Top Ten Traits of a Dedicated Paddler

Bed's not made and never is.

Laundry's never done unless someone else does it.

House is a mess.

Grass is not mowed.

You call in sick again at work.

There is gas in the car.

Kayak is loaded and properly secured on car. (Don't forget the front and rear tie downs.)

An awesome lunch is packed.

Face is unshaven (if you are a guy). If you are a girl, you got up 30 minutes earlier to put on waterproof mascara.

And the number one trait of a Dedicated Paddler is . . . 

A BIG SMILE ON YOUR FACE . . . because you have more than one awesome sea kayak!

Did I miss any other important traits . . . ?

 Happy paddle trails!
(c) The BaffinPaddler 

Wrestling my big yellow alligator: Cowboy scramble up the Boreal Baffin in Canada's cold waters

It's that time of year again, MAY! Yeah! Time to get up close and personal with the sea kayak, paddling gear, and that wet stuff I didn't spend any time with for the last six long months of Canada's finicky weather.

This year, I didn't do my first spring paddle with the Boreal Baffin hanging out on an ice shelf along the Ottawa River's shore. That was a little stupid. I wasn't dressed for slipping into water that cold with only a wet suit and no neo hoodie.

This year's first spring paddle with the Boreal Baffin was a hot, sunny May day, 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit), with a light wind at a small lake lined with cottages in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

The beach we launched from was full of people dressed in bathing suits, shorts and t-shirts enjoying a good spring sunburn. Little kids were running in and out of the chilly water exhilarated, yelling, "Mommy! It's cold!"
 
Yes, the water in May is still cold so I'll do another stupid thing this year and test my gear after 2 hours of paddling when I'm a little tired and very hungry.


I'll do a Cowboy Scramble, close to shore for safety, and test how well I can do it under a little stress to see if this manoeuvre is really implanted in the memory of my brain and body parts. 

I haven't practiced the Cowboy Scramble for 6 months. During my normal paddle season in Canada from April or May to October or November, I do the Cowboy Scramble almost every time I paddle, at least once. Sometimes 5 or 6 times during a paddle for fun, or to cool off and stretch out, and most importantly, to make sure I can get back into my boat by myself.

I didn't want to test my gear choice before my first spring paddle and find out it wasn't right. But, I got it right! A full wet suit, with a nylon spandex underlayer (actually my yoga gear), and neo booties and gloves. I don't have a dry suit yet. While in the water, I had a good five to ten minutes of, "This feels nice!" That is, as long as I didn't put my head in the water. I'd need a neo hoodie and ear plugs for that.

There are lots of paddlers who are awesome rollers, yet many of them have trouble with the Cowboy Scramble. I can't roll (yet . . . ) but I can scramble. And I love it!

Some of the guy paddlers have watched me Cowboy Scramble and say, "Hey, that looks really cool. It's impressive. I have never been able to do it. Will you teach me?"

I'm not an instructor but I have coached a couple of guys who were never able to do it before and surprised me by getting it the first time.


So here goes, a Cowboy Scramble up the Boreal Baffin in cold water with a few tips on how I do it:

Step one: Get into the water next to your boat with water too deep for you to stand up. No cheating by practicing from solid footing. You remembered to secure your glasses or sun glasses in a hatch, right? They don't float. 

Smile for the camera! After step one, you aren't going to look cute again until it's over! Make sure your PFD is well-secured. If it's loose and ill-fitting, it will just get in your way. If you can smile, you're probably dressed appropriately for the water temperature. If not, get out of the water and try this when you can smile at step one instead of cringe and shiver.

Step two: Put the tab of your spray skirt between your teeth and smile some more! You know you look silly and don't care. Or attach your spray skirt tab with a quick release clip to the top/shoulder of your PFD if you don't trust the water quality. You don't want your spray skirt stuck between your legs once you get up onto the kayak. Pulling my skirt up this way also helps me slide up onto the boat more easily, and my bulky kayak jacket and kayak knife don't get hung up on a deck line or bungee.

Step three: Face your boat, hang onto your paddle and the far side of your kayak. I like to come up just behind my back hatch. I find it easier.

Step four: Count ONE, TWO, THREE, take a deep breath to make yourself buoyant, KICK your legs to bring them up horizontal with your boat, and slide up onto the back deck of your beautiful kayak like Flipper the dolphin.

Take a moment to balance and exhale. This is the first moment of truth in the Cowboy Scramble. You're out of the water and didn't pull the kayak on top of yourself. And you had to do all the stuff in Step four all at once! Congratulations if you made it this far.

Step five: Swing your leg over your kayak and straddle your boat. This is where you look like you're wrestling an alligator. And it may feel that way too if the water is bumpy and you've got a skinny Greenland style boat!

Step six: Keep your paddle in front of you as you slide up by grabbing onto the deck lines or boat sides and inch worm your body up to the cockpit. Don't kick your legs in the water as you pull yourself up to the cockpit. I see lots of people who struggle and fail do this. But, hey, if it works for you . . . do whatever works.

Also, never hold the paddle so that it's directly under your neck if your head is close to the kayak when you do this manoeuvre.

During one practice session, my Greenland paddle was across my cockpit as I pulled myself up and my head and neck were just a few inches above it. A big wave or a boat wake hit the boat, and I banged my trachea (windpipe) on my paddle. Ouch and dangerous. So be careful.

In the picture above, my paddle is in my lap as I get to the cockpit so I can grab it as I ease into the seat and brace or paddle off quickly if I need to. And I'm keeping my head up.

Step seven: You've got to get your butt into the seat first, then your legs. Hopefully you have a generous enough keyhole cockpit like the awesome Boreal Baffin, not a small, round ocean cockpit. A lot of people fail when they try to get into the cockpit.

Sometimes I sit up on the back deck and ease myself in with one hand holding the paddle and top of the cockpit, the other hand behind me at the back of the cockpit for balance. You may need to sit on the back deck and brace a few times before you crawl in if you're in bumpy water or start to lose your balance. It's a nice moment to relax if you're not in a hurry.

Step eight: Claim victory! You made it, even if you didn't look graceful. Your spray skirt is back on the kayak and you look cute again! Smile for the camera! Soon, you'll be doing all these steps in 10 seconds.

Now it's time to show off those beautiful edges on the Boreal Baffin.

Cowboy Scramble Tips 

• Take kayaking lessons with a qualified instructor.
• Keep the back deck of the kayak free of gear. This is your work space for the scramble!
• Practice slowly in calm water at first.
• Be patient with yourself. I couldn't Cowboy Scramble for years until an instructor gave me some useful tips . . . "Try it further back behind your rear hatch. Kick your legs! Don't pull!"
• When you get good at the Cowboy Scramble in calm water, gradually test your skill in bigger wind and waves with a paddle buddy nearby in case you need assistance. Be reasonable. Don't press your luck in dangerous conditions.
• Watch out when and where you practice. Wind can blow you quickly into obstacles and rocks. Cold water can be deadly. Dress appropriately and practice closer to shore.
• Stay away from boat channels. 
• Practice with the different types of gear you paddle in: t-shirt and shorts, wet suit, dry suit, bare hands and gloves. I find it easier to scramble in a full wet suit. When I wear shorts, my bare legs don't slide and get stuck on the boat.
  
• Choose your PFD wisely. Some PFDs are short, thick, and bulky in front and may make it more difficult for you to scramble up onto your boat.
• When you've really got the Cowboy Scramble down, go for speed. See how fast you can do it. It may come in handy some day.

Cowboy scrambling into your kayak can be a life saver or a great way to cool off if you need to jump out and scramble back in. Some shorelines are very unfriendly and you can't get out of your boat for long stretches.

I love jumping out over the side of the boat and cowboy scrambling back in on long paddles to stretch out and cool down sore muscles. It really gets my adrenalin going if I'm feeling lazy or bored.

Here's a link to my post: Cowboy Scramble up the Maelstrom Vital 166 in summer gear.

It's nice to finally get out on the water this year. I feel like the BaffinPaddler again with lots of wet, sandy gear hanging all over the house and garage.

Good luck with your Cowboy Scramble!
Let us know if you finally get it and keep it! Or, learn to love it . . .
The BaffinPaddler

Tiptoe Through the Tulips . . . with me or without me?

You have to wonder what kind of yin yoga class it is in an indoor studio when this song is running through your head . . . Tiptoe Through the Tulips by Tiny Tim playing his ukulele. OMG!

Then someone's cell phone rings loudly. They answer it and the yoga teacher says, "I'm sorry but you can't answer your cell phone here. You either have to turn it off or leave the room to answer it."

And the student replies in a packed Saturday morning class, "But I'm just telling him not to call."

Where is peace!

This is why I like paddle, hike, and cycle to yoga in the outdoors so much.

I'll be looking for more converts to join me. 

The tulips are blooming. I hope you get out and enjoy them too.

NAMASTE!

I''ll be hitting my first paddle trail soon with the Boreal Baffin. I'm just not sure where. I'm being picky this year.

Happy trails!
The BaffinPaddler

Gear Check. What's your zipper doin'!

Cycling the Waterfront Trail, Cornwall, Ontario, Canada

This is the most important girl zipper check when cycling.

With cooler spring temperatures and wind this year, I forgot how many layers I had put on before I ran out of layers and shouldn't zip down to the belly any more to cool down.

Zippers are on my mind.

The big zips. The monsters of all zippers. Dry suit zippers! The terrors of paddling. You have nightmares about getting yours open. No? You have strong wrists and big biceps maybe? Even so, it's not easy to get outta that dry suit by yourself?

When a paddle buddy turns red, purple, then blue in the face and gasps, "Can you help me with my zipper . . . ", he really needs help with it, and probably so will you!

I've resisted buying a dry suit year after year because I can't get the zippers to move when I test them in the store.

The store assistant says, "But they have this wax . . . it helps."

So I asked which brand I should try. "Level Six or Kokatat?"

Store assistant: "Level Six doesn't make dry suits for girls. They say there isn't a big enough market for that."

Me: "How sexist!"

Maybe it's because we have trouble with the zippers? And I have lots of Level Six gear! Then, I remembered the easy and ironic chuckle of the 14th Dalai Lama who was just in Ottawa April 28th.  He has a big message for compassion.

OK, here's my compassionate take on this situation, "How nice that Level Six has left the female dry suit market to Kokatat."

Store assistant: "And Kokatat dry suits are the best anyway."

Me: "Awesome! So let's try one on!"

Now what about size? I'm a 5'6", 125 pound girl and the small is a bit too short. I'll have to try a medium. If that doesn't work - out of luck!

Any suggestions for colour? The purple is no longer available. The blue is nice. Or do you go with the bright orange that everyone can spot!

Now, how is that zipper? 

All good. SNAP!

Happy paddles!
The BaffinPaddler

Karma or Coincidence? Why wire clothes hangers are required kayaking gear

Why is hindsight always the smarter part of your brain that you discover a little too late . . . ?

When packing up to head for home after a great three-day kayak camping trip to Camelot Island in the 1000 Islands on the St. Lawrence River in Ontario, Canada last August, I had a little mishap. At the time, it felt like a BIG trauma!

The paddle buddies were all out on the water waiting for me. All my gear was secure in its proper place in my Boreal Baffin sea kayak, except for one last little important thing.

I put my Olympus Stylus Tough waterproof camera on the front deck of my Boreal Baffin and opened up the day hatch behind the seat.

When I turned to reach for it, the camera, and its bright orange camera float, suddenly slid off the front deck of my kayak and dove between the dock planks.

“THERE GO ALL THE PHOTOS OF THIS TRIP!”

OK, I added a few four letter words to that sentence first. I couldn't believe it was possible. Look at the photos. The spaces between the dock planks didn't look that big. But I saw it happen.

I had never tested my waterproof Olympus. I didn’t know if it really was waterproof.

I knelt down on the dock and peered through the spaces of the dock planks. All I could see was the orange camera float on top of the murky water under the dock.

A paddle buddy paddled over to see why I was taking so long to depart. “Lost your camera, eh? You’ll never get it out of there. You can’t get under this dock and shallow muddy water. Better give it up.”


Me: “There’s no way I’m leaving without this camera! I need a hanger to pull it up!” Hangers aren’t things that paddlers usually have on hand on kayaking trips.


Paddle buddy smiling: “I bet the motor boaters would have a hanger . . .”

I looked at him in a special way I guess, and he quickly paddled off to leave me to my own devices. The timing was not very good for me to ask the motor boaters for help this morning.

I grabbed a nearby stick, poked it between the dock planks and hooked the camera float but it kept slipping off the stick when I tried to bring it up.

After a few failed attempts, I thought about yoga and calmed my breath and relaxed my focus and trembling fingers.

I finally pulled the camera up between two planks with a sigh of relief. My Olympus Stylus Tough waterproof camera was still attached, and the camera still worked. It really is waterproof as long as you properly close all the parts that open for the battery, memory card, and the mini USB port.

And that's why there are lots of pictures to go along with the series of six stories about kayak camping on Camelot Island that I've written for The Great Waterway, a cool new Ontario Tourism website, where I'm a regular blogger.

“Thank you kayak gods! I’ll never tromp down another dock again at dawn to protest a loud all-night motor boat party the night before, I promise . . . or leave my camera on top of my kayak when I’m on a dock with enough space between planks for a camera to fall through!”

Also, make sure to hang on to your keys if you're spending time on this dock on Camelot Island! You can't crawl or swim under it to fetch what you lose.

Karma or coincidence? 

Was it karma or coincidence that my camera fell through the planks? You're thinking stupidity, bad luck? Hmmm . . . maybe all of the above. We sometimes suspect karma when the timing for a lesson learned is very coincidental, right!? We rarely admit stupidity.

But now, I carry a wire clothes hanger in the back hatch of my kayak that I can bend into shape to hook and fetch things that fall through cracks on all trips and consider it, “required gear!” It comes in handy for other things too, like hanging gear up in trees and bushes to quickly dry in the sun and wind.

To find out why this incident may be karma or coincidence, you can read the full story on The Great Waterway. 
My next and last story in the Camelot series is now available: 

See: Breaking Camp at Camelot and Heading Home: My first kayak camping trip in the 1000 Islands with the Boreal Baffin. Awesome!

I'm a regular blogger for The Great Waterway, a cool new Ontario Tourism website, so you can look for a new story from me there each month, and you'll find lots of other stories, news, articles, reviews, and interviews right here on BaffinPaddler.

Thanks for visiting!

Happy trip planning!
(c)The BaffinPaddler

The 14th Dalai Lama will be live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 28, 2012, at the Ottawa Civic Centre. I plan to attend. I mean listen . . .

Ok bird, you're the boss: Cycle to yoga on the Deschenes Rapids, Aylmer, Quebec

To spring paddle or not to spring paddle? That is the question.

In a Canadian spring clime I have to think twice about hauling out all the kayaking gear I need to paddle cold water so . . . the bike gets more action at this time of year.

The legs don't get much work in a kayak, so it's their time to play in spring. Biking is awesome at this time of year. Fewer people on the paths. Cooler temps.

I cycled to a pretty cool place to do some outdoor yoga along the shoreline of the Deschenes Rapids with views of some dam ruins, if you can call them views. They are really dangerous industrial decay that they don't know what to do with in Aylmer, Quebec, Canada. The rapids are extremely dangerous here. Not for paddling or swimming but spectacular to view from a safe spot.

I wanted to climb up on a piece of rock, actually dam ruins along the shore, to strike a few yoga poses and stretch out.

But the gulls rule here. The sentries said, "HEY. It's our rock!"

So I said, "Ok. I'll back off."

I had to be happy with a smaller rock. It was so much easier. And a lot safer. Easy feels good. Safe is better. Sea gulls are wise. And you can't do standing poses looking at moving water.

The spring forest path seemed a bit bleak.

But I changed my mind. There is proof where the sun shines.

Early spring is my least favorite time of year. I don't know what to do with it or what to make of it.

I am thinking of that first spring paddle. Where will it be?

Happy trails.
Stay warm and safe.
The BaffinPaddler

Gordon’s odd charms got me in the 1000 Islands

Tree pose in Gordon Island's historic 1904 Gazebo, 1000 islands, Ontario, Canada

The first time I walked around Gordon in the summer of 2011, it reminded me of a war zone.

At first sight, it was a wasteland of many tall, dead trees and burned out trees from a controlled burn on parts of the island by the St. Lawrence Islands National Park in the Spring of 2010 in their efforts to restore natural habitat and rejuvenate oak tree growth.

The tallest trees weren’t burnt, but they were dead and barren. Almost all of Gordon Island's mature red oaks have become victims of short-horned oakworm, ice storms, and not enough rain in past years.

Part of Gordon's trail was lined on both sides with a dense tangled mass of the tallest wild raspberry bushes I’d ever seen.

I felt like I was walking through a three-foot tall corridor of barbed wire.

All the proliferating wild raspberry and blackberry bushes on the island shade out the struggling oak tree seedlings, and were part of the reason for the controlled burn on sections of the island. The remaining bushes along the trail were growing like weeds and full of berries. I picked and ate some. Sweet. But, ouch! The thorns were wicked when I reached in to get the best berries.

Along another stretch of trail was a big patch of poison ivy and a red danger sign.

I thought, “I DON’T LIKE THIS ISLAND.  IT’S NOT PRETTY!”

Then, Gordon suddenly changed my mind.

I saw the large historic gazebo built in 1904 with its octagonal shape and sandstone walls.

Gordon Island 1904 gazebo, 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada

The birds seemed to love it here.There were lots of them singing in the trees and swooping across the wooded trail above me, especially Red-winged Blackbirds. The dead trees make Gordon Island a woodpecker's paradise. You can also spot warblers, nuthatches, and chickadees.

I noticed two big Osprey nests. Tall, dead trees make great nesting sites for them. 

The little wild beach on the north shore of Gordon Island has enough room to land a few kayaks and a sweet swimming hole with crystal clear water and a soft white sandy bottom. I went for a swim.

The odd island has charm, history, and an awesome gazebo with a nice waterfront view of the St. Lawrence River. 

Gordon Island, unlike most of the other islands in the 1000 Islands, is made up of a sandstone conglomerate rather than the more usual granite of the Canadian Shield. 

Gordon Island sandstone bluff, 1000 islands, Ontario, Canada

Suddenly, I found Gordon Island's trails enchanting. The island was both struggling and flourishing.

This is why I was here. To see if Gordon Island was a good Paddle to Yoga destination.

Was it? I thought so.

And from this inspiration, I took it further. I continue to look for, and stumble upon, more good outdoor locations that inspire me to strike a yoga pose or two. I find doing a bit of yoga in the outdoors awesome.

More about Gordon’s charms

My next story in the series of stories I’m writing for the blog of The Great Waterway, a cool new Ontario Tourism website is published on their site if you’d like to check it out: 

Paddle to Yoga on Gordon Island in the 1000 Islands

Coming soon to this series of six stories: My first kayak camping trip to Camelot in the 1000 Islands with the Boreal Baffin. Awesome!

• Breaking Camp on Camelot and Heading Home

See also:

• The Paddle Route to Camelot
• Setting up Camp on Camelot
• Camelot Island Neighbors

Happy paddles!
(c) The BaffinPaddler

Many thanks to the staff at St. Lawrence Islands National Park of Canada, Parks Canada for their help in answering my questions about Gordon Island and other islands in the park.