Good Karma!

Remember that last post about paying more for the backrest pad than I should have? Apparently, the fates have smiled upon me. I got a message from the seller today, telling me that the pad is discontinued and I have been refunded the $26.00 I paid....

....so I went directly to Crazy Creek's website and got it for five bucks less....

Hoorah for good karma! The pad was meant to be, and here's hoping it works!

Backrest issue = resolved?

Immediately after writing my last post, I began hunting for a backrest pad to replace my old, destroyed one. I weighed in the option of getting a full sit-on-top kayak chair vs. a simple pad to go on my backrest. My hangup with a sit-on-top kayak chair was that it may not fit into my kayak (since it is not a sit-on-top) and that I couldn't keep it in place with the hardware provided. Plus, they are way more expensive. Then I ran across the Crazy Creek air cushion, as displayed at right.

I thought I found a great deal on eBay for $26.00 total. I bought it. Immediately after buying it, and belive me, I did good research beforehand, I found that Crazy Creek was selling it for $12.50 from its site. With shipping, that would've put it to $21.48. So I paid $5.00 more than I should have....oh well.

I'm excited to try this out come spring! My hope is that the ability to adjust it with the air bladder inside will be a nice, comfortable option for me, and the beauty of its design is that I can also use it for a butt pad on a canoe seat as well. I'm even having grand visions of using it as my camp pillow at night as well! We'll see if this is all feasible when it comes in the mail...

An introduction to "my babies"

I absolutely must give credit where credit is due - in my many years of kayaking, my two kayaks have served me well and certainly deserve a bit of recognition and props! First, their backstory....

When I first became interested in kayaking (early high school, I believe, which would date back to 1997 or 1998), my mother began to look for a kayak as a possible Christmas present. She didn't have to look far! My uncle, an anesthesiologist in Grand Rapids, had bought two kayaks for he and his wife, who had been diagnosed with Lupis. He figured it might be an activity they could share and that she could participate in, especially since she was bound to a wheelchair. Unfortunately, they didn't get much use out of them at all, and as the story goes, my mom got in touch with him, he was willing to sell, and the rest is history.

So here I was, a high school kid thrilled to have two relatively new kayaks. Fast forward to over ten years later, and I still use them, still adore them, and they have served me well.

I've had quite the time researching the model of my primary kayak, and it's so "old school" that I can't find a great picture of the model online. Fortunately, I have a picture of my kayak on the computer!

Boat #1: An Aquaterra (predecesor to Perception) Caspia recreational kayak

This guy can do it all....equally suited for rivers and lakes. I've taken in across three different lakes, use it to paddle to work when the weather's good, and have taken it on all my river expeditions up north. She cuts through the water beautifully, is stable as can be, and super comfortable! My kayak does not have the port hole in the back that this model does, but I've taken to lashing a deck-top dry bag in the back which more than makes up for it. I can jam my sleeping pad, tent, and a few other miscellanous items in the back, and all in all, I can't speak highly enough about this recreational kayak. She has served me well.

Boat #2: A Perception Keowee recreational kayak

I have to admit, I haven't paddled this boat nearly as much as its counterpart, but this little boat has alot of personality and has been a great resource when dragging friends along on adventures with me. I find that its wide, rather "fat" design makes it a bit more stable for more novice paddlers, though it doesn't cut through the water as quickly or gracefully as my Caspia. It will, at times, wobble, or as some like to say, "waddle" through open water, but not so much that it's an annoyance. The interesting feature about this kayak is that it has a second seat that can be slid in and out if you wanted to cram another, presumably smaller person inside. I can't imagine fitting another person in the cockpit of this boat, and therefore, I've never used it in this capacity. If I were going to jam another person in that second seat, you'd better believe it'd be a little little kid. The second seat in mine is removed. I found glowing reviews of this boat at one of my favorite paddling sites: http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=91

Once the feet of snow melt around us, I intend to get some good pictures of the boats to post here. They're going to need a bit of TLC this spring....after all of the abuse I've put them through, some of the detailing is scraping off the Caspia (not a big deal) and they could both use a good scrub. My old back support for the Caspia has finally fallen apart, so I'm planning on hunting for a new pad to outfit the old girl with.

I realize that they are old and not very technical boats, but for my kind of paddling, they suit me just fine. Afterall, you can't beat a classic, right?

Oh Dear....

After strolling down memory lane in my introductory post, I did a bit more research on the state of the Ottawa River, which is also known as the "Ten Mile Creek"....

....I found the official report.....

Along with this delightful picture embedded within it. A deformed carp! Hoorah!

I'm feeling just a tad more concerned about my health now. Ah well....the paddling was good.

And so, the adventure begins!

First and foremost, introductions are in order! My name is Mer (short for Meredith), and as the blog suggests, I'm a paddling enthusiast! This growing addiction started during my childhood at the family's summer home on Wampler's Lake in SE Michigan - just me, an aluminum canoe, and lots of time for exploring, fishing, and learning the ways of paddling. This passion was further fueled by paddling classes at summer camp and a two-week "Venture Out" trip as a teenager in Northern Michigan.

In high school I earned a bit of a reputation for taking my recreational kayak, which I still own and use frequently, down the Ottawa River, which has had warnings posted about using the river recreationally. From Wikipedia:

The Ottawa River Risk Assessment, a report published in 2000, tested the
water of the lower section of the Ottawa River, and found many chemicals in the
water with an hazard
quotient greater than 1 (from highest to lowest concentration): lead, aluminum, PCBs, manganese, iron, DDT, thallium, selenium, chromium, nickel, cadmium, cyanide, and zinc.[1]

Let the jokes about my growing third eye and my future offspring's birth defects begin! I was, and still am a big believer in the river. During my day-long trips from a put in point at Wildwood Metropark to the floodplain off of Bancroft road, I was amazed by the sheer amount of wildlife that resided in and along the river. I've been hoping to make a return trip to the river one of these days, but I'm not as young as I used to be. As I recall, the trip demanded lots of mid-river portages and an occasional spill into the lovely waters described above, seeing as the river is not maintained for recreational use. An adventure nonetheless!

Now, as a director with an outdoor environmental education program at the camp of my childhood, I have made it my goal to use warm weekends in the Spring, Summer, and Fall to enjoy paddling trips in the beautiful wilderness of Northern Michigan. Along with my "right hand man", my assitant director at work and good friend in life, Nate, I have had the opportunity to explore much of the Manistee and have begun to enjoy the Pere Marquette (affectionately referred to by many Michiganders as "The P.M.").

My next trip should hopefully find me somewhere on the Manistee - I'm shooting for Memorial Day weekend. I'm doing my darndest to make sure I can staff one of our camp's Venture Out programs as well. The Michigan Rivers trip will be a nearly two-week trip with 7th, 8th, and 9th graders.......I'll be sure to post more details later!