Winter is when fun begins …
Big storms in the Gulf of Alaska mean big waves in California. Water temp in San Diego never below 55 F, 45F Central to Northern Coast. Air temps never below freezing for more than an few hours.
When the fall hockey season starts -
there are only some many recreation hours in the week.
Stop?
Started paddling two years ago and haven’t stopped. Goal now is to paddle under every full moon for the year.
Never stop
We don’t get much ice and when we do it can usually be paddled through. I do stay closer to shore when the water temps are down.
When the water freezes …
Or when conditions are too cold to paddle safely alone and no one else wants to “play.” I decided I need to define “safely” more carefully after paddling on New Year’s Eve 2010 with ice along the banks and just under the surface of the fast-flowing river I was on … in the rain … which turned into a thunderstorm. I got off as soon as possible after the thunder started and eventually found out there was a tornado WARNING (not watch, warning) in effect.
paddle
i paddled all year when i lived in the frozen north,wet suit, gortex, fleece you name it i had it on and a pfd
now in sc i enjoy the winter months because i can dress reasonable
may quit paddling some day. but cant see it yet
When they pry it
from my cold dead fingers.
Building season
I put my paddles up for the season, mainly due to my lack of a good wetsuit/drysuit to keep me warm once the water starts dropping past 60 degrees F.
Besides, I’ve got a few paddles to carve, a Tom Yost Sea Bee to build for the wife, and a Dave Gentry Chuckanut 12 for my mom. That’s not counting the friends and family who are starting to consider kayaking.
If I paddled all year round, when would I get any building done?
When?
Only when I can’t break through the ice by standing on it. Some of my favoriite outings have been plowing through 1/2" ice.
For me, I quit when ice builds up along
the shore line. It’s dangerous to try to enter my boat standing on ice because I never know how thick the ice is, how deep the water is under the ice or how fast it’s moving. I take reasonable risk and highly recomend paddling in a snowstorm (it’s an out of body experience}. I even paddle around, but not to close to giant ice flos but breaking through ice at the shoreline is an unacceptable risk to me.
No hook
to hang my paddle on. Sounds like a good invention though. Marketing slogan could be “Have paddle, will get hooked”…I paddle year around. Sometimes I combine paddling with kick skiing. I can always find a Michigan river that is open enough to paddle in the winter months.
Krusty
when i lose my psych
It can happen periodically. Sure, i usually stop when things ice up and i grab the skis, but sometimes i just lose interest. In climbing circles your psych is crucial to sending a route. You gotta be psyched to want to get out and perform. Without proper psych to go paddling you might as well hang up the paddle and hop on your bike or go skiing or anything else that gets you excited.
When the high is below 50
I try not to leave the house. Sometimes I am tricked and it only get into the 40’s but by them I’m already at the put in.
Come to Florida- we paddle almost every
day. Winter’s comfortable paddling and in summer, the best place to be is on the water
Hummm… very interestin’
– Last Updated: Oct-14-11 7:59 AM EST –
so do dat mean iffin' ah's hikin' down a trail wit much vigor an' ah's needs ta be really "psych'd" fer dat, do dat mean de trail be a "Psych-O-Path"! Vaaaroommm!
FE
Not just cold but wind
The cold on my fingers is not fun but it’s the wind too. In CT the wind just often stops the paddling unless you go into the marshes and even then, mother nature rules.
interesting
As I understand you, in climbing the consequences for losing your psyche might be a bit greater. But I know the feeling. Sometimes I can fight it and by the time I’m on the water I’m ready to go.
think October usually does it for me…
Once October rolls around…there’s that crispness to the air = SKIING! The canoe goes bye-bye.
it slows during the winter
as skiing becomes paramount. But with the ocean nearby really does not stop. However it takes some external motivation to wrap oneself in fleece and a drysuit as the temp approaches zero. And a partner to help in clambering over the ice.
New Year’s resolution
of three years ago had me paddling at least once every month of the year. Since it worked the first year I’ve repeated it. I live and paddle in Connecticut. I have to admit that outings in Jan and Feb are usually perfunctory - mostly to say I did it.
Peter