Ok I am kinda of new to kayak touring so please bare with me. I have a question about going on a trip. If you want to paddle a river which flows one way, and you drive the starting point which we will call point A. You get your gear, boat, and etc out and set off on the river. You paddle down the river and arrive at your destination which is point B. If you don’t want to paddle upstream and there is no local outfitter nearby how do you return with your kayak and gear back to point A to get to your car? What do most people do?
Drive two cars
This is what made me stop river kayaking. I got tired of the logistics involved in making the trips work.
thats what
good friends are for. Otherwise if on my own will paddle upstream as far as I feel like then drift and paddle back to the truck.
hitchhiking has worked for me.
the old fashioned ‘thumb’.
transportation
How hard is it to just paddle back up the stream?
I don’t usually look at profiles,
…but I looked to see where you are located.
In your neck of the woods there are tons of rivers, (about 90%) where you can paddle up stream and then back.
We always start upstream, and paddle for two thirds of the day, then turn and return.
Almost all of the springs runs can be done this way, and almost all of the tidal rivers.
Some good ones are the Myakka River, and the Turner River.
Cheers, and stay happy!
JackL
no not here
I am thinking about paddling up near the canadian border and might move out there. I know there are alot of places to paddle in florida and only one or two have rapids. However the bugs, overcrowding, gators snakes, and noise(esp where i live) doesn’t make it the most favorable place to go kayak touring.
a good
rule (as mentioned before) is to paddle 3/4 of the time upstream , then paddle back downstream. This will not work on tidal rivers unless ya time it right I suppose.
Bugs?
Ever hear of “Black Flies”?
You will appreciate mosquitoes, and no-seeums, after they get through with you!
Cheers and stay happy!
JackL
Bike shuttle
I haven’t done this with kayaks. But I’ve done tons of it on linear hikes. Drop the bike at the take out, drive to the put in. At the end, ride the bike to retrieve the car.
My bike is far from a clunker (I race it), but I’m not too worry about losing it. It helps to think for a moment on HOW one might lose a bike:
- Some one purposely stole it:
Not likely. First, the bike is locked to a tree or post. So whoever comes along must have a cable cutter handy and have vehicle capable of transporting a bike. Not every tourist have both. The trailheads I usually leave it at have little traffic at all. Chance of a “bad” character amongst them I think is even smaller.
- Some mischieving kids pick the lock for fun and took it for a joy ride or with intention to sell it for a few bucks.
Not too likely either. I usually take the front skewer out of the wheel and carry it with me. So the bike is not ridable, and whoever took it MUST have a car/truck that can haul the bike away (same goes with boat). Plus, it’s a road bike with drop handle bar. Most kids only want mtn bikes. It also helps that my bike is black instead of the more flashy red/white color. So it doesn’t stand out in amongst the trees.
Now, think about a boat. I’d lock it by passing the cable through the seat and take the paddle with me. Now the boat has no paddle and a lock. It again take a cable cutter (or some tools to remove the seat), plus a roof rack to haul it away. How many people who arrive at that take out has both handy? Apart from fellow paddlers, I’d say none. If the answer is YES, don’t do that. But I bet 90% of take outs are pretty low traffic and darn safe.
When all else fails, there’s home owners insurance. I’ve not have to use them so far.