good point
I like the surf, but I don’t last very long in it - I tire out fairly quickly.
I may be able to paddle all day (stamina), but lack the ‘strength’ to play in the surf very long.
I’m mostly an “out and back” single blade canoe river paddler. I enjoy spending time in nature and paddling is my favorite way to supplement my exercise routine. I paddle around 50-75 miles a week this time of year. My local venue yesterday.
As far as type, apparently I’m the type that would enjoy challenging some pansy surfer to a nice little flatwater exercise paddle.
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Good for you! That’s not insignificant mileage. 50 miles divided by 4 trips is 12.5 miles per trip.
sing
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Not insignificant at all! I average 60 miles per month (when not training for the EC). But I do get to paddle all year.
Does anyone else track their mileage?
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Open water, light breeze, alone on the water, feeling the gentle swells of the tides overlapping, watching a distant ship working its way up the channel . . . Wondering where it has been, what its carrying, and where it is going . . .
Enjoying the freedom of endless space. Practicing each stroke to increase speed without added effort - with no sound from each paddle stroke. Swaying with the boat for a straight track. Having nowhere else to go but where the track takes you. Such trips are rare - instead it’s a fight against, wind, waves, tide, cross currents (yes, currents that run contrary to the tides), sun, heat and humidity.
Or . . .
Exploring twisted salt marshes and hearing the wind rustle the swaying reed tops. Timing the trip to coincide with tide to ride the incoming, then reaching the peak of navigation as the tide reverses, because it means you went as far as you possibly could and time it perfectly.
And . . .
All the while, having an exact sense of where you are, where you plan to go, and how long it will take to get back. Its at once a sense of being lost, while knowing exactly where you fit . . .
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What kind of paddler? Grateful, I think. Grateful that …
… I can paddle every day, usually just after sunrise, from May to November (optimistically) if the weather is decent.
… I am physically able to load my boat on the car or just carry it to the lake for a 5 - 10 mile paddle, and then get out without struggling too much!
… my local lake is clear (latest Secchi disc reading was 21 ft.) and the air is clean (except for the wildfire smoke this year).
… that you who are more adventurous paddlers than I are willing to share your stories and experiences on this forum.
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I’m grateful for the wisdom of elders (even though I’m old too 
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A lightweight paddler I’d say. That’s why I own three inflatables and an Old Town Pack. My back hates carrying too much weight. I understand the limitations of inflatables but they allow me to travel by public transport and not to have to deal with shuttles. Besides that I believe that kayaks are prose and canoes are poetry. And from that point of view I’m a hopeless poet 
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Last time I was out we spent almost 3-hours on a section of river 1.5 miles long. When you spend most of your time paddling upstream (surfing, ferrying, otherwise playing around), it is tough to keep track of milage…
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@eckilson true. Wouldn’t make sense for those surfing, rolling or on WW. But I’m pretty sure someone (might have been @raisins ) posted their mileage once.
Single blade, canoe and paddle board. Because of a shoulder issue, I couldn’t paddle for awhile. I have rehabbed and can now paddle again, but I don’t paddle that often, and even when I do it is usually as a conveyance to swim and play in the water. I actually putt around with my rowboats as much as my canoes nowadays.
the ‘parameters’ that you track are up to you.
eg: for surf, maybe the time out surfing, highlights, surf size, location, others with you, kayak (surf board, wave ski, surf ski, etc), paddle used, max speed.
Interesting to look back in prior years to see the change.
Here’s a sample, showing miles/year over last several:
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@Brodie, i keep track of everything: time started/finished, total, stopped, moving, avg speed, max speed, distance, weather, tides, destinations, things I see, things I expected to see but didn’t see. . .
Its the only way you know how to rate equipment, boats, personal improvement, technique, when and where to see things of interest, plant blooms, animal consentrations and more. Then years later, you can review to realize how you performed and where the action is.
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The older I become, the shorter and lighter are the boats that give me the most pleasure and smaller are the waters upon which I most enjoy paddling. Now in my 82nd year with forty years paddling sea kayaks, I’m very satisfied with my Epic GPX and a Hornbeck pack canoe (though I’m sorely tempted by the little Placid Boatworks Spitfire).
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I’m grateful that I lasted long enough to be elder.
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What originally attracted to me to this forum was the diversity of users. I used to be a single stick kind of person, open tripping canoes and ww c1, but then the knees got wanky and the hips got replaced… So I switched over to sitting on my butt and using a kayak paddle because I still wanted to paddle but with less pain. I am a bit of a chameleon and will adapt my style so that I can paddle with others. I now really enjoy paddling with friends on class I-3 streams mostly in wv in my 12 foot long ww kayak. I also really enjoy surfing some of the waves on the upper new river or just watching the wildlife and fog settle in on the hills.
I hope to get out and paddle with more of you in the next few years and share your passion for paddle sports on various rivers around the country. So my style often changes, depending on where I am and whom I’m with. I am a complete novice when it comes to long skinny boats and open water but will give most things a shot as long as I’m not suffering needlessly or putting my life at risk. For me, it is not so much about the style of boat, I just want to paddle safely and comfortably and find out what others are passionate about. I’ve met lots of wonderful people paddling but never met a portage I liked and cold, rainy, and buggy trips aren’t my favorite anymore. It is far easier and more plush to camp out of the rv rather than overnighting on the river but I still have my occasional moments of self induced depravity. SYOTR (see you on the river) Tony
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Review years later? I won’t be here 
If I had to collect all the data you do it would become a job. 
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Lucky you. Here our ancestors built a series of dams on river Vltava and an almost exactly same looking spot has a reservoir now: Mapy.cz Still scenic and all but no flow and constant problems with algal bloom in summer 
It not the job, its the adventure.
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