Amen!
Sweet…
kind of says it all.
Hmmm…
Very… er… interesting discussion…
I am probably on the younger side of things here as well. I wish I had more entheusiasm when I first started, now I’m getting it but won’t have time for a few years… Entheusiasm is good though; I’ll admit, I go ballistic when I walk into a kayak shop, or any hiking/backpacking/outdoors shop for that matter. Have to constantly make sure I’m not drooling all over the purty stuff…
Steve, flatpick -
In the wilderness systems site there is a “Download photos” section. looks cool. It’s under cunstruction. do you know when it will be completed ?? THANKS 
!!!
http://wildernesssystems.com/download_photos.php
Good idea
Maybe in late May but not Memorial Day weekend? Something along the lines of the day we met and swapped our SOTs and just tooled around trying things with them. I like the picnic idea.
I do want the water to warm up a lot more before we organize anything that might entice people who haven’t bought wetsuits, drysuits, and who knows what.
Trying to think of other Coloradans who’d be interested in a “just for fun” event (no restrictions on what kind of kayak you bring), and sadly I’m coming up blank. BUT I betcha if we had even a few of us playing around on a nice weekend day, people would come over to ask about how to get into kayaking. If it looks like even an informal “organized” event, there will be askers.
I like fettuCHINE!
With MARINAra sauce!
I wouldn’t hold my breath
waiting for WS to update this area of the website. I looked at WS boats about 8 months ago, and it was still “under construction”.
Too bad they don’t have web blogs like Liquidlogic. (google Shaneslogic) Time to fire the web design company and hire kayakers.
May 21
would be the last weekend day before Memorial Day. What’s shallow enough to warm up pretty good by then? I haven’t paddled Boulder Res. Also wouldn’t want to compete with something like Kinnetics whenever it is. Chatfield ponds might be warming, but I’m thinking a bit farther north to attract some Ft. Collins people. I bet spreading the word here and around a few shops locally would get a bit of interest. Anything too organized could bring on liability problems. “Just some people showing up to paddle.”
Taj
Maybe early June would be better
May 20 or 21 or the first two weekends in June are the possibilities that avoid Memorial Day and Father’s Day. Water will still be chilly (barring a heat wave), but at least by then a brief dunking in “regular clothes” won’t mean instant emergency.
Kinetics usually takes place in early May.
I have paddled Boulder Res, and it is probably the most boring place I’ve been. It’s literally a hole in the ground, no coves or fingers or other irregular (interesting) features.
Ruling out Gross Res due to colder water and alleged windiness, even though it looks pretty. (I have not paddled there.) Parking might also be a problem, due to limited space and trailer prohibition.
Barr Lake water is unappealing. I would not want someone taking a dunk in that.
Chatfield main res will be a motorized zoo after school lets out. Not a good environment if any total newbies show up. The gravel pond would be good paddling, with some precautions. We would need to try to keep people away from shoreline fishermen, which could be difficult. Some commercial kayaking classes are taught there, and they can take up a large chunk of shoreline.
Aurora would be perfect in terms of cleanliness, boating culture (gas engines prohibited), paddling options, and beautiful picnic facilities. However, they might be too far east to consider as a central location.
Cherry Creek res is kindasorta in the same region but not nearly as nice as Aurora and it gets the same motorhead zoo crowd as Chatfield.
I’m thinking Big Soda Lake or Bear Creek Lake (both are in the same park) could work well. The views from Big Soda are hardly scenic–they would be if it weren’t for the two highways next to it–and it too is just an oval in the ground. Bear Creek is more visually interesting. 10 hp motor restriction on Bear Creek Lake and no motors at all on Big Soda. Easy access to the park.
What is Standley Lake like? I thought the fees were expensive.
Expensive
(Pamlico, pardon the partial hi-jack. Hope to work out something fun here.)
Standley is a $160 membership for non-powered water use, May - Sep., and something like $500 - $600 for powerboats. The powerboat memberships probably sold out in early Feb. It has a bit of interesting shoreline on the west end and potential for wind in the afternoons and esp. w/tstorms. I walk the dog there several times a week (free on open space) and still haven’t justified the cost. Bear Creek has improved since they started circulating the water last year. The algae blooms used to really slime my hull. $4 at the gate for a carload and a pretty easy put-in. If one gets there early enough there is a pretty good picnic spot w/shade just west of the boat ramp. If you know the spot there is a little cove there that is a shallow put-in out of the way of the ramp.
Taj
nope
we’re re-working the site, as we speak.
steve
Cool !!!
Jersey Paddler show
sorry but I have bad news.
The Pamlico 140 didn’t make it to the show so no pics. maybe in Kittery in 2 weeks.
steve
Working on it huh?
– Last Updated: Mar-25-06 8:50 PM EST –
Heard that before ;)
Wilderness Systems is notoriously SLOW updating their site....it always seems to be one of the last kayaking sites to ever get updated with current information. They don't even have their current catalogs out yet and it is nearly April already!