2020 VISION

New Year - a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story? Ultimately we write it. The choice is ours. -- Alex Morritt

Three days into the year and ugh, bam, A##!, and geesh! I had hit the wrong button on the computer and my brilliant yet un-substantiated pros were capsized into my computer and swept away like leaves in high water. What a way to start 2020 for Outside to Max. So our a bit behind with this post.
So what’s on your adventure horizon for 2020? As we stride into the new year, here is a list of 5 things of what we think will be influencing what we see on the water this year and beyond.

Kayaks on Demand
There is no doubt about it paddling sports participation will make a big splash in the new decade. Outdoor minded retiring boomers will be seeking both the health benefits of low impact fitness and peaceful and meditative of nature while kayaking. Kayak manufacturers, gear & clothing suppliers, and outfitters will have to take note that women are now representing about 45% of the paddling population and soon will outnumber the men. In turn, kayaks will be lighter, shorter and more versatile stressing stability but mostly comfort.

Places to Paddle
Canoeing and kayaking launch sites, take outs, and destinations are just a few clicks away as paddling apps help you plan the perfect place to kayak, canoe, or paddle near you.
Local municipalities will do their part by constructing long sought access areas to rivers and lakes in conjunction with paddling groups. Using the model build it and they come, forward-thinking water managers will propose whitewater parks like the one in Fort Collins, Colorado on the Poudre River to promote tourism and restores the river's banks to a more natural state.
Of course, that means to pay to play for many like in Oregon where paddlers using non-motorized boats will now need to purchase a new Waterway Access Permit, which will cost $5 for one week, $17 for a year or $30 for two years.
The switch went into effective Jan. 1, though officials won’t be enforcing the new permit until August 1.
The fees will help fund an aquatic invasive species prevention program, as well as new waterway access for non-motorized boating projects.

Safety Zone
We can only hope water safety awareness increases going into the new decade, but as inexpensive recreational kayaks float out of the big box stores like Costco and Sams Club, paddling instructors can't stress enough that kayaking and paddleboarding can seem leisurely at first, but a few small mistakes can turn them deadly quickly. First-time paddlers should take a training course and always wear your PFD.
And to answer the question, can you see me now? All commercial canoes and kayaks will have safety flags for the 2020 boating season on New York's Lake George in response to an increasing number of kayak and motorboat collisions on the lake.

Kayaktivism
In 2015 thousands of boaters in Seattle and Portland, as well as smaller gatherings throughout the country, came together to protest Arctic drilling giving us the new term of Kayaktivism.

At the time, the Sierra Club’s Alli Harvey said, “The kayak is now a symbol for demanding a sea change in our approach to energy use and development.”
In this era of climate change, conservation advocacy groups and paddlers are forming alliances to work together to promote and protect waterways, restore damaged rivers and reduce carbon emissions.
Already, English paddler, Rob Thompson is doing his part. He collects discarded plastic from the ocean, along with used fishing nets. The plastic and nets are used to make kayaks, and the kayaks are used to help harvest even more ocean plastic. His company, Odyssey Innovation, sells kayaks made from recycled marine plastic for a small profit.

Future is Now
Innovations in technology will be thrown over the bow as kayaks and kaykers will be equipped with GPS touch screens powered by solar panels infused into the gel-coat of the boat. Boats designed for angling will be faster more maneuverable and hands-free. Folding kayaks and pack rafts will help us explore waterways thought to be inaccessible.
At the take out, your self-driving vehicle is already parked and your kayak load assists roof rack takes away all the heavy lifting.
For longer incursions, solar-powered lights and hands-free navigation to compact tents and tough cameras make that roughing it camping trip not so rough after all. Even your reliable Swiss Army Knife now comes with 41 functions including a built-in digital alarm clock, altimeter, barometer, thermometer and LED light.

So let us all start the year and new decade off with the challenge to persevere, even if our computers drive us crazy and our phones run out battery power. As Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Paddle #151

Taylor Carlson on Lake Clementine

I had a great time over the Christmas break paddling with my son Taylor Carlson. I paddled to a new personal record of 151 paddling days in the calendar year.  I started on California's Lake Natoma and finished the year on Lake Clementine. 
Onward to 2020.

Want to see more about Outside Adventure to the Max. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

THE PADDLING YEAR

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

On a crisp September day in 2015, explorers Dave and Amy Freeman climbed into their Wenohah canoe and paddled off into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on an adventure that would last for 366 days. Paddling, portaging, gathering firewood and hauling water became a way of life as they sought to bear witness to the land they so deeply loved, care for and hoped to help protect from the threat of proposed sulfide-ore copper mining on the BWCA's edge.

During their year in this northern Minnesota Wilderness, they camped at some 120 different sites, explored 500 lakes, rivers and streams, and traveled more than 2,000 miles by canoe, foot, ski, snowshoe and dog team. They saw the change of the season first hand from the migrating birds, the lakes icing up and snow falling to the return of spring flowers and the golden sunsets of summer. Before they knew it the earth had made that one full rotation around the sun and it was their time to paddle out of the wilderness after a year in the wild.

"The sounds of nature are so different than those of the world of humans," Amy Freeman told National Geographic when asked what she misses most since leaving the wilderness, "After a year in the outdoors your senses of sight, smell and hearing are heightened. Back in the city, we’re bombarded with stimuli. I’ve had to desensitize to not freak out."

My paddling year, unlike the Freeman's, was broken into like most of us, mini outings and weekends, trips to the lakes and rivers in between dreaming about trips to the lakes and rivers. I could be classified more as a fanatic than just plain enthusiast and consider a day that I don't get out on to the water as a day lost. But like most of us, my jobs, relationships and just plain having the time to paddle  So the over 130 days I went paddling in 2017 is quite an achievement for me and I could never do it all alone.

French-German humanitarian and physician Albert Schweitzer said, "In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."

A passion for kayaking flows through the paddling community I'm connected too, like an untamed river. I'm so grateful this past year to paddle once again with likes of  Dan Crandall, Kim Sprague, John Weed, Paul Camozzi, Jason Bates and the rest the gang at Current Adventures Kayaking School and Trips and The River Store.
From first-timers to experienced veterans any outing with these guys will be a great day on the water in building skills and confidence. After paddling with them, you only have one question. When can do it again?

And speaking of the spirit, thanks to Bayside Adventure Sports for being another guiding light in my paddling world. I have many more adventures in-store for them in the coming year to some of our favorite spots and even a few new ones.

But mostly I couldn't do any of my kayaking without the support and encouragement from my wife Debbie who makes it all possible. She is always up for an adventure sharing my same passion for being outside on the water or hiking alongside it. I can't wait for our next trip.

I would also like to thank, Dirt Bag Paddlers & DBP Magazine Online, Canoe & Kayak Magazine, Paddling Magazine, AquaBound, American Rivers and NRS Web, for sharing my posts on their social media pages. It's always a fun Friday for me to post Outside Adventure to the Max. They help to spread the word about our weekly post.

A big thank you goes out to our 2017's guest bloggers Pete Delosa, Kate Hives, Lynn Halsted, Taylor Carlson, Scott Blankenfeld,  Eric Straw and Nigel Foster for their insights and views this past year. They have certainly make OAM better by providing thoughtful and compelling views into the world of paddling. We certainly look forward to future post from them in 2018.

And most of all, I'd like to thank the readers and followers of Outside Adventure to the Max. We hope you enjoyed our thoughts and pictures about our outside experiences in 20117 and look for to more in the next.  Happy New Year.

LIKE DAD

 BY OUTSIDE ADVENTURE TO THE MAX GUEST BLOGGER TAYLOR CARLSON

My siblings and I continue to have the same argument. Who is the most like Mom or Dad? While I can see a lot of our mother in my sisters, by having a passion for cooking and strong religious family values. I started to think, what makes me the most like my father? I agree that unlike my younger brother, Cole, I share more similar interests in pop-culture with my father.

From my enjoyment of old adventure movies like Indiana Jones to his taste in 70s folk music to even, yes, wearing the same out-of-style clothing I wore back in high school (apparently, Livestrong bracelets aren’t a thing anymore). Yes, as I’ve gotten older I’ve become more and more like my Dad. And while this may sound like a sigh of relief for my brother, there’s one thing that he, along with me and Dad, share a strong passion for The Great Outdoors.

One of the first camping trips I remember sharing with Dad was during the week of Father’s Day in 2002. Dad and I, along with my Boy Scout troop, took part in a father-son fishing trip to the Paint Lake Provincial Park near Thompson, Manitoba, a small nickel mining town near the Hudson Bay. Prior to this trip, Dad could only attend small, weekend outings to nearby Minnesota lakes due to his busy schedule.

However, that was not the case with embarking on a 700-mile trip through the Canadian wilderness to spend one week in a wooden lodge, only eating nothing, but what we caught (or what the resort diner was serving across the lake).

At the time, I was at that age where I was not that impressed with being in the middle of nowhere. Instead, I just wanted to do teenager stuff like run around in the woods with my friends or simply stay inside my cabin and read some paperback book that I took along. But my father was excited and woke me up every morning at 4 AM to watch the sunrise as we cast our fishing poles off the dock. By the end of the week, I ended up catching the biggest walleye out of the troop.

Since that trip, every summer, to this day, I long for spending time in nature. The wide open lakes, the sound of the loons, the smell of a campfire, and the sight of the northern lights. But nothing reminds me more of that than of the great state of Minnesota. In June 2006, as I was coming to end of my journey on the Boy Scout trail and advancing towards the lifetime rank of Eagle Scout, my father had this grand idea for me to continue my career in Scouting by encouraging me to apply for my first ever job as a camp counselor at Camp Wilderness, a Boy Scout camp in northern Minnesota.

His reasoning was he wanted me to have a “life experience” and not work the boring, in-town job at a local McDonald's like other teens. Despite being against the idea at first, in retrospect, the summer of 2006 was one of the best summers of my life due to my time spent as a counselor.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I continued going for seven more summers, even becoming a counselor at my sisters’ Camp Fire Girls summer camp. Dad and the family did visit me often on weekends. While Mother took us to cute nearby towns to enjoy an ice cream cone, Dad took me on even more camping trips like to Bemidji State Park or to Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River.
> It was during these trips that I picked up another trait from my father: becoming that annoying know-it-all guy on a vacation who points out historical landmarks only to give a history lesson to those who listen. In repeated trips to Bemidji, I don’t know how many people I have told people that the local Dairy Queen is built on the sight of tribal huts of Chief Bemidji.

As me and my siblings became older, our days spent as counselors became numbered. Gone were the days of long summer camping trips with the Boy Scouts. Instead, the focus became on smaller, trips to go kayaking. It was time for us to spend as a family, reminiscing with stories around the campfire about previous camping trips. During the kayaking trips, Dad chose to go to places that we had never been before, mostly so that he could buy a new T-shirt from the gift shop.

On one-Fourth of July trip, we were kayaking through the Old Broken Down Dam on the river as I calmly paddle down river, texting some girl on my phone, as Cole and Dad excitedly awaited upcoming rapids. Dad warned me to put away my phone as the current will become stronger and that I might drop it. While I insisted that he was wrong that I won’t drop my phone, I didn’t predict that I was going to fall out of my kayak and into the water.

While I survived just fine, my phone did not. I was upset, but Dad knew how to help… by taking us all to our traditional last stop: Pizza Ranch Buffet!  Looking back, out of all the camping trips I have taken part of with the Boy Scouts or as a counselor, nothing has been more fun than giving me lifelong memories attending these trips with my father.

Happy Father's Day
Taylor Carlson
June 2017

Taylor Carlson is the oldest son of Outside Adventure to Max blogger Nick Carlson. He grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and spent many summers in camping, hiking, and boating in Minnesota. He now resides in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Kids & Kayaks

We sat on the bank and the river went by. As always, it was making sounds to itself, and now it made sounds to us. It would be hard to find three men sitting side by side who knew better what a river was saying.  Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It.

This Father's Day weekend I will enjoy the company of my oldest son visiting from Omaha. We will try to fit many things into his week-long visit, including reminiscing about our previous kayak and camping trips we have enjoyed together.

The other day, my wife asked me when I had developed such a keen interest in water sports and if I had kayaked growing up.  In Nebraska, we really didn't have access to water outside the public swimming pool where I learned to swim. My dad was a hunter. He took my brother and I hunting almost every fall weekend for upland game birds and fishing only a couple of times.  He would pack up the family station wagon every summer with camping gear and take us on cross-country trips to central Nebraska, the Black Hills and even to California. He would often pick scenic state parks to visit that included a lake or river for swimming. It was those summer camp outs and hunting trips that offered my first taste of exploring the outdoors.

My junior high school offered canoes trips along the Missouri and Niobrara rivers which were my first paddling experiences. Those great trips that I took with friends and classmates planted a seed in me that would later grow into a passion.

However through college, building a career and raising a young family those canoe trips turned into someday-dreams. In Fargo where the lakes are 45 minutes away, I didn't have the time and I didn't make the time. There was always a something else to do such as a work assignment, a doctor visit or another bill to pay. The water might as well have been a million miles away.
But then something great happened. My kids transformed from babies to creatures of action and adventure.
They wanted to camp. They wanted to canoe. They wanted to explore.
My kids were attending and working at summer camps offered through Boy Scouts and Campfire. Adults were needed to supervise and insure safety. That is what I told myself, but I came because it was fun. It opened a whole new world for me that I had forgotten. I was hooked again.

Before long I was attending the camps with them and taking them along on our own family adventures. Back on the water for at least a few days a year, my enthusiasm was just beginning. A couple of years later I bought three kayaks, some PFDs and paddles. I wasn't a real live kayaker yet, but I was getting there. The next season we added some whitewater boats and a tandem kayak to the fleet. The tandem meant we did not have to leave the dog behind.

On our paddling and camping trips into Minnesota, we stayed at scenic state parks with water access. After setting up the tents and exploring the lake or river, we remembered the day's journey fondly that night by the campfire. Some of my best fatherhood memories have taken place fireside with my kids. Laughter and reminiscing circled like the smoke from the fire.

"Remember the time at camp?" Taylor, my oldest would start.

"You mean the time that kid's swimsuit was hung on the flag pole?" added Cole, my youngest while roasting marshmallows.

Along with a collection of others, I had heard that story a dozen times before. I'm sure the trees that surround the campsite have heard thousands more like it.  I listened to the telling and retelling of their tales again like it was the first time. The jumble of camper's hi jinx and mischief have turned into family fables. Taylor has a way of stretching one story to another and another providing nostalgic entertainment. I have often said there is no one better around a campfire than Taylor. Even the trip we were on would later be a story at some distant campsite to come.

The next day brought more paddling, exploring and spending time together. The trip would end too quickly with a stop for ice cream or pizza or both on the way home.
 
So on this Father's Day weekend, may all dads and their kids build classic tales of their time together along the water. Those adventures will live in their memories and will be told over and over again as long there kayaks, canoes and campfires.