I spent half of the weekend having a wonderful time with the darling boyfriend in Ann Arbor, and between walking to get groceries and a long morning exploring the city by foot, we put in quite a few miles (6+, I believe?). We're both trying to lose a bit of the winter insulation, and hiking has been a fun way to get active.
Saturday afternoon's adventuring took us to the car, which we were all too grateful to use after a long morning of walking. The mission? Scout out the Huron again. We're looking to do our first day-trip on Good Friday - only 2 weeks away! We started at our put-in point at Hudson Mills Metropark. What a place! The park was buzzing thanks to a frisbee golf tournament, but despite the warnings of the gal at the front gate, the office was not too busy and we had a great chat with the rangers there.
I ended up buying a Huron Metroparks annual parking pass - this will give my car full access to both our put-in and take-out point and just makes alot of sense to have. We can use it for future hikes around the parks as well. We then checked out the spot on the river were we plan to put in. It's just past a decent set of rapids (remnants of the old mill that was once there) and has a great calm spot to load up the kayaks. When we asked the rangers if it'd be okay to chain up the kayaks to a park bench while we spot the other car downriver, they said it'd be no problem at all, which is a welcome relief. They mentioned that they've never had any problems with boats disappearing, but I plan to lock them just to be safe.
We then proceeded to check out a possible take-out point at the Barton Pond Dam. We're torn over whether we'd like to take out there or further upriver (just past the Delhi Rapids). At Barton Pond there is a wonderful dock for portaging, but the portage to the parking lot would be a bit of a haul. There was an odd easterly breeze when we were there as well, which would not make for a fun paddle heading westward across the open water. On the other hand, if we took out at Delhi, we'd only have a 3.5 hour paddle....not long enough for me, if you ask my opinion!
On another note, I am so impressed by the Huron Metroparks' paddling maps. We picked one up at Hudson Mills, and what a great resource! Every put-in and take-out point, every portage, every canoe campsite, and many hazards marked as well! I learned a new term thanks to this map....I can't say I've ever heard the term "weir", but when I looked it up, I knew exactly what it was....a low dam that water can flow over......nothing to portage for, but it's nice that they give paddlers a head's up on the map. It also labels Delhi Rapids as "dangerous"....we're going to give them a go anyway. I actually spoke with a friend who's dumped in the rapids before (she tried to turn her boat sideways in them....oops). Not a big deal, she says. Regardless, a change of warm clothes and some towels will be packed in a dry bag!
The boyfriend wants to grill a lunch on the trip....how ambitious is he! I'm putting him in charge of food while I handle the logistics. A good combo, I think.
Splurged on a new (women's) sleeping bag this week. I hope it resolves my issue of freezing on Spring paddling trips! At a sale price of $60, I couldn't pass it up. Originally went for $124, REI is trying to sell it for $70....I think I got a good deal at "Al's Sports" (http://www.alssports.com/alssports/product.asp?dept_id=3132&pf_id=PAAAIAKMLKJHFHFN&ad_id=froogle&key_id=SierraDesignsRosaSleepingBag20DegreeClimashieldHLSynthetic )
Worked on a project today.....see next post.
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