We’ve had quite a bit of snow recently in SW Michigan followed by a few warm (50+) days. The gage height of the St Joseph river jumped up 4 feet in 24 hours which pretty much eliminated all the shore ice. It felt soooooo good to get on the water yesterday even for just a short paddle. Paddling upstream was invigorating with the river running at around 3 times normal volume.
And to all you kayakers that like big water, Lake Michigan looks pretty accessible.
Gosh that looks nice. Even the big water is frozen up here and we’re getting nasty weather today:
I have a serious case of cabin fever.
We live close to a similar river here in NW Pa and it is also flowing fast and a good 5’ above gage height norm. It looks tempting when we get an early 50 degree day but I would never push my luck going out on that water this early in the year. We don’t have dry suits and that is the only way I would even conceder it. Even then the spring thaws this early leave a lot of strainers sometimes in unexpected locations. The water temp alone will keep me on shore for quite a while.
We live close to Lake Erie, burr.
Glad you are enjoying though. 
Like those nice long boat waves. 
We got that frozen rain stuff last week. I think we are on the “warm side” of your weather pattern now. Warm yesterday. Warm today, except with rain. This Friday, we are getting 6" plus of snow, likely the heavy, wet stuff.
On the plus side… After the snow, there’ll be some surfable waves.
sing
That looks pretty decent for Lake Michigan. I lived in Michigan a long time ago and every year there was ice way into April if I remember correctly .
Lake Michigan at South Haven yesterday:
NICE video! Some enticing gentle swells out there along the ice.
sing
I have a Kokatat semi-drysuit. It’s a quality piece of gear that provides a lot of protection for about $600. I just put it on at the put-in. I also use my most stable boat and tend to follow the shoreline and avoid crossing the river.
The mountains of ice+snow+sand that build up along the shoreline take forever to melt. Some rivers in southern Michigan usually stay partially or fully open all winter.
From Keith Wilkie’s facebook posting:
“Doug Van Doren and I snuck out through the channel to look at the ice on Lake Michigan. The channel was only clear about 1/4 mile into the black river. We had to use a ladder to lower our boats in and out with tow belts. But it was 53 degrees with very light offshore winds. A nice 2-3 foot swell was running along shore making it really dynamic”
I saw that. Might make for a good scenario at the 2022 GLSKS.
Too funny!!! I didn’t even noticed that it was a video by Kwikle, another PNet ole timer. Glad he didn’t just disappeared and is still up for some adventure!!!
sing
What I want to know is where on the kayak do you store a ladder? Also, is it a “traditional” wooden one, or a modern alloy takedown? 
sing
@sing Titanium/Lithium alloy. You fold it up as it goes into the n-dimensional fold box you store in the day hatch. You do want to pay attention to the warning about not submerging the fold box deeper than one meter as the combination moisture and pressure can cause it to go critical. You really don’t want to be near by when all those dimensions unfold into a singularity.
LOL! Okay, I’m skipping that piece of gear and related techniques and training. Call me a Luddite if you want.
sing
