy day to start the ordeal.

The water was filled with boats and jet skiers. There were truly scary sections trying to navigate around these people. At one point, a young girl nearly ran into me with her jet ski. It looked like she was only about 12 years old. A young teenage boy was sitting behind her. I had to back paddle hard to avoid a collision. This was mostly my experience through the narrower sections of this portion of the trail.

At least the universe remains safe because my hatred of the jet skier remains unbroken.  For, it is my hatred of the jet skier that is the most powerful force in the universe.  It generates all of the forces that binds the atoms of the universe together.  However, this is mostly a thankless job. I can't remember the last time anyone has come up to me to even acknowledge the hard work that I do daily keeping the universe intact and safe.

There were many large houses this portion of the route.

The water does not feel very cold. There were many water skiers out today. I even saw a few people swimming near the shore. One of my concerns when planning for this trip was water temperature. I wanted to make sure I had warm enough clothes to be able to swim to shore. This doesn't seem to be a problem at least in this portion of the trail.

I felt really good paddling the 10.5 miles today. It felt really easy going. I paddled this distance in almost exactly 3 hours, which makes my cruising speed around 3.5 mph. This is consistent with my speed on Lake Erie.

I see no problems completing the entire trail at this time, but it is still early in the trail.  Many unforeseen things will happen. 

http://fms.ws/8105O/43.71266N/74.96936W

http://fms.ws/8195u/43.75514N/74.79428W

Leaving Home

I'll be on the road by 8:00 AM this morning. I hope to at least get some kayaking in today.  If all goes well, I will be in Fort Kent Maine in about 5 to 6 weeks. A lot can happen in 740 miles. It should be an interesting experience. I suppose that is always the best we can hope with all that we do. Let it be an interesting experience. 

Anne will be with me this weekend, but will not be kayaking. This will really help me make sure I have everything and everything is working before she leaves.

GPS

I did some experiments with the SPOT GPS that I bought for this trip.  It appears that it does not work under tree cover.  It also appears that it might not work if near trees.  I might need to find very open places like lakes in order for the GPS to find a signal to send my position.  This might not always be easy.

Excitement & Apprehension

With just a couple days remaining before I start my trip, I'm feeling both excitement and apprehension.  It will be very nice to be out traveling by kayak.  There is stuff you see when traveling slowly like this that is completely missed when traveling by car even if you stop often.  It is just a different experience. 

I'm also feeling apprehension at the physical and mental difficulty of this trip.  I have done enough wilderness solo canoe and kayak trips to know what to expect.  The wind and weather often turns against you, and I will be pushing myself to the limits of physical endurance on many days.  Being alone for 5 weeks is going to be challenging enough without all of the other potential problems.    

There is also so much that can go wrong.  Taking a rapid the wrong way in a fully loaded kayak can have disastrous consequences.  Being on the open water during thunder storms is one of my greatest fears as is high winds and waves.  There are also so many little things that can happen to your boat during a trip.  I build all of my own canoes and kayaks.  I once followed the fiberglass & epoxy manufacturer's recommendations for materials to build a light canoe only to have nearly catastrophic consequences.  It turned out the recommendations were exactly the opposite of what they should have been.  I bring a boat repair kit so that I can fix nearly anything that is less than a catastrophic failure. 

I'm also going to keep the emergency stuff that I would need to walk to the nearest road with me in a back pack.  That way if I get separated from my kayak, I have the means to walk and / or swim to safety. 

As I mentioned before, I have limited time to do this trip if I intend to stay employed.  I've very grateful that I can take off this time from work.  However, I completely understand that the completion of the NFCT in the time I have will be difficult.  Everything is going to have to work perfectly.  I can't have any weather delays or injuries.  I give myself only a 1 in 3 chance of finishing the trail in the time I have.  If I am close enough to the end, I can probably do another week on the NFCT later in the summer.  However, I am really hoping not to have to do this.

To DO List - May 24th

• Look into other portage carts at the outfitters in Old Forge - I'm still not entirely satisfied with my portaging system.
• Buy river shoes - I have a feeling I might be pulling my kayak through some shallow spots. There are several outfitters in the Adirondacks that should have shoes.
• Buy a couple more waterproof containers for gear that needs to stay dry.  I bought a $250 notebook computer that is very small and should allow easy Internet access while in towns.  i should be able to buy something in the Adirondacks.
• Lay out my gear and check my canoeing checklist to see if I'm missing anything.  I hope to have time to do lay everything out this evening.  Then, I need to make a list of items I have yet to purchase, which should be fairly small.

If all goes as planned, I hope to be in the Adirondacks on Saturday.

GPS Test

This is where I am this morning.  I'm not yet on the NFCT.  I just want to see what it looks like to post the GPS location from SPOT.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=41.56857,-81.49146&ll=41.56857,-81.49146&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

It looks like I can post a link that others can click to see a map of where I am or have been.

Going Away Cake

From 5-10-12

Wet Run

I finally got out to do some kayaking this year!  I did about 6 miles yesterday and about 8 miles today.  For some reason, the 6 miles felt much harder than the 8 miles.  I was a little worried yesterday.  I've been working out really hard the last few weeks.  While I know this is no substitute for actually kayaking, I was surprised at how hard those 6 miles were.  However, I did about 8 miles today in just over 2 hours with little effort. 

I really love my new paddles!  The double bladed paddle is made of quarter sawn sitka spruce.  Quarter sawn means that the tree rings are perpendicular to the blades, which makes the paddle stronger.  Sitka spruce is the wood of choice for the Aleutian Inuit.  It's light and durable.  I made the blade and shaft thicker than normal so that I can use my paddle to pole through the inevitable shallow areas or to brace myself while getting in and out of my kayaks. 

The drip guards I put on the paddle works great!  They are made for commerical paddles that can be broken into two sides.  They were designed to be slipped onto the shaft when the paddle blades were broken into two.  I had to cut the drip guard and zip tie them into place.  They keep my hands completely dry when paddling.  The only problem I see is that the zip ties can come off if the drip guards hit the edge of the kayak.  I think that I'm going to replace the zip ties with copper wire.

My small single bladed paddle works well too.  I like to have a back up paddle in case I drop or break my double bladed paddle.  This paddle fits onto the deck of my kayak.  I made it with a much shorter shaft than a canoe paddle because I will be sitting much closer to the water, and it needed to fit onto my deck.  I think this worked out well.  While it is not nearly as efficient as a double bladed paddle, it is a nice change of motion. 

Finally, my comfy seat is nice.  The only problem is the sticky tape does not stay fastened to my kayak.  I kind of thought that would be a problem.  I will have to take the seat out while driving with it on my car or it might fall out on the highway.  Otherwise, it doesn't seem to need to be fastened in place by anything other than gravity.

Getting Ready For the Trail

We are doing all the "techy" things to get ready for the trail.... Such as: Working on the GPS and giving Me :-) adminstrator rights to the blog.

Age

Does 48 years officially make me a geezer?  To many teenagers that is unimaginably old.  The official definition of a geezer is an eccentric old man.  I think that most who know me would agree with the eccentric part of the definition so at least I'm on the right path.  However, the 48 years have yet to significantly affect my health or mind so maybe I'm not officially a geezer yet.  Well, my hair is definitely grayer, but that is more from wisdom rather than age.  Our founding fathers had to wear gray wigs so that others would think they were wise.  Not me!

I tend to enjoy being out in the wilderness.  I've been camping since a child, backpacking since college, and doing wilderness canoe trips since my late 20s.  I was 44 years old when I did my thru hike of the AT.  I have long legs and I'm usually good about getting an early start.  Both traits allowed me to finish the trail in a relatively fast time of 4 months and 1 week.  I was also very good about monitoring the little injuries.  I saw a lot of 20 year olds on the trail who attempted to power their way through the little aches and pains only to have to get off the trail either temporarily or permanently.  Maybe my age makes me more aware of how fragile our bodies really are, and that made me more careful with injuries. 

I tore some ligiments in my left arm on September 30th of last year.  I was worried if there would be enough time for my arm to heal before this trip.  My arm is almost entirely back to normal.  I was wondering if this is another sign of aging.  However, I've always been very physically active, and have had other similar injuries over the years.  About 15 years ago, I had a similar injury with my left hand.  I kept re-injuring it by canoeing, kayaking, and splitting firewood.  I had to stop using that hand for about three months before it finally healed, and I've never had a problem with it again.  I'm hoping I gave my left arm enough time to completely heal too.  I suppose I will find out soon enough one way or the other.

I know that I'm going to have to be very careful on the NFCT.  Doing anything for weeks at a time can cause repetitive injuries.  While I have a goal for a mileage I would like to accomplish on average each day, I also know that I have to be flexible and go with what feels right.  I'm trying to manage both the NFCT and what I hope to be continued employment.  Both are important!

As for being a geezer, I think I will rather enjoy being a geezer when my time finally comes.  I think that geezers are allowed to break social norms with little repercussions.  Just think of how much fun that will be!

Food

I suppose the next week will be one of the few times in my life where I can eat what ever I want, and not have to worry about the consequences.  I think in a normal week in the Boundary Waters, I might lose about 5 pounds in a week.  I lost about 35+ pounds on the AT in the first 6 weeks or so before my weight stabilized. 

To DO List - May 16th

• Activate the GPS beacon - This should be easy.  I will do this on Sunday.
• Look into other portage carts at the outfitters in Old Forge - I'm still not entirely satisfied with my portaging system.
• Look into communications - I have still not decided if I'm going to bring a laptop or tablet.  It would be nice to have something to backup pictures and communicate better with the outside world.  However, I can also plan on visiting libraries too.
• Install a few more loops into my kayak for strapping gear.  I suppose it's always good to have options.
• Buy river shoes - I have a feeling I might be pulling my kayak through some shallow spots.
• Lay out my gear and check my canoeing checklist to see if I'm missing anything.

The Strategery

I have limited time off from work to do this trip, and I also really enjoy a good challenge.  So my plan is to try to finish the entire trail in about 5 weeks.  Yeah, I know, this is going to be exceptionally difficult.  I would have to maintain about 22 miles per day in order to meet this goal.  I don't know if I can do this.

In the summer, I can comfortably kayak 15 to 17 miles in Lake Erie without being especially tired.  Also, depending on conditions, I can canoe about 15 to 18 miles in the Boundary Waters with 7 to 8 portages, and be very tired.  However, in the Boundary Waters, I'm usually portaging either a 55 or 75 pound canoe, and need to make two trips on the portage trail to get all of my gear.  I'm bringing a lot less gear on this trip.

One of my biggest concerns right now is my portaging system.  I have the Mity Mite portage wheels.  They seem like they are small enough to bungee to the back of my kayak.  However, they also easily become skewed if one of the wheels hits a rock or rut.  This causes my kayak to veer off the portage trail.  I have a Duluth Pack to carry my gear during the portages.  I think this might make it easier to manage the kayak through the inevitable downed trees, bogs, and rocks.  Maybe there is simply no good way to portage a kayak.  I don't know.  Sometimes you just need to endure.

My other main concern is blisters on my hands.  I never get blisters paddling a canoe because my hands stay mostly dry.  However, water always drips down the kayak paddle onto your hands so my hands will almost always be wet.  I have drip guards on my paddle, but I doubt this will be enough.  I have a few pairs of gloves to try.  I'm not sure what is going to work or not work.

Finally, I've been working out very hard at the gym for about an hour and a half each night.  While there is no substitute for being out on the kayak, I'm hoping that I can build up enough strength to minimize the soreness during the first week or so.

As I mentioned before, I really enjoying being out by myself during the day when kayaking, but I become lonely and bored at night.  I'm planning on being up early, and paddling as late as I reasonably can.  Being alone for 5 weeks is going to be a challenge.  Unlike the AT, I doubt that I will be camping with people or meeting a lot of people along the way.  The AT was a very social place.  Nearly everyone camped at shelters, and that is where you would meet new people to hike with the following day.  I'm not expecting the same socal atmosphere on the NFCT.

Comfy Seat

My new comfy seat is actually quite comfortable!  I just finished installing it this afternoon.  I also replaced the buckles on the hatches, and installed a few new loops to bungee the wheels and Duluth back behind the cockpit.  I started to put the Ohio registration letters on, but I ran out of fours.  I need six of them.  I should have done that over 10 years ago, but I hate having to go through the registration process with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  The only reason I'm doing that now is because their funding has been cut, and they are out ticketing as many violations as they can.  It's getting harder and harder to hide from them.

I did an experiment with my new Mity Mite portage wheels.  I still have the same problem of figuring out how to secure the wheels in such a way that they don't become skewed if one wheel hits a rock or rut.  I'm thinking of installing a couple more loops so that I can use to attach bungees to the wheels.  I'm hoping that the bungees will help pull the wheels back straight again after they become skewed.  I think I'm going to have something like 50 miles of portaging so I want to get this right as soon as I can.

During last year's recon trip, I thought that a Duluth pack to carry most of my gear would lighten the kayak so that I would have fewer problems pulling it through bogs and through downed trees.  My plan is to pack my gear in small dry bags that I can take out during each portage.  I'm sure I will refine the process as the trip progresses.

Classes are Done!

I just finished submitting grades for the college classes I teach.  Now I have some breathing room to finish preparing for the trip.  I still work a regular job so my time is not unlimited.  However, it will probably feel unlimited at least for a while. 

My goal is to be in the water on Saturday May 26th.  I have about five weeks off from work.  Yeah, I know this will be really pushing it.  Maybe I can finish the entire trail in the time I have and maybe not.    If not, I should be able to take off another week or maybe two toward the end of summer.  This is all the time that I could reasonably take off from work without negatively effecting my projects.

My experience with solo canoe and kayak trips is that I really enjoy being out paddling during the day, and get really bored at night while camping alone.  I think for this reason, I will probably be more inclined to travel longer during the day.  While on the AT, I had a routine of being up and out very early.  This was the "magic hour" when it was quite and many animals were out.  I like being out early especially (and maybe only) when it is clear.  It's a little harder getting out when it's raining knowing you are going to be wet and cold all day.

My new comfy kayak seat is supposed to arrive today.  We will see if it really is as comfortable as it is advertised.  I bought the "Mity Mite" portage wheels a few days ago.  I think I can install some fittings behind the cockpit to fasten them when on the water.  I should be ready for a few "wet runs" soon. 

To DO List April 30th

• Figure out how to get into and out of Canada.  I sent the NFCT store an email today, and was told that those maps are on the way.  I understand that there is a road that follows the NFCT into and out of Canada, and there are boarder crossing stations at both locations.  I will know if this is true when I get the maps on Wednesday.
• Install a few new fittings on my kayak so that I can strap gear onto the deck behind the cockpit.  This should only take a few minutes.  I also just order a new seat.  I was told that it should only take a few minutes to install.
• Find a locator beacon.  I think I might go with Spot, but still need to look at my options again before I feel comfortable with this.
• Buy a mini laptop that I can use to access the Internet and post updates on my blog. I don't expect much Verizon cell phone coverage except in towns.  It would be cheaper to keep my company paid dumb phone and just get a mini laptop for Internet access.  I can use the laptop after the trail, but have no use for a smart phone.  Whether I go with this option will depend on what I find tonight.
• Buy a new kayak cart.  Chris (blog member) and I have been discussing options.  I agree that my C-Tug kayak cart is probably not a good option because it is all plastic, and there are about 50 miles of portages.  Chris recommended the Paddle Boy MityMite, which seems like a good option.  I need something I can strap to the deck of my kayak behind the cockpit.
• Complete a "wet" run with gear before putting in.
• Yeah, I have a few other things to do, but nothing too time consuming.  Mostly, I need to go through my checklist to make sure I have everything, and then to buy those items I do not have.  This is stuff I can get at Gander Mountain or at an outfitter in Old Forge, NY.

Hey, I'm making some progress!

Kayak Paddle



I will be reminded of the loons who can laugh even during rain and wind.



Cell Phone Coverage on the NFCT

Does anyone know what I can expect with cell phone coverage?  There was virtually no cell phone coverage in Maine when I did the AT in 2008.  It looks like the NFCT parallels the AT in some places.  Being on the water will also likely mean that there will be few line of sight locations between me and cell phone towers.  I think that cell phone coverage in the Adirondacks was very spotty when I did my recon trip last May.  Is buying a smart phone specifically for the trip a waste of money?  I already have a dumb phone that I can use when in towns.  Maybe it's best to just buy a GPS satellite device that I can use to let everyone know I'm OK each night, and that can call out for help if needed.

To DO List

I have less than a month, and I still have a few things to do:

• Figure out how to get into and out of Canada.  I can't find those maps, and just placed an order for them with the NFCT.  I understand the maps for those sections have instructions for boarder crossing.
• Make a single bladed paddle.  I just finished my second kayak paddle last night.  I made that one because I could only buy sitka spruce in sizes that make 3 kayak paddles.  The single bladed paddle will be my backup.  I can fasten it to the deck, and will use it if I lose or break my double bladed paddle.  Because I will be sitting so close to the water, I was thinking the single bladed paddle should have a short shaft and wider blade.
• Install a few new fittings on my kayak so that I can strap gear onto the deck behind the cockpit.
• Make drip guards for my kayak paddles so that I can keep my hands dry when paddling.  I think that wet hands will lead to blisters, which is one of my biggest concerns.
• Install a new seat in my kayak, and make new hatch covers. 
• Find a locator beacon.  I'm going to do a search today on a few camping websites to see if I can find one that most people agree works well.  Because this is a solo trip and cell phone coverage will be very spotty (I know from my experience on the AT), I would feel most comfortable with a means to communicate with the outside world.
• Buy a phone that I can use to access the Internet and post updates on my blog.
• Buy a water proof kayak spray skirt. 
• Buy a bug shirt.  I expect the bug to be most ferocious.
• Buy the "portage boy" kayak wheels.  I think that with a bracket that fits over the kayak, this brand of portage wheels will likely be better than the ones I currently have.  Although, the ones I have can be strapped on and off a little easier so I am not entirely sure which to use.

Pre-trip planning is not something that I do well.  On the AT, my only logistical planning was to get myself onto the trail.  I made due as I went along on the trail.  It seems likely that I will be able to do the same on the NFCT.  It looks like there are plenty of towns along the way to stop for supplies.  I'm a really bad hitch hiker so I'm hoping that I can minimize my need to hitch hike for supplies.

Kayak Paddle

I just finished shaping the first of the two kayak paddles that I intend to bring on the trip, and it feels very good in my hands.  It is a Greenland style Inuit double bladed paddle made from quarter sawn sitka spruce.  I prefer long thin bladed paddles over the wide spoon shaped paddles.  I find them to be easier on your hands and arms during long distances.  I also find them more versatile during different weather conditions.  By shifting the position of your hands on the paddle, you can help compensate for waves or winds that are blowing you in one direction.  In addition, they can be used to pole through shallow waters, and hold up tarps in the rain.

The one problem that I still need to solve is wet hands, which could lead to blisters.  I need a drip guard that most commercially sold paddles have.  This should be easy to solve.  I can either buy one or make one from a couple plastic bottles and duct tape.

The second paddle I intend to bring on the trip is a single bladed modified canoe paddle that I can keep strapped to my deck.  Because I will be sitting so close to the water in comparison to a canoe, I'm thinking that a shorter paddle would work well.  This would be a paddle I can switch to when I feel like doing something different or would be a backup if I were to break or lose my main paddle.

Shaping paddles is one of the most meditative things I've ever experienced.  It feels good to just let me hands work with little to no thought on my part.  My hands do all of the work as I watch as a bystander.  The work of planing is also very good exercise, and makes me realize how close it is for my departure.  I do nearly all of the work with a hand plane and spoke shave.

Personal Locator Beacons

With this being a solo trip, I'd like to take a reliable personal locator beacon (PLB).  A friend on the AT had one to communicate his location and to his parents every day.  I don't remember which one he was using.  He needed to leave it in a location with a clear view of the sky for a few minutes in order to send a signal.  The beacon had two options.  One sent the coordinates with a message that said everything was ok, and the other sent the coordinates with an emergency message.

It looks like these have become popular with boaters.  I've been reading through some of the reviews on Amazon.  It would be nice to be able to look at each and talk to a sales person about each one.  Does anyone have any experience with a PLB?

Alcohol Stoves & Beer Brands

I can no longer find Heineken in the beer barrow shaped cans.  These were the perfect size and shape for making alcohol stoves.  A soda can seemed to fit perfectly inside the Heineken can.  I made dozens of these stoves, and only rejected a few due to leaks around the seams.  These leaks would cause the flames to come out around the top seam instead of the holes in the top.  I used one of these stoves for months on the AT.  They are light and completely reliable.  I used a tomato can with slits along the side for a stand.  The tomato can helped the stove remain hot so that the alcohol flames came out as jets.  I also had a cough syrup measuring cup to measure fuel amounts.  I got so good at estimating fuel that when the flame went out, my dinner was cooked to perfection.

Ryan Conklin (http://followingblazes.blogspot.com/) posted the link below on his blog concerning several options for alcohol stoves.  Probably about half of the thru hikers on the AT in 2008 used alcohol stoves, and the most common design seemed to be the Heineken beer can model.  I see from this website (http://zenstoves.net/) that there are several other beers that use a slightly smaller can that might work well for alcohol stoves.  I'm going to try Guinness this weekend.  If that doesn't work, I will have to pick another brand for next weekend.  I'll just keep trying new brands until I find something that works.

The zen stove website also had a comparison of fuel weight and heat.  Petroleum fuels might have about a third more heat per pound, but I liked the denatured alcohol stoves because denatured alcohol was so easy to find and it did not explode like petroleum.  The alcohol stove is also so light that a few more ounces of alcohol is probably still an overall weight savings.  The only problem was that the flame is nearly invisible during daylight.  We used to joke about not knowing if your stove was lit until you can smell the hairs on your hand burning. 

My Heineken Stove on the AT

Phone Question

I need a phone I can use to email and post, but I only need that phone while on the NFCT.  My employer pays for my cell phone now, but I can not send emails or connect to the Internet.  Is it possible to buy a used smart phone, and get service without signing a two year contract?  Does anyone have any recommendations for a phone?

CANPASS Remote Boarder Crossing Permit

Is it possible that the CANPASS Remote Boarder Crossing permits do not apply to the NFCT?  I used these permits many times to cross into Canada from the Boundary Waters side of northern Minnesota.  I just did a search of the CANPASS website, and did not see any entry points for the eastern US listed. 

I'm really a poor logistical planner.  I tend to travel best when all I need to do is to get to the start point with the stuff I need.  My only planning on the AT was getting to the start point.  I took care of all other logistics while on the trail.  Hitch hiking and hostel shuttles were always good ways to re-supply if the distance to a store was too far to walk from the AT.  I was a very poor hitchhiker so I tended to walk to most of the re-supplies.

I know the NFCT website has some boarder crossing information.  I need to look through it in detail to figure out how I'm going to get into Canada, and then get back into the US.

Time Alone

It's interesting that I have little concern for doing a 5 week + solo trip.  On the Appalachian Trail, there were always people to meet and talk to at the shelters.  I expect this will be an entirely different experience.  I do not expect to meet people in the same way as I did on the AT.  It looks like there are only a few thru paddlers each year on the NFCT, and there doesn't look like there will be common camping spots like the shelters of the AT.

I'm not sure what happened on the AT that changed my perspective, but I would not have ever considered a solo trip of this length before the AT.  I totally expect to be bored and sometimes lonely in the evenings.  This was my experience with my last solo trip to the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota.  However, I was quite comfortable traveling alone during the day.  I actually found traveling alone to be a pleasant experience.  However, that was only a week long trip.  I'm not sure what it would be like to go weeks without talking much to anyone.

I'm likely going to use the alone time for travel.  The times on the AT where there were few people, I found were not a problem if I was tired and ready for sleep in the evening. 

Two More Months!

Everything is looking good for a start date in mid May.  I've done little to prepare my kayak and equipment.  However, the weather is warming, and I will start working on this stuff soon.  I also still need to figure out how to cross into Canada and back into the US.  I'm going to work on that this weekend. 

I'd like to make a couple new paddles for the trip.  I've always favored quarter sawn Sitka Spruce for paddles.  It is light weight and very strong.  The paddle design that I'm most comfortable is the Aleutian thin bladed paddles.  I need to place an order for some Sitka Spruce this weekend.  I was going to place an order a couple months ago, but did not like my size choices.  The standard sizes sold would create too much waste.  I just realized today that I can glue two halves together, and create another paddle from the waste.  If I were to have the glue seam down the middle, I don't think strength would be compromised.

I've also been working on making alcohol stoves.  I think that Heineken no longer makes the beer barrow shaped beer cans.  These beer cans made prefect stoves.  I still have a few of these old stoves.  I'll have to do a search to see what other options are out there for camp stoves.

My training consists now of carrying 5 gallon jugs of maple sap through the woods.  The maple syrup season will be over in a couple weeks, and I will start seriously training for the trip then.  That would give me about 8 weeks. 

Ligaments

I still have some pain in my left arm after three months. I have pain only when I move my arm in very specific positions. It started as what felt like a very sore muscle after a very hard workout. The Cleveland Clinic Physical Therapist was unable to diagnose the problem probably because the pain is so minimal. I would totally ignore the pain if I did not have a long distance trip this spring. My concern is that the problem will become worse while kayaking.

I saw my aunt from Kentucky this last weekend. She is a very skilled nurse. She thought the pain is the result of a very small ligament tear. She also described muscle contractions that are often associated with a ligament tear. I experienced pulses of burning pain in one location on my arm for a few weeks after the injury. I'm not sure if the pain is the result of small muscle contractions. I never noticed any muscle contractions directly.

I understand that it takes a very long time for ligaments to heal. I still have a few more months before I plan on starting my trip. I think I'm probably OK now, and that the additional time would help even more.

Cold Water Experiment

I've been experimenting with cold water survival for the past few years. This year, I wore exactly what I expect to wear during my NFCT trip...long johns, shorty wetsuit, and fleece jacket. I think a coat might be too bulky so I'm planning on just wearing layers. I found that without a coat, cold water was circulating around my body much more than expected. I became chilled after only a few minutes. I stayed in for 25 minutes so that I could see how well I could function out of the water.

I experienced a tingling in my hands after about 20 minutes, and my left arm did not seem to function very well after about 23 minutes. My legs and feet were also numb, but functioning. I would have been able to build a fire if needed after getting out, but my body was so chilled that I did not feel like I was warming up very much once out of the water. The space blanket did seem to help, but maybe it was mostly because it is a good wind break. I suppose that I would either have had to build a fire to dry off and warm up or start walking in order to warm. With a wetsuit and polypropylene long johns, I think I might be able to stay warm even while wet, but I'm not entirely sure. My body was very chilled, and it could have been a dangerous situation if I could not warm quickly.

The water temperature when I start my trip should be around 55F, which was the temperature of the water during my recon trip in the middle of May 2011. At that temperature, I expect to be able to stay in the water almost indefinitely while wearing a wetsuit. I have a dry suit that I bought many years ago to kayak in the ice of Lake Erie that I would like to try sometime soon. I've never used it in frozen water so I do not know how well it will perform. I think it will be too bulky and uncomfortable to wear long on a wilderness kayak trip, however. I would just like to do a comparison with the wetsuit.

In conclusion, I would not like to have to survive in 32F water for very long. I was very cold, and it would have taken a very long time to warm up after getting out. I would have needed much of my gear after getting out too in order to get warm. Could I have walked 10 miles after getting out yesterday? Maybe. It would have been very uncomfortable though. It's easy to think through these scenarios while in a warm house, but it's entirely different to think through them while submerged in freezing water. I need to do this experiment again when the water temperature is about 50F.

My neice, Nichole, has been swimming with my on the first day of each year since she was about 4 years old.