upstream
Bruce, I’m an open boater and confirmed poler for many o’ year now but if you’re in your kayak here are some pointers I’ve learned over time, trial and error that might apply.
Use those eddies. I frequently hopscotch from one to another so I can take a break to catch my breath. Going upstream will take it out of you. If you can ferry do so from one side of the river to a rock midstream and then to the other side. Pick your lines and take your time. A good ferry will get you there with very little effort and will be pretty quick. Hell, it’s great when you get it just right!
Look at the river all the time and plan your moves. Sometimes it is best to sit in one spot and figure out your next move as that is better than trying to fight your back after being swept back down. I can’t stress this enough as you will lose a lot of energy in recovery with a bad move/course.
Find a paddle that you don’t mind beating on and use it like a pole, jam it in the bottom and push your way upstream. I don’t know how that will work in a yak, like I said I do all my upstream work in a canoe. Regardless that paddle will take a beating so don’t waste cash on it. I use a 10’ and 12’ pole for my ventures which I would envision being too long for your purposed in a yak. Best thing I’ve ever seen is a fellow openboater coming down a narly set of shallow rapids with an 8’ homemade pole. He made it look easy compared to the rest of us.
Be very careful about tipping. If you are in high water it will be very difficult to catch your boat while you’re wading to shore, yes, I have done this and it truly sucks!!! Have some good back up and throwbags to get you out of the water as well. You boat will take off like a bat out of hell in the current if you’re in highwater.
You might want to wait until the waters are down some and the weather warms up before you decide to try all this out. You know your skill level and water conditions but it’s a suggestion. I wish you luck and have fun with it. I often pole upstream, wkly in the spring, summer, fall, cause I’m shy in the shuttle area. Have fun.
dougd
Sitting and poling?
I’d always thought of poling as something that’s done standing in a canoe. Are you the only one who poles from a seated position, or is this a “standard” technique?
Heres an idea
I’m no sure if this will help you, but this works in our canoe.
Sometimes we’ll go to the backwater section of larger lakes where the steams running into the lake are big enough to paddle. As we get futher away from the lake the river flow seems to increase. See how far you can go uptream. This may be a good way to practice what you want to learn. When you are tired, just turn around.
sitting and polling
I know other paddlers polling Sea Wind canoes from a sitting position.
South Platte River
may be quite challenging to paddle upstream because is usually very shallow. So, you are looking for deep channels which is more difficult upstream and downstream.
Before going to paddle S. Platte near Ft Morgan check water flow. It is difficult to find water there. There is more flow in the river below Greeley during fall/winter/spring.
On the next Saturday, i.e. March 19, there a joint club paddle on S. Platte from Evans to Kersey (9miles) or Kuner (15miles). Guests are welcome! Details may be found on webpages of local paddling clubs, e.g., Rocky Mountain Canoe Club:
http://www.rockymountaincanoeclub.org/2005/platte1.html
We hop the
eddies to paddle upstream. Some are more difficult than others. I usually figure it will take 1/4 the time to paddle back downstream fromt he time it takes to paddle upstream.
Skeg?
When going upstream or down in a kayak, what role, if any, is there for a skeg or a rudder? I realize that these are wind/weathercocking tools, but are they also potentially useful in river situations?
Thanks Marek
I wasn’t specific enough and actually was thinking of floating down stream more than paddling up in that case. I read something about the Evans float on RMSKC web and it sounds like fun. Not sure at this time as I have to be back in Golden in time to play a concert that evening. Looks like the weather should be OK.
Taj
thanks
I can use that one.
I use that term quite often when asked questions that have obvious answers that can only be answered by the asker.
Gentlemen don’t sail to weather.
Gentlemen don’t paddle towards current.
I can plan a whole week of paddling in the San Juan Is in Washington so we are ALWAYS going with the current and in 7 days we end up back at the put in!
cool stuff!
steve
I’m from your general area. What river/
stream are you considering? When are you planning on going?
We belong to Prairie State Canoeists (we have plenty of kayaks in the club)and have a trip on the Nippersink, Sat. Mar 26. It’s a downriver run. There are also training days for club members. First one is this Sat at Silver Springs near Yorkville. We have a moving water session in April and one in May. WW in June. Also multiple trips almost very weekend. Have you ever considered a club?
I’ve paddled upstream on our local rivers and summer conditions are vastly different than early spring conditions.
Hi Pamskee
Every now and then we consider a club and Prairie State looks like a good one.
We have had no problems going both ways on the Nippersink and the Des Plaines is fairly easy. I was wondering how I would know if upstream travel would be OK on rivers like the Fox, DuPage, Kankakee and Illinois Rivers in the spring. That's primarily the purpose of my post.
it’s natural thing!
There are a lot of good tips in this thread, but I think you are making upstream paddling a little bit too complicated. It’s a quite natural mode of paddling.
I believe that the upstream paddling is safer than going downstream if you have some basic paddling skills. If I can paddle the river upstream I can safely go downriver. And going slowly upstream you can see a lot of things you would miss paddling fast downriver.
hey, bruce! I think you would like our
club. Very friendly and a wide variety of trips to choose from.
The Illinois, Kankakee, and Fox are ‘big current’ rivers under normal conditions. In the spring, they can be huge. The Illinois has barge traffic, which adds to the mix. I would recommend going with a group of experienced paddlers on these rivers in the spring. If you can’t do a successful roll, the consequences could be serious. That said, all three rivers are big and wide and can be paddled upstream. Watch for debris in the spring and after heavy rain. Don’t go in flood stage or ahead of a storm crest.
The Dupage is a river of variety. From Rt.64 to Rt.56 it’s a narrow, winding stream. It gets quick and has plenty of strainers. Sometimes a bit narrow for doubleblades. We like the section from Shorewood on down to Channahon. There are a couple of tight spots after Shepley Rd., but you can go upstream if you eddy hop and paddle hard. You need a good ferry to go upstream thru the railroad bridge area above Shepley Rd. We like to play there. During high water, some of the undercuts in the limestone are under water and are an entrappment hazard. Our club is doing Moving Water I on this section on Sat. Apr.9.
Thanks for the info Pamskee
I’ll discuss club membership with my better half.
Thanks again to all of you for the invaluable advice and tips.
ga.familykayaker
As for rudder skeg. they just tend to try and turn you while paddling downstream. This is where a retractable rudder might be a real help. The skegs on our boats don’t really pose that much of a problem , ya just gotta learn how to control a downstream current. The real fun was watching Longshadow try to paddle his surf yak on a fast river. Imagine a elf shoe with a paddler and you would be close.
Upstream is great.
Upstream paddling can be very rewarding and is typically not as complitated as people think it is. Its not that much work typically unless the river is in flood stage. And that can sometimes be a bonus for you.
This past summer I paddled from St. Louis to the Pacific of which 2300 miles was on the Missouri UPSTREAM (I did paddle some of this down)(http://www.lewisandclark-2004.com)
What i observed after 17 weeks of upstream paddling it is 90% MENTAL the rest physical.( I knew this going into the journey thus I never trained) I realized how our society is so fast paced that when we travel slow, such as 2mph which I was paddling ,it can wear you out mentally. You have to stay focused on your hourly or daily goals and NOT look at the overall picture.
Other things I noticed is that HIGH water can be benefical if its NOT a typical white water section. The fast water typically will swirel backwards UPSTREAM about 1/2mph right on the edge of the river where it meets the shore for about 2 feet; in which you can take advantage of this slight current moving in your direction. On deep rivers where the depth is (for example) 5 feet deep within a couple feet of shore (typical of the lower Missouri) then it is possible to paddle tight to the shore but you must use a single blade paddle to take full advantage of this. The reason being is by using a single blade, the opposite side of your boat can be literally inches from the shore while you paddle on the outside…The closer to shore the LESS resistance you have (typically). If I had been using a double blade I would have had to have been about 2-3 feet out from shore in order to plant both blades of my paddle…well then if I was further out then I would experience swifter currents which would slow me down.
Typically the inside of each bend is the slowest BUT with the most obstacles to negotiate…ie debris etc. The outside of the bends especially on the bigger rivers usually flushes out the debris due to the current being faster(this fast current is where you often find the current next to shore moving upstream as well! Take advantage of it!
After awhile one really gets to feel the tiny minute changes in speed, direction etc when going upstream and you really get a grasp on your ability to read the water.
Its not much harder in fact it amazes me to talk with others or watch others who have never paddled upstream…they think you have to output TWICE the effort…WRONG! You dont need to work any harder, its just that your going SLOWER.
The late Verlen Kruger during his 28,000 mile paddle trip when he was in his late 50’s paddled OVER 5300 miles upstream on one trip! Thats more than most of us paddle in a lifetime downstream! This included the Colorado, Mississippi UPSTREAM.
One a typical fast flowing river with big volume or even mid volume you should typically be able to go 2mph. So in a 10 hour day you would probably be just less than 20 miles upstream allowing for breaks and such.
The rule is dont paddle faster than you can carry on a conversation. If you cant talk while paddling your either on water that is toooooo fast (so find the slowers stuff) or you paddling too hard…so slow down!
There are many other factors that can ether slow you down or help you but I wont go into that right now.( Boat design, type of paddle, mental, your ability etc)
bruce----a note about barges on the IL.
I thought it worth mentioning the danger of barges and tugs that are moored near shore. GIVE THEM A WIDE BERTH. If you capsize or lose control upstream of them, the current will push you down the slope of the deep hull to the bottom and pin you there. Stuff takes a long time to wash out from under these vessels. I’ve seen people paddle up to barges and bang on them. Bad idea. The current is moving and so are the barges. When you’re on the water, you don’t perceive the movement as well.
Also, watch for navigation bouys in high water. They’re on the IL, and a few on the Kankakee and a few more on the Fox. In high water, the bouys go under and then surface suddenly. OOPS!
Thanks for the warning Pamskee
I won’t go near anything that is more than 18 feet in length.
Personal opinion
I find them irritating. Eddy hopping is fun to do as well as being useful, but the cross currents in the river going from eddy to eddy can catch on skegs and rudders and make the back end of the boat do something you didn’t necessarily tell it to do. I find that disconcerting at best.
Others have different opinions, but that’s mine.
- Big D
fun of paddling upstream
I’ve forgot about my related video clip “Fun of Paddling Upstream”:
http://users.frii.com/uliasz/wayfarer/video.htm