Probably not totally, but our expedition days are over. Both of us have physical issues that makes paddling painful.
We plan to keep several of our kayaks, some paddles, and our daily gear but we have a ton of stuff from gloves and wet shoes to dry boxes and bags, navigation gear, etc.
I guess I will just post one ad in the accessories section and will just send a list of items and prices to anyone interested.
There is just so much stuff, some still unused.
It is sad, but we plan to still paddle now and then and continue building kayaks and canoes, just more slowly.
I hear ya…
I sold my beloved long boat as it was too good to just sit here and needed someone it could romp and tromp with again. My shorter boats serve me better for quick day trips.
Don’t get old… GH
I know the time is sneaking up…
on us, but I don’t want to dwell on it yet!
Good luck and make sure you keep all the best gear for some of your future paddles
Jack L
Thanks all.
I got cortisone shots in my shoulders for years to keep paddling and it probably sped up the damage. But, hey, we went on expeditions all over the world and I wouldn’t trade a single trip for healthy shoulders now.
JackL, you and Nanci are amazing and I’ll just keep living vicariously through you. Keep those trip reports coming. 
You wouldn’t want the report from…
yesterday that I almost recapped last evening !
Carrying the canoe to launch it for a 23 mile long paddle, she tripped over a rock and fell on some sharp shale and ended up with eight stitches in a nasty deep cut just under her knee.
It took the doctor a half an hour just to clean the small pieces of broken shale out of it.
He had it all numbed up and I think I did a lot more wincing then she did.
Jack L
I have gone from fast canoes and kayaks
to slower and more comfortable. I am still looking for the boat that is light, fast,and comfortable.
A 20 mile day trip might happen, but not as frequently as before.
O enjoy helping beginners get started.
Jack, I hope she is OK.
Slowing Down Myself
Due to lower back problems I’ve dropped the longer trips. Don’t mind a few days out but the long trips with portages are starting to look like a thing of the past. My two go to boats are my kev Malecite and the Bell Rob Roy. Nice and lightweight.
Time and tide…
Body parts go bad. It’s already happened to me and I wonder how many years paddling I might have left. How long before I’m selling all my gear?
It’s regretable, but good you can recognize your limitations and have the good sense to act on it. And you can still squeeze a lot of fun out of day trips.
~~Chip
Yep,
We still plan to go on overnight camping trips now and then but on calm water and slow going with gear laden boats.
Fortunately, I started going lightweight on all our backpacking and camping gear years ago so it is lighter, too. Our boats are cedar strip so light as well.
We still bike, but our bikes are ebikes. We pedal when can and use the electric motor when we can’t.
Love my Ebike…
Especially uphill into the wind on hot summer days.
Someone told me that if you “Ghost Peddle” peddle backwards as it really confuses other riders…
I too can read the writing on
the waves! I hope to have many years of paddling ahead of me (as my backpacking days are much reduced), but my body may feel otherwise about that. I hope you and yours the best, and many more years of enjoyment on the water as best you can.
We’ve swapped to big waters
and wince at iffy takeouts. We paddled around Philip Edward Island for three days… two normal paddling days and one shortie.
What we look for is easy getting out…Gymnastics onto sloped rock with a five foot depth under the boat are no longer possible. We rejected some rocks that younger would and did go for.
We were quite pleased that at 70 we can still sleep on the ground and get out of the tent albeit with the help of two Heliox chairs.
Portaging days are probably done. We are happy that there is lots of big water on the Great Lakes and the Maine coast.
And not afraid to use a cane to help get out of a kayak…hek no one is around.
I thought that I would be miserable giving up canoe country tripping with lots of portages but I find I am happy with some less strenuous trips and less mileage. We did 17 miles yesterday in Georgian Bay and 10 today and my younger me would have wanted more miles but I was fine with ten
Last week on Superior we did 25 cause someone thought they had misplaced a Helinox table and we went back to the previous site to look for it. We found it at the end of the trip…it fell out when we loaded the yak onto the car deck side down.
It had jammed in the bow.
My goals have changed
– Last Updated: Aug-15-16 10:15 PM EST –
In terms of foundation skills, no. Because I need it to feel that I can handle a capsize well, I cannot be comfortable in open water without at least a solid roll on one side, even better if on both. I got the sculls and right side roll back this last round in Maine. Left shaky but I can go to the right. As a result I felt I could go further than last year, hit some spots that I felt I should not try for last year.
But, I no longer give a damn about getting there in unnecessarily rough conditions. If I get caught in it it is one thing, but my planning has also gotten much more conservative. This year I was leaving early enough in the morning to be back by late morning or at most mid-afternoon. I picked flat days with hours of wiggle room in the forecast for longer trips. I shamelessly rode the tide in and out whenever I could.
Fog is still what it is. I spent some time in most trips refreshing my compass skills and had a new waterproof GPS on the deck. But overall I made my choice of conditions and trips much more selective and targeted.
As a result what I care about in goals and skills is much more personalized and targeted than in my younger days. I am liking it.
Mine too
Same here. Wasn’t sure if I’d be able to ever paddle again after Brain tumor and surgery 5 years ago. Advanced kayak skills have seriously eroded in the meantime, but have reappeared when I’ve needed them, and I’m still a decent paddler compared to many. I still head out into saltwater as often as I can, but I’m also a lot more conservative in choosing my days and locations. I almost never go out alone anymore, also (Unless I’m either kayaking or canoeing locally on a lake).
We were up in Maine the week before last, and we had absolute flat, glassy water 3 days straight, even offshore. Took full advantage. And there was one day with a marine forecast that in years past, I would have been yelling “Wa Hoo!!” all the way to the launch. I went out eating and drinking with a couple of friends instead, and was happy to do so. Not a second of wanting to paddle that day.
Point is, after paddling since I was in my early teens 40 or so years ago, I’ve come to think differently about where and when I paddle. Still love it, but the day will come……
WELL, TOES…
…was that lovely wooden crank you sold us this past Christmas an early start on your divestiture…?
Looking forward to seeing your listings.
Well, whatever, here’s another voice of an aging paddling population saying we hope you enjoy yourselves even on a reduced schedule, and that you always keep just enough gear to comfortably -and contentedly
PADDLE ON!
-Frank in Mismi
Well, Frank…
It wasn’t really on my radar quite yet at that time but probably should have been.
I’m glad that the paddle has a good home.
I have a different take…
– Last Updated: Aug-19-16 8:22 AM EST –
I almost haulted paddling. swapping out my mountain bike riding for a motorcycle for WAY too long! I still have 5 kayaks and bought a tandem to bring the kids aka the dogs paddling.. they love doing everything with me!
I sold my big bike due to not having a license for a bit re seizure from a head injury and broken arm the year before..the writing was on the wall to sell my big bike and resume kayaking more..no car what to do? I store 2 of mine near the river and go out when I can weather permitting....
I WILL get another big bike, next time with a sidecar so we can all go and enjoy kayak/bike camping! BTW I got a folbot citibot kayak which I intend on throwing on the bike sidecar or on the floor...
In the meantime I just redid my decks out back and they r awesome!!! We all love sitting outback relaxing to sounds of the pond peeing! I expect TW to chime in here with a pond peeing themed poem!HAHA!! ALWAYS have a sense of humour about things...sure I say that now, fasting for bloodwork this morning! Decided to do it on the work day so I can go kayaking.......