BORN TO PADDLE, KAYAKING WITH KIDS

    The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in
  pools and eddies to remind you who you are. --- Lynn Culbreath Noel

"Can I fall in?"
That question is usually unheard of in my adult classes. Just the thought of rolling upside in their kayak would strike terror into them. But, this query came from smiling freckled-face ten-year-old girl with boundless energy and little fear.

"Sure if you want to," I replied.

The girl and kayak in one motion capsize with a plop, gurgle and splash. An instant later, in text-book maneuver, she lowers her head to the bow, pushes her legs and feet clear of the kayak and then drops them to the bottom and brings her still smiling face up alongside her kayak.

It's an annual rite of summer on Lake Natoma near Sacramento Ca., as nearly dozen kids were taking part in Current Adventures Kayaking School & Trips youth kayaking classes. There the students learned paddling skills and water safety while developing a deep appreciation nature.

"Kids love kayaking and most take to it almost instantly," said Current Adventures' Dan Crandall, "We get them smiling at the beginning of class and have them laughing by the end."

Anyone who works with kids regularly knows they come with have short attention spans and aren't to focused on learning the technical aspects of the forward, back or sweep strokes.The key for instructor John Weed, is to keeping paddling exercises fun, short and interesting. He used a game of keep-a-way to get the students to paddle and steer their boats. From the shore, it looked like a mayhem of bumper boats crashing about the lake, but before long the students are discovering how to propel and turn their boats while chasing a green ball.

Another game Weed used to help kids practice boat control all while having fun was called Sharks and Minnows. He is instructed one kid to be a shark while all the other kids were all minnows.

"I'm hungry!" called out the shark.

"And I'm a little minnow," cried the scattering minnows trying not to get tagged by the shark, because once tagged they become a shark.  It kept going until every paddler became a shark. By using these active games the young kayakers were soon making new friends and having fun all while building paddling skills that they can be used on the lake or river.

Next, it was off to explore. Across the flat-water, the lake offers some special hideaways like “Swampland” and “Berry Pond". As the kids toured the hidden backwaters occupied by turtles, tadpoles, deer and other critters, the wonders of nature came alive to them. Quietly paddling along they became naturalists as they explored and made their own discoveries in the lush wetland.

On day three the Junior class ages 10-14, moved on to the easy moving waters of the Lower American River. On the river, the young paddlers after two days of paddling lessons tested their new skills on moving water. While a little apprehension came over the group at the sound of rushing water, but it was all smiles on the other end after they punched through a series of fast water. Before the day was over the youths are immersed in river reading, river signals, and moving water paddling maneuvers.

"This class leaves them begging for more, said Crandall, "The kids always leave these classes super excited and many come back year after year."

Meanwhile back on the lake, I had pushed the kayak up on to shore and dump all the water out of it with help from the still smiling and dripping wet ten-year-old girl. I was going to get plenty of practice doing over next couple days when she asked, "Can I do that again?"

 If you want to go

Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips 
PHONE: 530-333-9115 or Toll-Free: 888-452-9254
FAX: 530-333-1291
USPS: Current Adventures, P.O. Box 828, Lotus, CA 95651
info@currentadventures.com
owner Dan Crandall dan@kayaking.com

Eppies Paddle Training

 

Eppie’s Great Race known as “The World’s Oldest Triathlon” is the one of the largest paddling event in the United States. Founded in 1974, the race features a 5.82-mile run, a 12.5-mile bike and a 6.35-mile paddle held along the scenic American River Parkway in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento.
That 6.35 miles down the American River with all its ripples and one rapid requiring whitewater skills presents the most challenging and exciting component of the annual race. Participants are expected to transfer from bicycle to boat at the Jim Jones Bridge for the final leg of the race. While most of them come with running and biking skills many of them have never paddled the river.

"When you go through bridge bays," instructs Dan Crandall of Current Adventures,  "You'll want to drop over into that deep faster current along on that right shore."

Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips has conducted intensive kayak workouts with racers for the past several weeks building up to this weekend's race. The sessions have provided instruction on paddling technique and have turned troublesome San Juan Rapids into a speed bump for the participants.

"Are you ready to paddle tonight?" yells out Crandall from his kayak like a general addressing his troops in formation, as he paddles back and forth in front of a line of kayakers. 
 "We gotta about a week left. I want hear something out of you otherwise were just going to give up...Go home. Watch TV.  Eat popcorn. Peppermint Patties.  Drink milkshakes. All that good stuff you want to do, that you can do the day after the race."

Some paddlers have use these sessions to update their skills and get down a practice run for the event, while others are kayaking for the first time. The Current Adventure instructors in stride help each paddler with paddling fundamentals, boat handling abilities, and reading the river for the day of the race.

"Start being very aware on the lines on the river." said Crandall  "Use landmarks look ahead. Every time you come around a corner, set a new course to the next corner, don't just be staring at the bow or the deck of your boat. You'll get lost. People will pass you. You'll end up in eddys going the wrong direction. The trolls will find you! So keep your chin up.  It helps you breath. It helps you get more torso rotation and helps you keep looking ahead.  Looking ahead is what makes you faster and keeps you on better lines."

At the end of course at Riverbend Park tired paddlers pull their kayaks across the finish lines with an understanding of the river and what is hand for this weekend's great race.

Current Adventure Kayak School ant Trips
PHONE: 530-333-9115 or Toll-Free: 888-452-9254
FAX: 530-333-1291
USPS:Current Adventures, P.O. Box 828, Lotus, CA 95651
info@currentadventures.com
owner Dan Crandall dan@kayaking.com

Over the Bow: The Lower American River

 “As humans, water makes up seventy percent of our bodies.  Water is who we are at our most elemental level.  We must learn to respect water, as it is us. “ – J. Michael Read
 San Juan Rapids is constant Class II rapid on the Lower American River downstream from the Sunrise Access in Fair Oaks, California. It's clay ledge stretching out more than halfway across the river and fast water creates a long and vibrant wave train and chaotic churning eddy that wreak havoc and fun for area paddlers. The American River has picked up speed since making the sharp right turn to the north at Suicide Bend. A chute of waves gives paddlers an idea of what is coming up as they approach the rapid. Soon a roar fills the air and the sight of the rapids appear below.
 There are three ways to pass through San Juan Rapids.  Being off to the right provides the best waves, in the middle for a fun drop and extended bubble wave or stay to the far left and avoid the rapid only to feel it's powerful eddy effect. Underneath the rapid, the river flows back together smashing into the cliff creating a circular boil,  before slowing down to gentle speed.
The rapids are the last hurdle in the popular of the Eppie’s Great Race course. The popular running, biking and paddling race in Sacramento in its 42nd year.  Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips has offered intensive training at San Juan Rapid for competitor training for Eppie’s Great Race. These are sessions providing instruction in paddling and learning how to treat San Juan Rapid like a speed bump on race day. Practicing racers were encouraged to run the rapid a couple of times to familiarize themselves with its nature.
Learning to how to paddle the rapid is fun and exciting, but with any fast flowing turbulent water safety advised along with the use of a personal flotation device or PFD.  A 64-year-old man has died last week after emergency crews flew him from the San Juan Rapids to Mercy San Juan hospital. The Sacramento Metro fire department received a call about an unconscious man at the rapids. Bystanders and boat rescuers gave the man CPR before he was flown to the hospital by Metro Fire’s helicopter crew. The victim was not wearing a PFD.

Over the Bow is a feature from Outside Adventure to the Max, telling the story behind the image. If you have a great picture with a great story, submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com

Up River Without A Shuttle

 “Going up that river was like traveling back to the beginning of the world, when the plants ran wild and the trees were kings. We sailed up an empty river into a great and silent forest"  --Joesph Conrad,  Heart of Darkness...

 In the past couple of weeks, I have been taking trips up the river and then back down. It is challenging in a way for me. All explorers went up the river from Lewis & Clark to Teddy Roosevelt. It's the drive to see what is around the next bend and the anticipation of not knowing what will be seen.

My kayak partner Erik Allen and I were for that challenge last month when we paddled up the North Fork of the American River from Upper Lake Clementine. We had traveled up another section of the river before at a place called Rattlesnake Bar and above Folsom Lake. There is a mixture of lake and river. Above Lake Clementine, it would be all river. Going up the North Fork follows an ever-rising gradient. The water comes in swift fashion. We would paddle pool to pool portaging through the rapids. Erik's longer sea kayak would help him muscle through the fast current a few times by vigorously paddling as hard as he could to pass over the ledge where the water was in a boil. Its nature's rowing machine.

"This is a marathon, not a sprint," Luke Kimmes told the Des Moines Register  "Physically, it's very demanding to paddle nine to 12 hours a day, but a lot of it is up here (he points to his head). It's that mind over matter idea."
Kimmes and five others are on different odyssey this year. They are on the Adventure to Rediscover North America Expedition, canoeing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. The journey will take them through ten states, and five Canadian provinces traveling the most way the upstream on the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. It's well past 2,000 miles upstream before they are finally going downstream in the Red River Valley of the North and into Canada.
"This is the type of trip I dreamt about when I was a kid," said Kimmes, "It's a passion of mine to show others that getting outside and enjoying the environment is good for the soul. It's a lot better than sitting at a desk."

 I compare it to climbing steps. On some rivers, you will feel a gentle tug or push. When a river turns, it forms a bend. The strongest and deepest current will usually be found on the outside of that curve. So while Erik tries to power paddle through, I take the easy way, finding where the rapids are the narrowest to the pools. Locking my boat against the eddies, a relative calm where the main current flows reverse,  I climb out of my kayak and push it through the fast water. Leaning into the streaming and bracing against the boat.
I have waded before. In the Midwest, we could never really wade in many rivers. Their bottoms were made of mud and silt. You would quickly sink up to your ankles or knees in muck. Don't even think of wearing a pair of shoes. You would either leave them stuck in the mud or spend the next hours trying to scrape the sludge off them. There it's better to go barefoot with the mud oozing between your toes.
 Water shoes are a must today. A couple of weeks ago this water was snow. It is still cold against my legs and feet. This water has enough power to knock me down and the rocks underneath are slippery and jagged. My neoprene boots hold in my warmth and also protect my feet in the rocky river bottom. In my mind, I think about to the explorers and gold miners who stood ankle deep in this cold stream searching for new lands and new treasure. Before long we are back flat water with a roar of the rapids behind us.

"Really, it speaks to what this trip means to me, which is if you have a passion, part of passion is struggling and sacrificing for what you want." said the mastermind Adventure to Rediscover North America Expedition, Winchell Delano in the same interview with Des Moines Register, "The feeling when you cross that divide and you're going downstream again, it's like delayed gratification through cathartic pain."

In the Midwest the slope is measured in inches. It's like pouring water on a pool table and watching it meander to the table's lean. In the foothills of California, if there is water, it comes cascading down the canyons offering scenic beauty and solitude.  At one spot we are treated with the sight of a bald eagle. It pays us no mind as we paddle on in a quiet pool. When soaring, it could be on to the next canyon in the time it takes us to paddle around one bend. It's all new to us, even though it has been mapped, surveyed and Google earthed. When we are out here paddling up stream little matters. It's like we are the first to see it, hear it and touch it.
"Just one more bend," we say to each other. Or maybe even one further up. Lets see how far we can go, powered by trail mix and granola bar before turning back. Then we can turn around and ride the bouncy gentle rapids back to still waters.

Over the Bow: Lake Natoma & the Rainbow Bridge

My talented wife Debbie Klenzman Carlson owner of Progressive Portraits made some impressive images me kayaking Lake Natoma under the Rainbow Bridge in Folsom.

Share your travel stories and images with us at Outside Adventure to the Max.  We are always looking for guest bloggers and their pictures. Check us out on Facebook.

Bay to Bay

                                       

Lake Natoma

 Rivers are the primal highways of life. From the crack of time, they had borne men's dreams, and in their lovely rush to elsewhere, fed our wanderlust, mimicked our arteries, and charmed our imaginations in a way the static pond or vast and savage ocean never could. ---Tom Robbins 


Sometimes I'm just at a loss for words to describe the joy I have for kayaking along on a lake, a river and now the ocean. I got into boating roughly five years ago this month and haven't looked back. Each day on the water fades into a dream only a picture can tell. Bright days, cloudy days and moonlit nights have been chronicled in my photographs of my paddling adventures. Here are a few of my favorite images from this year so far.

Lake Natoma

Paddle Pushers on Lake Natoma

Moonlight Paddle on Lake Natoma

Lower American River

Rollins Lake

Folsom Lake

Folsom lake

Folsom Lake

North of the American River

San Francisco Bay

We are always looking for guest bloggers to share their adventures stories and pictures. Keep up with Outside Adventure to the Max on our Facebook page.

Over The Bow: Pink Moon Paddle Video Blog Extra

Come along for this Outside Adventure to the Max's special journey for this video blog extra.
This weekend I took part in full moon paddle with the Sacramento Paddle Pushers on Lake Natoma near Folsom, California. The meetup group's posting called for a full "Pink" moon rising. In poetic fashion, it says, "This Full Moon heralded the appearance of the pink moss, or wild ground phlox—one of the first spring flowers."
Calling this full moon "Pink" is a misnomer because this weekend's "Pink" Full Moon isn't really pink. It will still have the yellowish-white complexion that it always does, that is until early Saturday morning's lunar eclipse, but I'll tell you more about that later.
It refers to the herb moss which grows abundantly in early spring. In Native American cultures, this full moon has many names such as Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes, it's the Fish Moon, because this was the time of year that the shad swam upstream to spawn.
Our ancient ancestors have always looked to the sky. They gave names to the Full Moons to keep track of the seasons. January's full moon is called the Wolf Moon. Because of the warming temperatures when earthworms begin to appear March's moon is the Worm Moon. While September's full moon is called the Corn Moon or Harvest Moon because its when corn was supposed to be harvested. These colorful names all in invoke a certain magic. The moon is our the closest heavenly body in our nighttime skies. For thousands of years, we have used its light to guide us in the dark. What better way to sense its lunar allure than to watch the sunset into golden waters in the west and see the moon climb into the evening sky while kayaking.

Rattlesnake Bar's Visionary Enchantment

“As we passed on, it seemed as if those scenes of visionary enchantment would never have an end.” --Meriwether Lewis

I have always found that visionary enchantment Lewis writes about on my trips at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area's Rattlesnake Bar and up the North Fork of the American River. Gliding in clear water along a passageway between massive granite ramparts cradling the lake and river. The canyon walls also flow in patterns of the stream. The once molten rock now crystallized over millions of years has been lifted and exposed. Thin-bedded sedimentary layers have been shattered and busted along the fault lines while large boulders have become their own islands raising from the depths.

When I started kayaking I dreamed of being in a place like this. These were the places pictured in the favorite kayak magazines. Quiet inviting pools of water with amazing scenery, while just around the bend the ripples have turned into churning cascades. The sound of the thundering water echoing off the chasm walls has always called to me.

It is a warm day in March and the lake running high. It’s a far cry from more than a year ago when I was driving and walking on the lake’s floor. Now the lake is nearly double with the water it at about 100 percent of normal, meaning the lake levels are where they should be, despite the ongoing drought. It's a good sign. I'm able to paddle farther into the North Fork's canyon than I have before, passing the long gone miner's gold camps. During the Gold Rush thousands of miners picked, dug and blasted along the banks of the river looking for fortune, but today it is only me finding the riches of the lake and stream.

Before long the placid lake turns into moving water. I feel the tug of current pushing me back. At a couple rapids, I leap-frog the fast water by portaging my kayak. I hopscotch between the uneven rock. The footing isn't great. I find sandy beaches below each rapid along with clear blue pools. In summer this would be an inviting spot for a swim. However, it is March and the water remains liquid snow from the Sierra. Swimming will have to wait till next time. I press on until being stopped by a long line of rapids.

I have lunch on the beach and then go with the flow. I catch the current enjoying a bouncy ride to quieter waters.

Urban Paddler

The Mississippi River and downtown St Paul, Minnesota.

There is a whirl of activity at Hidden Falls Park in St. Paul, Minnesota. Shuttle buses are coming and going. Kayaks and canoes are being unloaded and carried to the grassy staging area next to the river. Numbers are have been assigned, pictures are being taken, while water, apples and granola bars are packed into the boats. It is the annual Migthyssippi River Adventure Race day on the Mississippi River. Over a 100 hundred paddlers have signed up for the 14-mile charity event through the Twin Cities. The paddler's instructions on the river are easy: Be Safe, stay to the right of the river when traveling downstream. Avoid all boats and barges and have fun.
A countdown from the loudspeakers and soon the river is filled with kayaks and canoes of every color and size. Before long the paddlers spread out going past Fort Snelling State Park and the skyline of St Paul giving each one their own perspective of the famous river. At times it is gritty and industrial, but also offers an oasis of nature in the heart of city dwellings.
Most paddlers feel like they are discovering it for the first time. They are surprised that an urban river can contain so much beauty and nature. It happens all the time for urban paddlers. The waterways thought to be dirty and polluted are found clean, inviting and full of wildlife. On the Red River between Fargo and Moorhead, I have seen deer, beaver and even a bald eagle along the bends of the rivers just blocks away from downtown. River otters splash and hide in the rocks underneath the Rainbow Bridge over Lake Natoma and the American River, while farther down Californian quail, deer, and Canadian geese find a haven in the sloughs.

The American River Parkway

On the river urban views are blocked by trees. The only reminder that one is even close to civilization is going to the cities train and highway bridges. The buzz of traffic echoes off the water giving us the only clue we are close to home. In some places, we go back in time past turn of the century mills and remnants. Along the Red River on the Moorhead side, I can still find broken bottles from the prohibition days when North Dakota was dry and Minnesota taverns were right on the river. On the American River, huge piles of dredge tailings are still visible from gold mining days. The waterways are no longer highways or dumping grounds and the rivers have now reclaimed their banks.

Paddling in downtown Fargo, North Dakota.

Canoeist Natalie Warren founder of the outdoor education nonprofit Wild River Academy has trekked the waterways across the country to observe how rivers are promoted in their communities. In a recent interview with Canoe & Kayak Magazine said, "When I paddled urban rivers from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay and from Minnesota down to the Gulf of Mexico, I realized that our local water trails have their own beauty and, even more, provide a classroom to learn how our country uses rivers. My experiences on wild and urban rivers inspired me to speak about building a culture around urban paddling, diversifying the paddling community, and increasing recreation, positively impacting all aspects of society."

Natalie Warren left and Ann Raiho in Fargo, N.D., during the 2011 Minneapolis to Hudson Bay Trip

Warren's goal is to increase recreation through the public waterways in river towns with the addition outfitters, hiking and bike paths, restaurants and interpretive centers, campgrounds and most important access to the water.
 "I hope to highlight the positive ripple effects of opening up to the river and prioritizing water trails to improve recreation and trails, tourism and economies, and increased environmental education and ecosystem health. It all starts with a paddle in the water. Every time you paddle locally you are partaking in a larger movement for the betterment of communities, ecosystems, and the future of river-town economies."
Paddlers taking part in the Mightyssippi River Adventure finished the day under the Interstate 94 bridge, 14 miles downstream. They came away with sore muscles and smiles with this annual day on the Mississippi. Of course for some, this experience is only a warm up to their annual Boundary Waters trip or lifelong dream of going down the Grand Canyon. However, paddling locally and exploring their neighborhood water trail gave them a low-cost view of the river, right in their own backyard.

Kayak Resolution

 The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare to let go. Our true work is this voyage, this  adventure.  (Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah)

 It is the start of the new year for us all. For some of us, it  is time setup, plan and dream about trips in this oncoming year. 

Armed with two new books, Paddling Northern California, from Falcon Guide and The American River Insider's Guide to Recreation Ecology and Cultural History of the North, Middle and South Forks, from Protect American River Canyons. I look through the pages researching and planning new kayak trips. Paddling Northern California by Charlie Pike is now in its second edition complete with color pictures and maps. Pike details 70 river and lake trips through out the northern tier of California. He highlights take out and put in information as well as giving overview of the paddling experience. Meanwhile, The American River is guide to the North, Middle and South Forks of California's American River. It is in it's third edition giving great tips for both hiking and paddling. It was put together by a host of contributors giving a local flavor and history of the three river canyons. After thumbing through the pages I brim with excitement and anticipation of the new year. So many water trails, so little time.

My goal is to get out and paddle more, visit these places and make them more to me than just a couple of pages in a travel book. An over night paddling trip down the Sacramento River, an outing at Elkhorn Slough and kayaking across on Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe. I paddled 133 days last year and look forward to getting close to that mark again, yet still haven't not hit some favorite places on the map.

Still,  I have a paddling buddy who said, "You know I really like paddling and kayaking a lot." He then paused looking over the lake and added,  "But, there are so many other fun things I like to do to."

 I have to agree with him. I need to get my mountain bike out of the garage and take it down the trail. My cross country skis and snowshoes have been sitting in the corner way to long. I need to try downhill skiing and hike uphill backpacking. So this new year, I look forward to experiences both old and new. Seeing the more the world around me in many different ways, of course over the bow as my favorite.

2014 in Review: The Years Top Photos.

On Folsom Lake with Bayside Adventure Sports.

As the 2014 draws to a close I look back at some of my favorite places and pictures of the past year. This has been my first full calendar year living in California. The proximity to the lakes and rivers along with California's pleasant weather helped me to personal record of the most days on the water in the year. All in all I kayaked some 134 days in 2014.  Mostly on my friendly neighborhood Lake Natoma just down the hill. Its an easy trip to the water from my home. Other local trips included the Lower American River and Folsom Lake while further ones trips took me into the foothills and the Sierra.
While a good chunk of the paddling was done with my wife or solo, I also had the good fortune of kayaking with Erik Allen and members of Bayside Adventure Sports, The Sacramento Paddle Pushers and the gang at Current Adventures. Those groups introduced me to some new friends, fellow paddlers and new places to paddle, making it an exciting year. We all share the same passion of being outside on the water.
In 2015, I look for even more adventures on the water, trail and snow. Wishing all of you the same. Happy Holidays Everyone!

Breaking a record with Paddle Pushers.

San Juan Rapids

Portage to the River.

On the Lower American River.

Surfing on the South Fork.

Snowshoeing the Sierra

Heading up to the cable.

Lunch on Loon Lake

Over the Folsom rainbow

Record Breaking Day

Splashing at Squaw

End of the night on the American

Yoga and Kayaking

On the Darkside

 

 I have come to regard November as the older, harder man's October. I appreciate the early darkness and cooler temperatures. It puts my mind in a different place than October. It is a month for a quieter, slightly more subdued celebration of summer's death as winter tightens its grip.---Henry Rollins

I don't know why, but the falling back of one hour in daylight savings times always surprises me. I'm not ready for the dark. Before my eyes, the sun is being slammed into the horizon. Exploding into little bits before disappearing into the night. It happens all too fast.

I was paddling up to Rattlesnake Bar from Donton's Point on Folsom Lake. It is not usual kayak outing for me. I had never it done before and always wanted to do. The north arm of the lake turns from big open water to a narrow canyon. With low water, the rock formations climb out of the lake in dramatic fashion. For paddlers, this is the most interesting part of the lake. Round trip it's about 10 miles.

It was a late afternoon start at about three when I dropped my kayak in on the south side of Doton's Point. Each day the lake is being drawn down further and further. Driving down to the water's edge, the dry lake bed looks more like a dry desert or the moon. Parking on a high spot on the beach, the truck should be easy to see coming back.

The hanging sun dipped behind the clouds and hovered over the horizon behind me. I looked over my shoulder the whole time wishing I had more time. I had beaten the darkness before. Late summer nights while camping in Minnesota, I would paddle out for sunset trips across the lake. Listening to the loons, watching the orange ball sink into Lake Itasca and still have enough light to paddle back,  beach my kayak and light the campfire before nightfall.

Even this past summer, while helping out with evening paddles with Current Adventures we had beaten the dark. The paddlers we were training for Eppie's Great Race on the American River would finish just short of sunset. We would carry the kayaks up the hill at River Bend Park in the twilight and load up under the stars.

Yes, I had won the race against the darkness many times before. But, this time I was surprised. I had gone too far and still had to come back. This time I wouldn't beat the night. I would be paddling back in shadow. I hurried back as fast I could. My fingers and feet tingled as I pressed into the footpegs and paddle. Faster, faster I thought to try to will my kayak back to the put in. But, no matter how fast I paddled the sunlight was gone and night had prevailed.

I paddled back toward the lights of Folsom Dam. To the east, the full moon arose over the foothills. It provided some friendly comfort. I was not totally in the dark or alone anymore. I had been on a few full moon paddles before and found them quite tranquil when I was prepared. Hugging the shore,  I was looking for my truck. The land and water amalgamated into murkiness. I can't say I was lost. I knew the lake pretty well by now and I knew how to get back. It was more like fumbling around in a dark bedroom trying to find the light switch. I know it was there somewhere. I just have to keep looking.
The moonlight glistened on the water as I approached Donton's Point. In the shadows, I could make out the silhouette of the truck's body. I was back to my starting point tired and relieved. I loaded up and drove away thinking, I better get an earlier start next time. It was only a little past six.

Going Against the Flow.

Only dead fish go with the stream...

When I look back on my kayaking trips I rarely have had a shuttle waiting for me at the river's end, not that I wouldn't mind one. But, when you solo as much as I do, you learn to do without. It's convenient to park, unload and paddle-up stream as far as I can or that time permits.

Now I'm not paddling up the Colorado. I find gentle flowing rivers with a little gradient. I have learned to read their eddies and flows. When the river turns, it forms a bend. The strongest, deepest and fastest current will be found on the outside.  Toward the inside, the water moves at its slowest.
Staying to the river's inside is where the current provides the least resistance. I hug those soft lines on their insides. Back and forth, side to side, I paddle wherever I find the least current. Where the river flows the quickest, I feel a nudge. That is where the river is telling me, I'm going this way.

 Rivers are like that.  It doesn't care about your future. It has already been upstream and is now looking for an effortless path to the sea. If you want to tire yourself out going against the river's torrent, it might say, "That is your problem. I'm looking to be lazy. Paddle up far enough and I'll convince you to turn around. Why fight it? Just go with the flow."

Old guys fish and teenagers swing from ropes tied to trees limbs along the bank as I paddle near. It is leisure time for them. They study me as I endeavor against the so-called current,  like I was coming from another place in time. 
"Wouldn't it be easier going the other way?" one calls out.
 "It would be faster," I respond.

I can hear the slight roar of the rapids while paddling up. It is a negligible whooshing. It's around the bend. I know it is coming. On the Upper American River I find a few spots where I have to wade through the stream while pulling my kayak up past the rocks. It was here, I think, the early explorers pulled their crafts up river looking for the source. The rocks are slippery and rugged as I wade through ankle deep water. It brings out the frontiersman in me. I remember watching the old western where the heroes forded the streams. It is a short portage for me. Its only yards till I get to calmer and deeper waters.

Before long I get to a dam, another series of rapids or my body will have had enough. I then turn the bow into the current and feel the power of the water turn me around. This is my reward, but I'm too tired and out of breath to enjoy my triumph.

Personal Record One Hundred Paddling Days

I took part in the Sacramento Paddle Pusher's attempt to break the largest free-floating raft of canoes and kayaks on a single body of water this past weekend.  The world's record set August 31, 2013, in Michigan's Sutton Bay is a staggering 2,099 boats. Our local organizers were optimistic for a good turnout.  However, they were pretty sure from the start they wouldn't be breaking any world's record. It really wasn't the point of the event anyway. As stated in the Meet Up invite... It's something us local paddlers can do, look back one and say I was a part of the biggest group of paddlers out on Lake Natoma. It's all about having fun.
So when 47 of us paddled out under the Folsom Avenue Bridge for a group picture, it didn't matter that we were 2,953 paddlers short of the world record. We were making a vivid lasting memory of kayaking together. A personal account to say hey, I did it.
Personal records are like that too. Just the day before,  I had set another PR for myself by reaching 100 days of kayaking. There is something very special going over the century mark in all facets of sports from rushing yardage to one hundred victories. The triple-digit number is a mark of achievement.
I did it before in 2012. Winter came to end suddenly that year and I was kayaking on the Otter Tail River in March. I cruised to the most I ever paddle in a year with 117 days. It is still my personal record. If the Red River hadn't a frozen over before Thanksgiving,  I might have added a day to two.  Our personal records are like that. They drive us for more.
In a recent Rapid magazine profile, pro-kayaker Dane Jackson called his 270 days on the water in 2013, a slow year, disappointed by not reaching 300.  For those us like me and Jackson, we always long for just one more day on the water. A record to nobody but to ourselves.
In California now, my PR has taken on a Roger Maris like asterisk, by reaching 100 days in the middle of August instead of mid-September. This time around I didn't have to struggle with frozen and flooding Minnesota rivers and lakes. I got started January 1st, a full two and half months advantage over that 2012 season.  I took full advantage of pleasant weather and my proximity to Lake Natoma and lower American River to aid in my quest for getting to 100. It just seems unfair getting in a kayak day, while hearing that the rest of the country is enduring the polar vortex.
Still, a season is a season. I looked out over Folsom Lake on my hundredth day and paddled toward the foothills. I was a notable day for me and needed a memorable trip. I paddled up the south arm of the lake till I could go no further.  Where the South Fork flows into the lake, I watched the water rushing over the rocks wishing I could go a little farther. Still looking for more. I will just have to save that adventure for another paddling day.