My wife and I have been kayakers for about 12 years. Over the years, as we paddled rivers, Great Lakes and oceans, I expanded my knowledge and love of kayaking and today I share it with others as an instructor and volunteer. These days Lake Michigan is literally in our […]
Tag: kayaking
It’s Cold and Getting Colder on the River
It’s cold and it’s getting colder It’s gray and white and winter all around And oh I must be getting older All this snow is trying to get me down* The air was 31F. Water was 37F. The river level was 10″. Time to go boating. Xensr map and motion […]
Motion Tracking for Kayakers Too: Xensr Air
For the past 10 months I’ve been using a sports motion-tracking device called the Xensr Air 3D GPS (pronounced “sensor”), the product of a Green Bay, WI-based company. As company founder David Troup once told me, “In order to make it unforgettable, we made it unpronounceable.” The Air is touted […]
Bird’s Eye View of Wausau Whitewater
I’ve posted video before showing Wausau Whitewater Park from ground/water level. Here’s another vantage point. This unique perspective shows what a gem this place is. The video was shot by Ryan Keihn of Aerial Pulse at the last open recreational release of the season on Sept. 17, 2016. If you’re […]
Kayaking Sea Caves of the Apostle Islands
With the right equipment, training and experience (or hiring a guide service), the sea caves of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are fantastic, other-worldly places to explore by sea kayak. Last week we made return visits to the Mainland sea caves and the caves of Sand Island. In previous trips […]
My Encounter With Traveling Ted
For the past seven years I have served as an instructor at the annual Door County Sea Kayak Symposium (DCSKS), held the second weekend in July and presented by Rutabaga Paddlesports. This year there were 160 participants with more than 40 instructors and assistants. One of those participants was a […]
Rescuing a Dude
Last night reminded me that common sense is not all that common. I was with six other kayakers on one of our regular Tuesday evening whitewater runs on the Red River near Gresham, Wisconsin. It was around 7 p.m. We had just finished running the most technical feature, Monastery Falls […]
Chambers Island: A sea kayaker’s day trip
I have been told I have the magic touch when it comes to choosing dates for kayaking across the bay of Green Bay. (To be clear, I’m talking about calendar dates.) Last year our “Paddle Across the Bay” group journeyed from the northern mainland tip of Door County to Washington […]
Kayak trip leaders learn the ropes
Fellow level 4 kayak instructor Bill Merrick and I spent two days this week at Gardner Dam Boy Scout Camp helping six kayakers attain their ACA level 1 kayak instructor certification. The candidates are preparing for their summer jobs as guides for kayak camping trips in the Apostle Islands and […]
Black River Narrows Trip Report
By guest blogger John Hart The temperature dipped little by little, hour by hour as I drew closer to the shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. With every drop in temperature my excitement ticked up a notch, knowing I was getting closer to the start of an amazing […]