Is think about the kayak trip of your dreams and do it next year! I don’t care what you paddle, if it has a rudder or skeg, hard edges or not, etc. DOES NOT MATTER. What I wish for all of us is that we embark on a cool trip next year where gear becomes invisible. Our time on the mudball is limited and shrinking. Happy holidays and may next year bring adventure.
But Can We Message Board 'Til
then? I think it’s good idea to think and discuss what gear to take along up to the last day. Do the dream trip. Then come back and discuss what gear works or did not. Minute differences can mean everything.
Why? 'cause message boarding is as good or better than the trip. 
Yours in message boarding and anticipation,
sing
Is it OK if it is the second …
– Last Updated: Dec-13-06 6:06 AM EST –
"trip of my dreams" ?
I had the first one four years ago when it was my first year of retiremment, and we packed up our little cabin on wheels, took our two kayaks, our two mountain bikes, our backpacking tents and took off on a four month trip to AK.
We planned a lot of it for two prior years, and then we added to it and subtracted from it as we went.
We paddled, hiked and mountain biked at almost all the good places up there including places in the Yukon Territory and BC.
It far exceeded our expections on our bear, whale, wolve, caribou, glacier, tundra and Orca and overall beauty encounters.
By the way if anyone is thinking of going or just wants to read about some of our adventures, I would be glad to e-mail you our trip report.
I don't see how we could ever top that trip, but if somehow we could do the Galapagos, unguided, I just might start planning.
[[img=http://thumb10.webshots.net/s/thumb4/5/25/31/92352531bftCSM_th.jpg]](http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1092352531049732290bftCSM)
cheers,
JackL
Sure
My comment was in no way dimminishing the board or gear, just encouraging us all to go do a cool trip next year. And to JackL, the Yukon is my favorite place so far on the planet.
Yaeyama Islands next summer
No need to wait for next year
I’ve had many of such trips, just about every year! Sometimes more than one in a year!
My idea of a dream trip, unlike most people, is NOT disappearing into the woods for weeks on end. I’m just not enough of an outdoorsman. I prefer to have a warm bed (and hot tub) every few days. ;o)
So, my “dream” trips happend every few weeks, by paddling to one of the many places near home. Maybe spending a night or two camping on an island all to myself.
There’re many other places I like to paddle that are not close to home. As soon as I “dreamt” of one, I make plans to do it! I’ll get to them one by one, until I’m too old to move! These are not “dream” trips. Just trips that will happen in due time, some sooner than others.
A Dream of Islands
Cool little book I read some years ago about a guy who built a little sail boat that had no power, other than sail and an aft oar. He spent 20 years messing about in the Gulf Islands and had a quote which I remember “If you can’t experience adventure in your back yard, you can circle the globe and never find it” Something to that effect…Why not do both?
Good idea
Great idea! I have a few that I’d love to do next year, but I have other opportunities to take advantage of involving work…
I’d love to do these trips though: bike across the usa, circumnavigate all the Great Lakes in a year, paddle up the east coast of the usa, paddle the northern forest canoe trail deal, paddle the Hayes river.
I’ll have to just live with a couple of small trips next year. But one that I have in the works is very exciting. Hopefully, it’ll happen. A 35 mile crossing on Superior.
You have something specific you’d like to do next year?
I’m doin’ it!
A couple of years ago, someone here asked what our dream trips would be. Mine was to start in Sleeping Bear Dunes near Traverse City, MI, work my way through the chain of islands extending into the Beaver Island achipelago to the U.P., make my way to and down the Garden Peninsula, thru the Washington Island archipelago, down the Door Peninsula and end in Green Bay, WI.
I’m preparing to do the first leg of this trip this summer. We’ll go from Sleeping Bear, thru the islands and end in Wilderness S.P. If I had an inexhaustable income or sponsors (and was single), I’d do it all. This poor working stiff/father/husband will just have to settle for it piece-meal, but it’s happening.
And I have to admit that planning and dreaming trips are at least as important and fulfilling as doing them. It sustains me when the water’s stiff.
Jim
Where Is That?
My dream trip is to island hop across the Agean Sea from Athens Greece to Izmir Turkey.
But not going to happen next year. I am aiming for summer of 2010 when Alex graduates college
thanks for the challenge : )
one of my ‘dreams’ is to pack my yak for an indefinite trip, wait for a high tide and paddle out from my marshfront ‘back yard’- and just keep going wherever tide and conditions take me.
That’lll take a while!
"My dream trip is to island hop across the Agean Sea from Athens Greece to Izmir Turkey. "
Just came back fro Turkey a couple weeks ago. Facinating place to visit.
But the distance between some of the Greek Islands are quite long. And the water can still be rough at times.
But I think your worst problem would be that you may also find your stay on any given island so comfortable that you may not want to leave for the next one! ;o)
are
you doing this with John A.? He was talking about a crossing like that a few months ago when I was at his house.
Best Wishes
Roy
just curious
Between Taiwan and Okinawa
Main Islands are Iriomote, Ishigaki and Miyako. Jun will likely hop ferries while I am doing crossings.
Next years dream trip
Next year’s dream trip is to backpack a section of the John Muir trail in the Sierras, and bag a couple of peaks along the way.
I’m also hoping to get a canoe and do some camping and day paddling in some of the Sierras with the family. Although with our new born daughter the wife might not go for that. But she’d be 9 months by then and I think it should work.
So it doesn’t involve a kayak, but its my dream.
Don
.
Not that I’m aware of, but the more the merrier. Who was he talking about going with?
Where In Turkey?
My Dad was a career army officer and I grew up in Izmir.
Actually the islands are mostly less than 20 miles apart, except for right in the middle of the Agean. There is one place that is 26 miles, but I can always take a ferry
I
just realized that there are too many John A’s out there paddling in northern Minn…
I was refering to the owner of Superior Surf Systems
http://www.superiorsurfsystems.com/html/
He asked me if I was interested in doing it.
not sure if he found anyone else or if he will go solo
Best Wishes
Roy
contact him if you think it would be a good match
Will Do
I hear ya, salty.
Thanks Salty
That’s as nice a Holiday wish as you can give to a paddler.
So what’s your dream trip? Surfing Tahiti?