Favorite places to paddle: lees ferry, Colorado River, CC Cragin resivoir.
Dream paddle: the Susquehanna River, near where I first learned to paddle when I was a kid. Can’t remember the names of the creeks exactly, I’m thinking connedeguenet (sp) or monongahela (sp?)
Also I’d like to paddle in Maine and catch some brookies, and the rogue river in Oregon and land a big steelhead.
Edit: I looked them up, the creek we paddled was swatara creek. I may have paddled the conodoguinet, not sure. I don’t think I paddled the monongahela, it’s just the name sounded familiar.
Where are all the Texans that used to hang out here? TexasLady, PaddleLupe, VeggieAnnie, Osprey, Barb & Danny… That may be a demographic change… I may be a northerner, but I miss 'em.
Handle: kayakhank
First name or Nickname: Hank
Age: Just started Medicare Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast
Years on here: 6-8 ? Years paddling: 26+ Favorite boat or 3: Big water: NDK Explorer HV, Rivers/rocks: Dagger Stratos 14.5L, Fishing, especially chasing tailing redfish with a fly: WS Tarpon 140. And too many others to mention.
Go to paddle: Werner Coryvrecken or Lumpy Waters (GP) (should make my own GP one of these days - need a storm paddle)
Favorite places: Gulf Islands National Seashore barrier island - especially the east side of Cat Island to watch Spinner, Blacktip, Bull, & occasionally Tiger sharks cruising the shallows. Any point or jetty with a surf break away from a beach. Mendocino Coast. Any clear water area/stream, i.e. North/Central Florida spring fed streams, Buffalo River, Puerto Rico, etc
Future places to paddle: Alaska coast, UP of Michigan, Maine coast and inland too
Bojangles: Per your “dream paddle” destinations, are you thinking of Connoquenessing Creek? That’s a feeder to the Beaver River in far Western PA. The Beaver feeds the Ohio, which is created when the Monongahela meets the Allegheny at downtown Pittsburgh. The Mon itself is not in the same drainage as the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. All those rivers (Ohio, Allegheny, Monongahela) to the west of the PA “divide” drain either to the Great Lakes or to the Mississippi. The Susquehanna has its source to the east of the divide and begins SW of Clearfield PA south of Interstate 80 . It drains to the Chesapeake Bay.
So I am guessing the creeks you are seeking to recall are the Sinnemahoning and the Moshannon, both of which are nice moderate whitewater runs that feed the Susquehanna West Branch. My ex boyfriend lived along the SWB near Clearfield with a quarter mile of its banks along his 40 acres of wooded property, so we canoed and kayaked it and its feeders often, including nearby Clearfield Creek. The Red Moshannon was one of my favorite runs. The Sinnemahoning has several feeders itself, the Bennett and the Driftwood (though with this summer’s drought they are probably too low to paddle). Further east Pine and Lycoming creeks feed the SWB before it joins the North Branch Susquehanna at Northumberland.
There is an excellent Water Trail guide and waterproof map set that the Lumberman’s Heritage Association sells for $20 that charts the entire paddling route of the SWB. It is a beautiful river and some people have suggested it deserves Federal Wild and Scenic River status.
Favorite Boats - I currently paddle a Sterling Progression and a Tempest 170 Pro. A couple of other boats that I have owned that were “favorites” include a Sterling Illusion and a Zephyr 15.5. I would gladly own them both again.
Favorite Places to Paddle - Outer coast of British Columbia. Highlights would be Calvert, Price, Swindle, Aristazabal and Campania Islands. I live 15-20 minutes away from put-ins on freshwater Lake Washington and saltwater Shilshole Bay.
I confess that I’m often a bit nervous about these as they are pretty good for data mining. But anyway, here goes:
handle: rival51
Location: mid-Michigan
On here - maybe around 2005 or so.
Paddling since: (let’s not talk about that) Ok, so Boy Scouts and that was when you could/world drink right of the lake in Algonquin
Favorite boat: the one I’m in unless it is the Rendezvous on a lake with the wind on the stern quarter.
Canoes: Dagger Rival, Mad River Independence, Wenonah Rendezvous, Sawyer Cruiser, Nova Craft Prospector 16’
Kayaks: Pygmy Arctic Tern 17’, P&H Delphin 150 (new this year), I’m not counting the Yost Sea Rider that either needs to be re-skinned or retired.
Wildest trips: The Dog - full on self support whitewater with a 16 mile paddle out on Lake Superior in May, The White - Multi day with a paddle out in 2 - 3’ swell on Lake Superior in the Nova Craft with my 12 year daughter.
Where do I paddle the most: local - Lake Lansing, the Red Cedar & the Grand River.
pcom name: Medawgone
Play on words. Med(work in medical field, RN, EMS, and former disaster responder) Dawg(nickname)gone(always on the road somewhere paddling) Med-awg-one
Real name: Rufus Jr
Location: Eastern NC. ~90 minutes from the Crystal Coast.
Favorite boats: I have owned 60+ kayaks, over the years. Current fleet favorites:Valley Nordkapp LV(my go to kayak) Valley Avocet ( my surfer) Dagger Alchemy (my Swiss Army kayak), have 3 others “currently”.
No longer have, but miss. TaheWind 585, Valley Aquanaut LV RM, Waterfield Trans AM ( Unique kayak.I should have my butt kicked, for letting it go. )
Favorite paddle: Greenland paddle - old fashion wood. Not a fan of the composite stuff. Rotator cuffs will not handle euro loads.
Local Paddling Holes: Pamlico River is my closest water, 3- 4.5 mile wide coastal/brackish river. Bogue Inlet is my regular surf inlet. Fontana is my favorite NC Lake.
Don’t know if it’s true or not, but somebody once told me that Pennsylvania had the most miles of rivers and streams per square mile of area of any US state. A large percentage of them have Native American names, mostly very descriptive of the waterways themselves.
Sinnemahoning = “rocky lick”
Monongahela = “falling banks”
Coonoquenessing = “long way straight”
Youghiogheny = “stream flowing in a contrary direction”
Lycoming = “gravelly or sandy creek”
Allegheny = “good river” (Lenape)
Ohio = “great river” (Seneca)
Moshannon = “elk river place”
Susquehanna = “muddy current”
I can testify that the Moshannon was indeed in elk country. My ex beau’s place was near its confluence with the Susquehanna and elk are stil as common in the woods and meadows around his property as whitetail deer are in most rural areas. Startled the hell out of me the first time a bull elk bugled right outside the bedroom window waking me up just before dawn.
Ok, I looked it up. We’re talking 91 or 92, so it’s been a while.
It was swatara creek, and maybe the conodoguinet. I don’t think I paddled the monongahela, but the name sounded familiar. I also used to fish the yellow breeches. I went to youth camp in Linglestown, and they took us to swatara creek for canoe classes.
I would like to paddle the Susquehanna if I got the chance.
Handle: gjf12
Name: Jerry
Loc: San Diego, Ca
Years here: decades
Years paddling: 35
Favorite boat: QCC700 (ruddered), Seda Ikkuma (skeg)
Favorite paddle: Either of 2 Lumpy GP’s or either of 2 Novorca GP’s, both currently unobtainable.
Favorite place now: The generally calm ocean off San Diego with occasional sighting of Grey whales and dolphins.
Favorite place when younger than 80: Canadian Gulf Islands, Baja.
P.com Handle: Wayne_Smith
First name or Nickname: See above
Location, as specific as you want: CT
Years on here: since the mid 1990s
Years paddling: 40+
Favorite boat or 3: CD Caribou (Original one), Valley Anas Acuta, Old Town Penobscot 16, Bell Yellowstone Solo
Favorite places: Anywhere on coast of Maine from Portland and up, Alaska, Nova Scotia, Saguenay Fijord & St Lawrence River area in Quebec, and British Columbia. New faves welcome.
Handle: EmmittBarks
First name: Martin
Location: northern Arizona
Years on here: since March
Years paddling: canoe: 40+ off-and-on | kayak: since March
Favorite (and only) boat: Old Town Castine 140; formerly Old Town Penobscot 16
Favorite places: Boundary Waters, O’Dowds Lake (MN); Black Canyon-Colorado River; East Clear Creek, TBD/still exploring (AZ)
Dream paddle: Fla Keys, Chicago River, Baja Mex
First name: Tom
Location: central Florida
Years on here: somewhere around 2006
Years paddling: 51
Favorite boat: It depends. QCC700 for serious movement, Manitou 14 for lazy poking around or rocky rivers.
Favorite places: I love a wide variety. Coastal mangrove mazes, blackwater creeks and swamps, would love to paddle more in the southwest.
Dream paddle: Yukon
Name: Ben or Bennett
Location: near Seattle
Years on pnet/pcom: Lurked occasionally for about 10 yrs, finally registered this year.
Years paddling: a little bit of canoeing and rafting when I was younger, then a looong break until taking up sea kayaking in 2007.
Boat: Valley Aquanaut LV
Favorite places: Elkhorn Slough in California, anywhere on the ocean on a nice day.
Usual paddling location: Somewhere around Vashon Island in Puget Sound.
Mine’s Current Designs original in glass. Very close to Buchanan’s wooden version, but a little looser in the stern. I ended up putting a skeg in it rather than ballasting it every time I went out in wind. Still my #1 boat after all these years.
Hello neighbor! All of this year’s paddling has been on Pend Oreille. Other years we do a couple of trips to the waters off Vancouver Island, prevented by this year’s border closure. Maybe next year.