Although not a major accomplishment by any stretch of the imagination, I finally made it to Brownie Lake. This chalk gentleman greets you upon your arrival. I’ve made repeated attempts to get there before, but the water level has always been too low for the connecting waterway between Cedar Lake and Brownie Lake. The tunnel is about 8-feet wide, so my paddle was too wide to use. I had to resort to pushing off the graffitied walls to make it through the 40-foot long concrete tunnel.

This lake is a tiny off-shoot of Cedar Lake, and is the last of the northern City Lakes for me to explore. From my glimpses through the semi-dry tunnel on previous trips, I thought this was the extent of the lake.

There is a bit of a muddy landing just to the right of this tree stump that people apparently use to enter and exit the lake when the water levels are too low for the tunnel. I guess I hadn’t explored the idea of portaging over the bike path to get here.

Just around the bend from the entrance, I was able to get a full view of Brownie Lake. Not massive at all, but quite a bit larger than I expected. There were a number of people fishing from canoes and the shore on this sunny afternoon.

The eastern shore of Brownie Lake was lined with reeds and trees. I was surprised at how quiet and still the lake was. Cedar Lake is similarly lined with reeds, but tends to have choppier water and much more traffic.

It is hard to tell from this picture, but there are about equal amounts of lily pads and floating trash along the eastern shore. I guess the lack of wind and water movement causes the trash to build up. There is a white staircase in the background that leads from the lake from the road above.

Here’s an attempt to get a “better” view of the trash, but it (luckily) looks better in photos than person. I wonder if there is a “clean up the lakes” day organized each year? I try to pull out the occasional junk I see, but I would probably want some gloves before jumping in on this cleanup job. Much of the plastic is severely faded by the sun, so perhaps this trash is the result of many years of build-up?

Turning more toward the northern shore, I pulled away from the lily pads. I was trying to not disturb (or suspiciously photograph) the two canoes fishing closer to the western shore.

At the northern tip of the lake, there was a storm drain-like exit. The lakes always look fine, but I can’t imagine the amount of chemicals, run-off, trash and pollution that fill them each year.

Now pointing back toward the southern shore, I figured I had drifted around the tiny lake enough for one day and began heading back.

As I head back south for the return to Cedar Lake, you can see the pedestrian bridge, which also houses Cedar Lake Parkway. Nearby, there are connections to the Cedar Lake Trail that is continuous with many of the trail systems around here.

This is a fairly nice bridge that had a few pedestrians biking by. This town is definitely a nice place to live if you have a bike. I’m surprised that you can actually get to so many locations without having to brave road traffic.

You can see the tunnel entrance appear as you reach the southern tip of Brownie Lake. Sadly, the other end of the tunnel was not as well decorated.

I greeted the graffiti guardian once more and crossed my fingers that I wouldn’t get stuck in the tunnel. I am impressed with the artwork, but I don’t entirely know how they did that. When the water was lower, they may have stood there, but it is likely they used a canoe to put that up. Impressive.

Ah, the true end to my trip. Here is Lake of the Isles, just off of the dock that I’ve used for almost every trip I’ve taken in my first year of paddling around the Twin Cities. It has been a great experience, and I feel as if I am comfortable with paddling different lakes. I am sure I’ll return to these lakes often this coming year, as the proximity and amenities of these lakes are too convenient.

As I reflect on the past year, I thought of the year’s trips. This may be the last trip of the year for me, as things are about to get very busy with the pending birth of my daughter. Once she arrives, I doubt the weather or my schedule will cooperate for paddling. I certainly hope that next spring and summer work out for more diverse paddling. I have a secret desire to go paddling during the winter, but I am fairly certain I won’t follow through with that unless we get a freak, early snowstorm. Something about not-yet-frozen water surrounded by a few inches of newly fallen snow sounds like a unique trip to me. I would never had thought of that idea, except I did see another inflatable kayaker paddle in quite icy conditions.

What are my paddling plans for next year? I certainly want to see the Boundary Waters, a Minnesotan experience I truly was sad to miss. I definitely want to hit Lake Minnetonka, a large lake just west of the Twin Cities. I would love to go see Itasca, see the start of the Mississippi, and perhaps do a river trip down the Mississippi. Others have entertained me this year with such a trip, so maybe I’ll find a way to do (a small portion) of the Mississippi. I’m all set to do a bit of light kayak camping, so perhaps I can find a way to do that on the Mississippi trip. I still want to connect with the local River Ramblers group, so hopefully my schedule will line up with theirs more this year.

Most of all, I am looking forward to my coming daughter’s reaction the water, her dad paddling in a colorful “banana”, and everything else associated with her throwing my life upside down. I’ve already bought a pair of water shoes for her, although she won’t fit in them (or run around the water) for more than a year from now. Let’s see what 2010 brings!

For some reason, there were turtles sunning themselves everywhere during my relaxing paddling trip.

The goal of this trip was just to float around and not necessarily go any place in particular.  I did make it out to the connecting waterway between Lake of the Isles and Cedar Lake.  A few weeks ago, a large tree had fallen into the waterway and obstructed the path.

The tree had evidently been cut down into pieces and dragged off to the side of the waterway.  I’m surprised they didn’t haul it away, but perhaps they couldn’t get a large enough boat into the waterway due to the very shallow water levels.  I wonder if they will haul the tree out from the shore one day?

After getting within sight of Cedar Lake, I turned around and decided to spend some time floating with my feet out over in Lake of the Isles.

There wasn’t much traffic on the lake, but a few families in canoes and fellow kayakers were lazily drifting around.  The water was fairly still and the sun was nice and warm.

I stuck around the islands just east of my dock.  Despite the multiple “Do Not Land” signs, I did see signs of people landing on the islands.

The water level was still quite low, and the amount of aquatic plant life was quite high.  Although these “weeds” provide fish a nice shady place to swim, they do get tangled in my paddles.

I’m in a completely different part of the lake, but my legs are in the exactly same position as the picture earlier in this post.  Strange.  The inflatable kayak lets me lean back quite a bit and rest my head on the inflatable chair.  I doubt I could do this with a hardshell recreational kayak (comfortably, at least).

There were happy clouds drifting overhead.

I was drifting in a small waterway between islands that was home to a number of turtles, birds and other animal life.  The weather has been a bit chilly at night, but the day was quite warm today.  The turtles seemed to pay no attention to me.

This appeared to be one of the more common hardshell turtles, but there was a larger turtle that had a more soft-shell appearance.  None of these turtles were nearly as large as the large snapping turtle I saw just under the water near Brownie Lake.

Quite a boring trip, yet I enjoyed my drifting time in the sun.  Hopefully my cough will pass, so that I can finally get back to paddling.  With my daughter coming soon (ack!), I am unsure if I’ll get out on the lakes much more this year (or next?).  Hopefully I can squeeze in a few more trips, but I doubt there will be any out-of-town locations.  My quarantine in the apartment may be over, but I’m still under orders to stay in town.

Although I had not quite yet fully healed, most of my symptoms were gone and I wanted to take advantage of the glorious sunshine that bathed the Twin Cities this weekend.  On Sunday, I made the short drive to my defacto standard kayaking location, Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun, and hopped on the water for some light paddling.

I paddled out to the center of Lake Calhoun and kicked my feet up for some lounging in the sun.  I was admiring the city skyline when I heard a loud speaker in the distance and the cheers of a crowd on the southern shore of Lake Calhoun.  After I turned around, I was surprised to see a gathering of anchored kayaks & canoes floating opposite of bleachers set up on the shore.

There were a number of people obviously anchored for the day just outside of some floating barriers.  A number of them had umbrellas, sun block and coolers with drinks and food.  Other than my 1L bottle of water, I had none of these things, but I had arrived late to the party.

What is this party?  I later found out it was the 70th-annual Minneapolis Aquatennial celebration.  This 9-day celebration has a unique competition – milk carton boat races!  How cool is that?  I paddled up to the competition just as it was finishing up (drats!), but it sounded like people make their own boats out of milk cartons and race them.  They come in serious or amusing designs, and were some of the most unique boats I’ve seen on Lake Calhoun.

There were a number of life guards and safety crew on call to help anyone that might have some trouble.  I can imagine more than one milk carton boat didn’t cross the finish line.

A very long, skinny milk carton boat was being walked out to the starting line when I arrived.  This thing was truly massive, and I cannot imagine how many cartons were used to assemble this beast.  I couldn’t see them get into the boat, but I can imagine the boat was a bit ‘tippy’ with such a narrow beam. I also imagine this boat only raced in a straight line.

There were quite a few people gathered on shore to watch the races.  I enjoyed my spot on the water, as I never imagined I’d spend the afternoon watching milk carton boat races while reclining in my inflatable kayak.  Come to think of it, I couldn’t really move or breathe without pain just a couple days before.

I do enjoy fair-style food, but I think I will pack a lunch next year and enjoy the full competition from the water.  I definitely will need to pack the kayak with sunblock, an anchor, food and drinks.

There were quite a few activities for families, including a climbing wall, bungee-assisted moon-walking, and a bouncy-house style inflatable playhouse.  Perhaps I can bring our (soon-to-be) daughter here one year.

The long, skinny milk carton boat was quite speedy.  I could count 10 people with oars, ranging from young to older.  Low drag and lots of paddlers, that seems to be a good combination.  I am fairly certain they were going faster than I could paddle my inflatable kayak.

Each of the boats had a sponsor.  I’m pretty sure the ’sponsors’ were just a group of enthusiastic co-workers, as I can’t imagine they were financially supported.  The comically named S.S. Colon Cruiser was sponsored by a department of a local hospital.  Perhaps this means we’ll see the Finzel Crystal Cruiser next year?  Hmm….tempting, very tempting.

The long, skinny boat was racing the S.S. Colon Cruiser.  I’m afraid a 4-person crew paddling a double-hulled milk jug boat is not the fastest combination.  Despite their best efforts, the S.S. Colon Cruiser came in a distant second place.  Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves though, so no hurt feelings were on the water.

I headed back to my familiar launching dock on Lake of the Isles.  I had escaped the self-imposed prison of my second bedroom, saw the sun, and enjoyed a truly unique sight on the waters of Lake Calhoun.  I’d say it was a good day.

I’m happy to say that the water level appears to be up a bit on the lakes, but still low for the year.  Luckily the water was quite still and enjoyable to admire.  I may not be floating in the Boundary Waters, but at least I am out on the water.

As my boat sat in the sun to dry, I managed to photograph a family of ducks swimming by the dock.  They didn’t seem to appreciate my paparazzi-like chasing of them to get a good photo.  I managed to capture this shot, and figured I’d stressed them out enough.  You can see the extensive plant growth that was filling the lake in this shot.

One last photo before I packed the inflatable kayak back in the car.  Although I missed out on my Boundary Waters trip, I still made the best of a bad situation.  I’m happy to say that my flu symptoms were not terribly bad, and I seemed to have pulled through OK.  My pregnant wife seemed to escape the flu, so that was a tremendous relief.  How many more kayak trips can I squeeze in before our daughter is born?  I hope a couple more, but we’ll see!

I tested positive for Influenza A. Due to the prevalence of H1N1, the hospital stopped secondary screening and the policy was to assume anyone testing positive for Influenza A as positive for H1N1.  Therefore, I was listed as likely being infected with H1N1 and placed under quarantine at home. No contact with others, no leaving my apartment, and no Boundary Waters camping trip.

Devastating! I’ve been looking forward to this trip for months! Despite my sadness at not going on this trip, I was even more saddened by the possibility that I had transmitted the virus to my 7-month pregnant wife. She was immediately placed on side-effect-prone Tamiflu, as H1N1 seems to cause coma in pregnant women and is not good for the baby.

I’m happy to say I survived, my wife remained healthy (except for the nausea and vomiting from the Tamiflu), and I got to go “camping” in my office at home for a week while my fever broke.

The plan was to enter at Moose Lake (entry point #25), northeast of Ely.  After paddling across Moose Lake, we would then have a half-mile portage to Wind Lake.  Next, we’d settle on a campsite on the shore of Wind Lake and use that as a base for the rest of the trip.  We planned on paddling around Wind Lake and have day hikes around that area.  We’d rent kevlar canoes to help with the portages, but I was planning to bring my inflatable kayak for myself.  We’d planned to have a total of 5 people, including myself.

What follows now is a post about what I did not see while on my Boundary Waters camping trip. These photos were “stolen” from a co-worker of mine that did make the trip. I am grateful that he got such beautiful photos, but also sad that I now know what I missed.

These are the canoes that I didn’t see us rent.  They weigh less than my inflatable kayak and were reportedly quite manageable to portage.

This is the hard paddling I didn’t see them do.  I would have been blown all over in the inflatable kayak.  I guess there was a reason they named it Wind Lake.

This is a landing I didn’t get to see.  Luckily the shores are mostly sandy and easy to get in and out of.

This is a portage trail that I missed.  The main portage trail was more open than this, but I’m sure it would have been quite the struggle with the inflatable kayak over my head.

The water level was fairly low, so this trail was extended to keep the portage trail accessible.  I didn’t see one of the campers almost lose a shoe in very deep mud around here.

Here are three of my fellow campers I didn’t get to see sitting in the rain on my waterproof tarp.

Here is my tent that I didn’t get to see in the woods.  I hear it performed just fine with three people and kept everyone mostly dry.

Here is the campsite I didn’t get to experience.  It actually looks more developed than I was expecting.

Here is the campfire I didn’t get to see, but my fellow campers didn’t get to see it very much due to the wet wood around the campsite.  Luckily the camp stove worked just fine.

Here is a beautiful sight I missed.

Here is a picture-perfect shot of Wind Lake.

Here is some tough navigation of lily pads, grass and shallow water that I didn’t get to see or experience.  This would have been tough in the kayak, but I can’t wait to paddle in an area like this.

Here are some lily pads I didn’t see while paddling on Wind Lake.

Here is a blooming lily pad flower I didn’t see on Wind Lake.

Here is a beaver dam that I didn’t see built on Wind Lake.

Here is a Bald Eagle I didn’t see hanging around Wind Lake.  I’m always impressed to see these in Minnesota, especially in the Twin Cities.

Here are some turtles sunning themselves that I didn’t see.

Here is a picturesque scene along the woods I didn’t see in Wind Lake.

Here is a trail leading to a nearby campsite across Wind Lake from the campsite I didn’t get to see.

Here is a picture perfect scene of the sun setting over Wind Lake that I didn’t get to see.

Here is another picture perfect scene of the sun setting over Wind Lake that I didn’t get to see.

Here is dusk settling over Wind Lake that I didn’t get to see.

Here is some very still water over Wind Lake providing great shots of a colorful sunset that I didn’t get to see.

Here is a view of the darkening sky over Wind Lake that I didn’t get to see.

Here is the end of the sights I didn’t get to see in the Boundary Waters.

Fret not, for I certainly hope I can make it up here again while I still live in Minnesota.  My daughter’s pending birth does imply I won’t make it up this year (or the next couple), but I am willing to bet that I make it up here one day.  I just hope I can capture as beautiful shots as my lucky, lucky co-workers.  Thanks again for the photos Aravind!

When I’m not taking pictures for paddling, I am most likely doing science. This year, I was able to attend the “Enzymes, Co-enzymes & Metabolic Pathways”Gordon Research Conference in Waterville Valley, NH. This week-long scientific conference series is know for its fabulous science, New England locations and sparse amenities. This was my first GRC, so I was fully expecting the much-touted communal bathrooms, poor food and dorm-style sleeping arrangements of these conferences. Much to my surprise (and many others), they had selected a new location, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.

Waterville Valley is normally a ski resort, but during the warm summer months, they utilize the facility as a vacation spot and conference location. I can say nothing but praise for the location, amenities and science presented. I won’t repeat the science here, but rather I will give a glimpse at the afternoon recreational activities that we had available.

They chartered an old school bus to take us to a nearby mountain for some afternoon hiking. The weather was a bit rainy, but under the cover of the trees, we hardly noticed the rain.

Scattered everywhere were small streams and babbling brooks flowing down the mountain. Everything was quite beautiful, but we were on a tight schedule and had to keep moving.

The wooded path turned more into bare rock and long vistas. This was the end of the “easy” path. Only the industrious scientists would push on to the true summit. I forget the vertical change, but this was about a third of the way we ultimately traveled. In fact, the grade would sharply increase after this point.

After some far more dangerous climbing than I expected, we finally reached the top. We took a few moments to rest before heading back. I’m happy to say that the rolling hills covered with trees were a nice alternative to the more flat scenery I’m used to seeing.

We all agreed that the climb down was far more scary than the climb up. Sliding down a 40% grade with nothing to stop you is an eye-opening experience. Despite a few people having inadequate footwear, everyone survived and the group bonded a bit more with our pack survival.

Back at the resort, we could choose from a number of local activities during our afternoon breaks. We rented some mountain bikes, took the ski lift up to the top, and had a great time enjoying gravity’s assistance. Pro tip: If the trail is marked closed, it probably is closed for a reason. Just because it looks fine for as far as you can see, it may switch over to a bog about two-thirds of the way down the mountain and make you carry your bike over your head while you slog in knee-deep muddy water.

In addition to mountain biking, there was also shopping & ice skating available. The red shack above housed the ice rink.

Next to the ice rink were the canoes, kayaks and paddle boats also available for use. I had seen “kayaking” listed as a potential activity and looked forward to some mountain paddling. Unfortunately the paddling didn’t live up to my imagination, but any paddling is good paddling.

Although I didn’t have my camera with me when I was actually kayaking, I did come back the next morning and snap some wonderful shots of the very still “lake”. We used the blue sit-on-top kayaks shown above. I’ve never used a sit-on-top before, and it was quite a bit more “tippy” than the recreational and inflatable kayaks I’ve used before. No falling in on this trip, but I wondered if I was going in a couple times.

Unfortunately the “lake” was far smaller than expected. The sit-on-top foam kayaks were very easy to paddle and incredibly “friction-free” when compared to my inflatable kayak. It makes me wonder how much more drag my inflatable has compared to a good hardshell. I probably don’t want to find out and become to envious of a hardshell kayak…

I have used quotes around the term “lake”, since this is actually a dammed mountain stream. As we paddled over to the dam, I expected to see some fencing or barriers to keep us away. Nope, if we wanted to paddle over the dam, we could have with no trouble. The only trouble would have been the 10 foot fall onto the rocks at the base of the dam. We kept our distance, but the stream flow was quite slow in the “lake”.

In order to give an idea of scale, the entire “lake” would take about 2 minutes to paddle from end-to-end. They had placed a few fake rocks and buoys out in the water to give you something to run into, er, I mean navigate around.

The water was quite cold and clear. I didn’t see any fish, but there were No-Fishing signs scattered on the shore.

Despite my mild complaining about the size of the “lake”, it was quite nice and peaceful. The sights, especially in the morning sun, were about as good as I could have hoped. I’m unsure if I’ll ever get to do paddling at a scientific conference again, unless I bring my inflatable along.

I’m still impressed with the stillness of the “lake” and the quality of the reflections.

In fact, I had to take a second to figure out which was was “up”, and which way was the reflection in this picture. I wonder what this looks like in the winter? I wouldn’t mind exploring the lake a bit more on ice skates.

Overall, I got to see some incredible science, meet-up with some old friends and enjoy the outdoors. I’m only a week or so away from my much-anticipated Boundary Waters camping and kayaking trip, so I can’t wait to get back home.

The weather started off beautifully with clear skies and pleasant temperatures.  Although we didn’t arrive until almost 8 p.m., we began putting up our tents before the sun sank too low in the western sky.

I quickly prepped my $35 Coleman tent purchased years ago.  Used once before, I always thought it was a decent tent.  Despite the cloudless skies, the forecast spoke of strong rains and thunderstorms after midnight.  Instead of putting my water-proof tarp under the tent, I made a make-shift rain fly to supplement the tent’s natural one.  It didn’t look good and was terribly noisy in the wind, but I felt I would be quite dry.

After inflating my ridiculous double-sized air matress, I put all of my supplies in my two dry bags – in case my tent was leakier than expected.  If I only could have such creature comforts up north!

As the sun set and the stars came out, we (tried to) start a fire.  We had quite a bit of trouble getting our fire started, as the firewood was wet.  Even the few bits of paper we had resisted lighting due to the humidity.  After almost giving up on the campfire, we discovered a novel use for the battery-powered air-mattress pump: an automated, high-velocity bellows!  Within minutes the wood dried out and we finally had a roaring fire.

Despite being only a few miles outside of the Twin Cities, the sky was amazingly full of stars.  I stayed up a bit past 1 a.m. to watch the stars become occluded by fast-moving clouds.  Those fast-moving clouds were themselves replaced by lightning-filled thunderclouds.  This night would be a rainy, windy and lightning-filled night!

As I enjoyed a unique view of a thunderstorm, I saw flashlights flicker on in the next tent.  Next  I heard muffled voices and one of my fellow campers exit her tent for her dry car.  The next morning would reveal the disaster that you see above and below.

It turns out their borrowed tent was completely inadequate for any in-climate weather.  The roof design allowed for the rain to pool above the tent, and the material was so porous as to allow the pooled water to drip through to the sleeping compartments.  My tent was quite water-proof, so I felt quite bad about their overnight troubles.

The weather was still cold, rainy and windy until after noon, so we decided to take a quick trip out of the park to grab a warm breakfast and to see if we might be able to pick up a drier tent.  The weather was forecast to clear up that afternoon, so they stuck with their original equipment.

The clearing weather gave me an opportunity to test my newest piece of ‘equipment’ – a portable hammock.  Just before our trip, my wife generously agreed to get me an ENO DoubleNest hammock that packs down to the size of a large grapefruit.  I am a HUGE fan of hammocks, and the thought of having a packable hammock that can even be used instead of a tent on future kayak camping trips is nice.

The afternoon was fairly blustery, so we spent it biking around the area and hiking around the park.  Despite a few ticks that decided to persistently harass one of us, the day went by far better than last night.  Utilizing our air-mattress bellows, we were able to keep the fire going this evening.  Despite a last-ditch effort to destroy our evening with rain, we managed to keep the fire going through a final Saturday evening downpour.

Overnight, we put up with incredible winds.  My improvised rain fly on the tent is far from silent as it flaps in the wind, so I didn’t exactly sleep very deeply.

We were only able to get camping reservations at the ‘equestrian’ camping sites, which turns out to afford a number of amenities that more primitive camping would not have.  For instance, there was a hand pump for water.

Nearby, there was also a large barn probably used to store maintenance equipment and a series of portable toilets that proved popular overnight.  I was intrigued why so many cars were driving around the sites after midnight, until I noticed the majority of them were headed for the portable toilets.  People were sure ‘roughing it’ while camping by driving the 1000 feet to their toilets in their SUVs.

After packing up the campsite and our gear, we headed off to explores the lakes of the reserve.  There are two major lakes within Lake Elmo Park Reserve.  The canoe-only lake is Eagle Point Lake.  Accessible via a short, butterfly-filled trail from a small parking lot, this Eagle Point Lake is quite irregularly shaped with a number of reeds and grass growing at the shore.  Stupidly, I had left my camera in the car.  We examined the canoe-launch, but thanks to our local drought, the lake appeared to be many feet lower than usual.  I could have launched from there, but I would have had to walk about about 10 feet through very muddy shallow water.  Since I was hoping to let my fellow campers try out the inflatable kayak, we headed over to Lake Elmo to see how that looked.

The lake was quite a bit larger than I was expecting, but not nearly large enough for the number of power boats.  I guess I am biased, but it seems I would want a much larger lake to put such huge, expensive ski boats.

Lake Elmo is a long, narrow lake surrounded by residential houses and filled with recreational power boaters.  The only convenient entry point was nearby the main boat launch, so we needed to time things carefully when paddling around that highly congested area.  The day was nearly cloudless and very warm, but extremely high winds meant that paddling out into the lake would result in a lot of blowing and drifting off course.

The water was remarkably clear.  The shore was nice and flat, sandy, and covered in smooth stones.  I made a quick inflation in the beating sun and my first wet-entry launch from the shore.

Sticking close to the western shore to keep the wind down and the powerboats out of my hair, I paddled around the shallow waters just north of the boat launch.  The clear water provided clear views of extremely large carp swimming about.  Although hard to see in the photos above and below, any oblong dark spot in these photos is actually a carp swimming just under the surface.  In some places, there were a dozen of them drifting around.  As always, they paid little attention to me until I would try to paddle over to them.

There were quite a few carp swimming about, but always just out of clear view of the camera.

Since I wasn’t doing my standard solo paddling, I decided to run north to the water tower of the town of Lake Elmo.  Unfortunately I couldn’t get a clear photo of the water tower thanks to the wind, so I gave up and headed back for the launch site to see if my fellow campers were leaving from boredom.

I was most thankful that the weather had finally turned nice.  The cloudy weather had pushed on, and now it was wonderfully warm in the late morning sun.

I had forgotten to put one of the black inserts in the bow the boat.  Oops.

The boat launch was a busy place, so I took my time hoping that there might be a break in the boats pulling in and out of the water.

The stream of boats launching was constant.  In fact, when we were leaving, there were, at times, 4-5 trucks queued at the top of the launch waiting to access the water.

Here, one of my fellow campers — she bore the brunt of the downpour on Friday night — is trying her hand at the inflatable kayak.  She got far wetter on Friday night than this Sunday  morning.

After both of my fellow campers took a spin around the shore, we decided to head back for home.  We called our trip successful and fun, although we did learn a lot about the importance of equipment.  I think this was invaluable preparation for the Boundary Waters trip.

Despite our troubles with the weather, I’m happy to report this trip a success.

My schedule becomes quite full before the Boundary Waters trip later in mid-July.  For the Fourth of July, I am first driving 12 hours to visit family for a couple days before I jet off to New Hampshire for a scientific conference.  The conference is held in some sort of fancy resort, and the pamphlets say there is kayaking available.  Perhaps I can sneak some time in there and get another kayaking post out before hitting the beautiful waters of northern Minnesota.  I can’t wait!

After some circuitous driving around road construction along the eastern edge of Lake of the Isles, I pulled into my familiar boat launch and inflated the boat under a glorious blue sky. I decided to inflate a bit more than I usually do to test if that may help performance. I’m happy to report that it did help greatly with performance. I felt like I was flying on the water compared to some of my previous trips. I really should find a way to hook up a pressure gauge to the bellows foot pump.

It has been nearly a month since my last trip to the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis.  The plants in the shallow water near the boat dock have definitely filled out and crowded the water.  I’ve heard some ‘locals’ claim they’ve never seen it this bad, but I have no frame of reference.  They don’t bother me too much, except when they wrap around my paddles.  I do enjoy drifting over the weeds and peeking in on the copious number of fish flitting about within the weeds.

After taking a panoramic shot of my familiar boat launch on Lake of the Isles, I started off for Cedar Lake from Lake of the Isles.  This gives me a good excuse to take the connecting waterway and enjoy some shaded paddling.  The usual goslings that feed in this waterway appear to have all grown up and moved on to explore the lake, as their normal stomping grounds were vacant.

The water was covered in the ‘tree fluff’ that is so common this time of year.  It is so heavy that it almost reminds me of drifting snow.  When you look up, the air is filled with this slowly drifting fluff and continues the snow comparison.

Immediately after passing underneath the bike-path bridge, I was surprised to see a large tree had snapped in half and fallen into the waterway!

Given the healthy appearance of the leaves, I would say this may have fallen last night.  Since I couldn’t go around the fallen tree, I cautiously paddled underneath the twisted trunk.  It looked quite stable, but I didn’t linger around the area waiting for something to happen.  I do hope that they cut down this fallen trunk and retrieve it from the waterway.

Cedar Lake was quite uneventful, but I did explore the previously unvisited southern shore.  The numerous beaches were filled with people.  Strangely, there was a powerboat tearing across the lake on its way to Lake of the Isles.  Since motorboats are banned from these lakes, I assume he was from the city looking at the fallen tree.  I certainly hope they have not decided to allow motorboats on these lakes.

I returned to Lake of the Isles and continued on to Lake Calhoun.  There was a slight breeze on the lake, which gave the numerous small sailboats a good excuse to stretch their legs (or should I say wings?).  I stayed fairly close to the shore, as the center of the lake was occupied with fairly fast sailboats.

As I was taking some pictures of the sailboats, a large ‘head’ popped out of the water and started swimming away from me.  I never got a close look at this thing, but it was brownish, flat, and long.  If I didn’t know the area, I would have said it had the same proportions of an alligator head.  I tried to get a better shot, but he had gotten too far from my little camera to come out clearly.  Some passing canoeists were similarly perplexed and went to get a closer look.  Sadly, the head went back underwater before they caught up, but I did hear them talk about some large muskrats that are known to live in the lakes.

One extremely nice ‘feature’ of an inflatable kayak is that the front deck is closed by a zipper.  It is extremely easy to unzip the front deck to give your legs a breather.  This also lets you recline for some very enjoyable drifting in the sun.  If there wasn’t so many boats in the water (and a slight breeze causing me to drift), I could definitely see myself drifting to sleep in this position.  Unless you have one of the recreational hardshell kayaks with a fairly large cockpit, I don’t think you’d be able to do anything similar in a proper touring or sea kayak.  I also don’t think the seat and floor would be nearly as comfortable as the inflatable kayak.

Having promised my wife that I was going for a ‘quick’ paddle, I headed back to the dock on Lake of the Isles.  My ‘quick’ paddle turned into 2 hours, but I certainly enjoyed it.

My boat dock was fairly quiet, as everyone seems to have moved on to other locations.  There was a duck swimming among the weeds that seemed utterly unconcerned about my arrival and exit from the water.  In fact, there were 2 other occasions on this trip where I had to keep from accidentily hitting a duck while paddling.  They must be completely used to kayakers and canoeists, so nearby paddles don’t phase them at all.

I loaded up my beloved Subaru for the head home.  Next weekend (provided the weather works out), I will fill my car to the brim with bikes, tools, camping equipment, food and water for a pseudo-camping trip at Lake Elmo Park Reserve just east of the Twin Cities.  We’re using this nearby location to test our camping equipment (and skills) before our semi-inexperienced group of scientists head off in July to Wind Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of far northeastern Minnesota.  I can’t wait for that trip, but this upcoming weekend should be loads of fun!

Having the flexibility to bring a kayak in the trunk of a full car is a definite upside to inflatable kayaking.  A few weeks back, I passed some paddlers asking how I liked my inflatable kayak.  Sitting in their larger, plastic kayaks that they hauled off the roof of their car, they definitely agreed any loss in performance was made up for in ease of transportation and storage.

After less than an hour drive northwest from the Twin Cities, we arrived at Lake Maria State Park.  A fisherman looking for bass from his powerboat was disappointed to hear the ranger tell him that this wasn’t necessarily the lake for him.  After the reasonable $5 vehicle permit, we headed west to the largest lake of the park, Lake Maria.

My first impressions of the lake were not so great, as the water was very cloudy and brown.  Naturally that wouldn’t prevent me from getting some paddling in, as I really didn’t plan on going for a swim.

The weather was perfect as always, and I tried to take one of those panoramic pictures covering about 180 degrees from the main boat launch on the east side of Lake Maria.

Just off from the boat launch was an island surrounded by lily pads and creatures splashing around in the weeds.  I later found out they were most likely very large carp fighting or mating in the shallow waters.

Having not yet made a wet entry into the kayak, I launched from the small boat dock.  I decided to try out my MacGuyver’ed front deck bracing (glimpsed in the left image) and I am very happy to report it worked extremely well.  Despite a slightly wet front deck, the water never pooled along the front zipper and I never got a drop of water in the boat.  Not bad for $3 in parts from Menards and Ikea.

Having forgotten to bring a second camera, my wife and in-laws took my paddling camera along for their hike along the trails surrounding Lake Maria.  I did see a few things I would have liked to photograph, but maybe next time.  Just to the south of the boat launch is shallow water filled with lily pads and giganticcarp.  The bottom mud of the lake is incredibly black, and both my paddle and the tails of these huge fish produced black swirls in the water around my boat.  When I drifted over a carp and disconcertedly felt him bump the low point of the boat (i.e. my butt), I decided to head for open water.

These next few photos are from my wife and her parents as they enjoyed the sun and trails around Lake Maria.  I’m not sure if they got a glimpse of the bald eagle flying over the lake.  It was being harassed by a smaller bird, so it soared over my boat and headed west for some trees.  There were some people at the dock with a telescope muttering something about a nest, so perhaps there is a pair of bald eagles within the lake.  I’m still amazed every time I see a bald eagle flying around the Twin Cities.

From the top of a hill, you can see a few yellow pixels that correspond to my yellow kayak in the right image above.  I believe I was trying to decide if the two giant white things floating in the far western end of Lake Maria were birds or boaters.  I later found out they were huge white birds with long necks.  Yet again I think I need to get a book describing the flora and fauna of Minnesota.

We joined up again at the boat dock after about an hour of paddling.  We enjoyed a quick picnic lunch while I dried out the boat in the pleasant daytime sun.  The kayak did have an ugly yellowish residue from the water, which I should wipe off after I get home.  Definitely not one of the clearest lakes in Minnesota.

A large white bird had glided in for a water landing behind some tall grass while we were eating.  I tried to grab a picture, but he was quite a bit back from the shore.

The lily pads were in bloom, but the flowers next to shore were still mostly closed.  These shots give a good glimpse at the murky water of Lake Maria.

This marked the end of today’s paddling, but there were a number of smaller lakes surrounding Lake Maria.  One such lake, called Bjorkland Lake, caught my interest.  The primary reason is that – much to the confusion of my friends and family – I do like the icelandic musician Bjork.  She is definitely a quirky personality, but has an interesting sound.  As a side note, Bjorkland Lake was originally called Lake Maria, but was renamed by the DNR.  We packed up our lunch & kayak and headed off for Bjorkland Lake.

We had not prepared sufficiently for this short walk through the woods.  Although Minnesotans frequently refer to the mosquito as the State Bird of Minnesota, I had never noticed any significant mosquito presence during my time in the Twin Cities.  The mosquitos came out in force to welcome us to the Bjorkland Lake Trail.  That marks the last time we travel anywhere without DEET.  Arriving at the Bjorkland Lake missing a few ounces of blood, I was pleasantly surprised at how much nicer Bjorkland Lake was compared to Lake Maria.

I grabbed another 180 degree panorama shot to capture the view of Bjorkland Lake from the canoe dock.  The water was beautiful and blue, in stark comparison to Lake Maria.

Just off of the canoe launch was clear water teeming with small fish.  Quite a few little nests were being guarded by watchful sunfish, as hundreds of smaller fish flitted about.  This was certainly nicer than watching huge carp stir up black mud as they lumbered about the opaque broth of Lake Maria.

Having already packed up the kayak, I didn’t get a chance to paddle around Bjorkland Lake.  The sun, mosquitos and trails had taken its toll on our energy for the morning, so we decided to head back to the Twin Cities.  Later that evening, we did head over to Lake Minnetonka for dinner in Excelsior.  Much to our surprise, Excelsior was hosting an art fair.  No pictures, but we did get good food, good Celtic music and even more sun.  I look forward to paddling the massive Lake Minnetonka, but I’m afraid I will avoid the busy, boat-laden waterways near the docks.

In my last post, I mentioned my troubles with water pooling on top of the front of my Advanced Elements Expedition kayak.  The drops would begin to funnel down to the front zipper and eventually begin dripping through to my legs and feet.  Since all I could do this rainy weekend was stare at dripping rain through the window, I decided to come up with a way to prevent this problem.

One quick trip to Menards gave me some ideas for a lightweight, flexible bracing material that would slip underneath the fabric.  Initially I looked for some plastic material, but I stumbled upon strips of extremely lightweight wood (or perhaps bamboo).  It is labeled as “Crystal White Lattice”, which makes me think people use it in garden lattices.  It is a quarter inch thick, just over an inch wide and comes in 8-foot strips.  It was pliable enough for me to form a fairly tight “bow” shape without feeling like it would break.

I cut the lattice strip into a 37-inch piece.  This seems to be the optimal length for a convex brace running from the left & right black seams and along the seam between the front and middle piece of yellow fabric.  This seam is just inches in front of the cockpit and should provide a good location for the brace that doesn’t get in the way or hit my knees.

I am a bit concerned about the long-term impact on the fabric from the ends of the brace pushing against the fabric.  Wanting something to spread the force out and prevent any excess force on the black seam, I came upon some rigid plastic sheets that seem to work well (actually, they are thin flexible cutting boards from Ikea).  I first slip the plastic sheet between fabric and the main air chambers of the kayak, making sure the middle of the plastic sheet lines up with the black seam of the kayak.  Next, I slip the brace in underneath the rigid plastic sheet (and above the main air chamber).

This bracing props up the fabric well, and supports a good amount of weight.  I attach my Pelican 1010 camera dry-box via a small carabiner to the black strap that locks up the cockpit.  This extra weight tugs the center of the cockpit and helps form the water-funneling shape of the front fabric.  With the brace installed, the dry box no longer rests on the floor of the cockpit.  This should (fingers crossed!) provide enough of a convex shape to persuade the water droplets to run off the kayak instead of pooling by the central zipper.

I’m pretty happy with this MacGuyver-inspired way to provide some internal bracing.  This helps provide some shape to the front fabric.  The fabric behind the cockpit doesn’t need anything like this for a couple reasons.  First, it never gets wet (nor does the front fabric forward of the deck lacing).  Second, there is usually enough stuff stored in the rear storage compartment to help give it the right shape to help drive water to run off the boat instead of pooling.

A second problem I have is my perpetually bent rear skeg.  Just like a killer whale’s dorsal fin after many years of captivity, the skeg is bent over from storage and sitting on a flat surface.  I believe this shape was formed from storage after manufacturing in the kayak’s storage bag.  I now store the kayak upside down in it’s duffle bag with the skeg pointed up to avoid bending the skeg any further.  I’ve tried bending it back, but the plastic is not very pliable.  I wonder if the bent shape affects tracking (or causes the boat to turn on its own)?

I’m still trying to come up with a solution to the skeg problem.  Perhaps something will come to me as I watch the rain fall…

The Minneapolis weekend weather continued to be stellar, so I was excited to get in as much paddling as I could.  We were heading to Rochester, MN on Saturday afternoon for a rare visit with extended family, so on Friday night I had to choose to either (1) sleep in and sacrifice a paddling day or (2) wake up early and paddle the early morning.  There must be something to this paddling, as I chose to sacrifice sleep (!).

I have no photos of my early Saturday morning paddle around Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake, and (almost) Brownie Lake.  Despite early morning clouds accompanying the Friday night rain, I headed off to the lakes about 8 a.m.  By the time I arrived at my now-familiar dock on Lake of the Isles, the clouds had pushed southeast and gave way to beautiful blue skies and light to moderate winds.  I immediately headed to my goal for the morning – Brownie Lake.  This tiny lake on the northwest corner of Cedar Lake is connected by a narrow (10 feet?), long (30 feet?) tunnel.  As I approached the tunnel, I saw a gigantic (and fearsome looking) turtle just inches below the surface of the shallow water.  Shortly after entering the tunnel, I bottomed out and must have hit a rock or tree stump about 10 feet into the tunnel.  Thinking I shouldn’t get stuck in the tunnel with large snapping turtle heading my way, I called off my Brownie Lake excursion for a day with higher water levels.

This was the first time I scraped the bottom of the inflatable kayak and I was slightly concerned about damage.  Shortly thereafter, the wind picked up and I started noticing water in the boat.  Thinking I may have punctured the bottom, I started fighting the wind and paddling as fast I could to return to the dock.  I’m happy to report no damage, but the rising water in the boat is becoming a bit annoying (more on that later).

Sunday’s weather was predicted to be perfect, and perfection was delivered.  Hitting the road by 7:30 a.m., I knew today was going to be fabulous – essentially no clouds in the sky, almost no wind, and 68 degrees heading to 72 degrees.  This town appears to enjoy sleeping in, so no one was around except for the occasional fisherman.  The lack of wind gave the water an almost glass-like appearance.

I’ve now got inflation, set-up and launch down to 15-20 minutes.  I’m sure if I was in a hurry, I could speed that up (although I can’t imagine why I would be in a hurry).  I chose to launch again from a dock, mainly because I don’t exactly like wet feet and it is so conveinent.

The water was quite still and clear.  I spent a good 5 minutes watching the fish twitter about underneath the boat.  A large brown animal kept swimming around the cove I was floating in, but I never managed to identify it.  Later, I did get somewhat close, but I discovered it can dive and stay down for quite a long time before resurfacing far from me.

After launch, I meandered around the “Isles” of Lake of the Isles.  None of them are very large, but there are signs posted prohibiting landing and exploration.  It is a protected wildlife sanctuary, but I oddly keep thinking of Arthur C. Clarke’s 2010 “Attempt no landings there” message.

The islands and shoreline were still and quiet.  The reflection of the sky in the water was quite nice.  The birds and other wildlife did not seem to notice the early hour.

Speaking of the sky, it was cloudless with a blazing sun.  My Saturday excursion reminded me to bring sunblock for today.  Miraculously, I have not yet been sunburned from a kayaking trip.  I do have some curious patterns on my legs resulting from the shape of the cockpit.  Sigh.

Today I had no specific plans, other than to paddle until lunchtime.  My wife was planning to stop by with sandwiches for a somewhat impromptu picnic.  We planned to enjoy lunch while the boat dried in the sun.  Afterward, we would spend some time enjoying the weather together.

Having wasted enough time drifting around the Lake of the Isles, I headed towards Lake Calhoun.  Given the still wind and lack of people, I figured I could get in a lap before needing to head back.

Having mentioned that my inflatable kayak has started “taking on water”, I finally figured out where it was coming from.  During paddling, water drips down onto the fabric covering my legs.  The water-resistant fabric isn’t terribly water-proof.  If evaporation is slower than my paddle “sweat”, it builds up and begins dripping through.  I was paddling barefoot today, so I immediately felt the first few drips.  It seems that the water builds up around the zipper and makes it through there.  Periodically, it will channel down towards me and drip from the front of the cockpit.  I need to figure out how to prop the fabric up so that the water runs quickly down the sides instead of pooling.  It should be quite straightforward, so I hope to have MacGuyver‘ed something by my next paddling session.

Ignoring the few drips and the quickly moistening kayak seat (inflatable kayaking always results in a wet seat), I paddled across Lake Calhoun and traveled around most of its shoreline.  There were about 4-5 small sailboats taking advantage of the beautiful morning.  Although moving barely faster than I, their single occupants were enjoying themselves.  They seemed to be clustered on the northwestern shore, near some (probably) high-demand apartments and condos.

Given the amount of work it takes to store, maintain, run and manuever these small sailboats on a (relatively) small body of water, it must be an extremely pleasant experience to explore the lakes that way.  They certainly do give some picturesque sights and grab attention.

The southwest corner of Lake Calhoun had quite a few different birds enjoying some breakfast.  I don’t know what they were, but there were some black-headed birds floating on the water and diving underwater for 15-30 seconds at a time.  They never really let me get close enough to get a good look at them, but there were a number of swallows (?) snacking on insects just inches above the water.  I did spend some time watching a large white bird make repeated dive-bomb attacks on the water.  He didn’t appear to have much luck, but it was definitely a sight to see.

Having spent a good hour paddling around Lake Calhoun, I decided to head back to Lake of the Isles – my stomach said it must be lunch time soon.  The lakes were starting to fill with rental kayaks, personal kayaks and loads of families traveling in canoes.  My cell phone rang and announced the happy news that my wife was on her way, so I needed to head back to the dock in Lake of the Isles.

I did manage to run out to Cedar Lake via the connecting waterway from Lake of the Isles before heading back.  No photos, but it definitely was enjoyable as always.  It was filling up with loads of paddlers, so we had some stop-and-go traffic on the water for a bit of the narrower passages underneath bridges.

With perfect timing, I pulled up to the dock as my wife arrived.  We enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch on a blanket next to the water.  Having deflated and packed up the inflatable kayak, we decided to explore the large lake to the south – Lake Harriet.  We enjoyed walking around the (crowded) lake and sampling some of the ice cream.  I believe my next kayaking trip will be to Lake Harriet.  I know my paddling hasn’t been very diverse yet, but I am happy to get as much practice in before taking on more challenging waters.  You cannot beat the convenience of having such lakes not more then 20-30 minutes from our home.

Memorial day itself will be (probably) paddle-free.  The forecast was for rain and clouds, but recently that has switched to warm, sunny and windy (who knows what it will actually be).  Perhaps 8 hours on the water is good enough for one weekend…nah!

I launched from the same dock as my maiden voyage.  Despite the fabulous weather, there were not many boats on the water.  I was initially concerned the wind might be a bit too much, but it was quite variable and never exceeded short bursts of 10-15 mph.  I immediately headed towards Lake Calhoun through the connecting waterway from Lake of the Isles.  Despite only a few boats on the water, casual fisherman were out in force on the shore.  I tried to disturb them as little as I could, but there were a lot of bobbers to paddle around.

The waterway connecting Lake of the Isles to Lake Calhoun is very still and has a number of trees extending over the water.  Not being in any sort of a hurry, I enjoyed some silent floating while I took in the warmth of the sun and the sounds of the birds.  I was trying out my new Pelican 1010 camera dry box with my Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S90  camera.  The dry box worked well, but my photography skills did not.  Unfortunately it was incredibly bright out and I hadn’t properly set up the camera (as can be seen in these few photos).  Quite a few shots were way too bright, but luckily I fixed it later.  I would have noticed earlier if I hadn’t been slowly drifting into trees as I took pictures.

Shortly after moving to Minneapolis, we eventually stumbled upon Lake Calhoun.  The lake is large (3.1 mile around) and essentially circular.  Ever since I saw Lake Calhoun and decided that I wanted to get into kayaking, I’ve wanted to float in the middle of the lake.  During the few times I rented kayak/canoes on Lake Calhoun, the weather was always too windy to get out there.  Today I made it with no trouble.  Normally filled with sailboats, we only had a couple today (although I did have to dodge one of them).

Deciding to postpone a few laps around Lake Calhoun for another day, I wanted to make my way north and west to Cedar Lake.  I’ve never actually make it out to Cedar Lake, so I wanted to hit the highlights today.  I headed back to Lake of the Isles in order to take the western connecting waterway to Cedar Lake.  This waterway is always nice and quiet – not to mention filled with nesting geese and goslings, heron, sunning turtles and fish in its clear, shallow water.  I could lean back in the comfortable Expedition kayak and drift the afternoon away there with little disappointment.

There are a couple bridges to go under, including one shady wooden bridge.  You’ll want to aim for the middle of the bridge, as we’ve bottomed out on the sand whenever we’ve taken the side paths in rented canoes.  I’m very happy to say that the trees have fully returned from their winter bareness.

I finally made it to Cedar Lake.  Perhaps because the narrow connecting waterway bunches up traffic, there always seems to be a lot of boats coming or going from Cedar Lake.  I saw a number of people in the connecting waterway, but the lakes look deserted for such pleasant weather.

Cedar Lake is not too large, but apparently has a number of beaches.  There were quite a few occupied picnic tables just to the north of the entrance to Cedar Lake.

As with all of these smaller lakes, the water is quite shallow and filled with dead trees and plants.

There was quite a bit of grass along the northern shores of Cedar Lake along with some lilypads.  I didn’t see a single fish while paddling through the lilypads and grass, despite fairly clear water.

The grass was filled with Red-winged Blackbirds (with loud males having bright red parts of the wings).  There were a ton of turtles sunning themselves on logs and grass.  There was something splashing around in the grass that was definitely larger than a turtle, but I never did figure out what it was.

There were quite a few birds flying about, but they were hard to photograph.  I did manage to snap a shot of one long-winged white bird, but I have no idea what it was.  Perhaps I should become more familiar with the flora and fauna of Minnesota before going out to see it.

Having not brought a watch, I wondered how long I had been out.  The clock on the camera said I had been out 4 hours, which told me to head back for the dock (later I found out the camera hadn’t switched for daylight-savings time and I’d been out for only 3 hours).  I wanted to get home before my wife woke up and headed out for her next night shift.  I feel a bit bad for enjoying the sunshine while she tries to sleep in our darkened bedroom, but she does only work 2-3 days a week.

I headed back through the connecting waterway to Lake of the Isles.  This waterway is lined with a number of homes.  I shudder to think how expensive these homes are along the lakes.

After a quick paddle back to the dock and launch point, I hauled my boat out of the water and began the deflation process.  Luckily, there were quite a few people coming into the water now.  As I toweled off my kayak, I even got to watch a line of canoes queue up at the dock.  Perhaps people were waiting for the warmer, late-afternoon sun…

After checking a real clock, I noticed I probably had a bit more time before needing to head home.  I let the boat dry in the sun while I relaxed lying on the shore next to the lake.  After about half an hour, the moistened top fabric was dry, and I folded up the kayak and packed up for home.

Yet another enjoyable paddle on lakes within the largest city in Minnesota.  We’re continuing to plan our Boundary Water Canoe Area trip, but sadly that is off in mid-July.  That gives me plenty of weekends to get in some paddling practice, although June and July will be very busy with visitors and out-of-town trips.

Inflation took only 15 minutes or so (my practice runs in the living room helped speed things along).  I’m happy to say that I don’t foresee any problems with a solo set-up and launch.  Provided I can haul everything to the launch site, the kayak has plenty of storage for the duffle bag, foot pump, dry bag and more.  This way, I don’t have to inflate everything and then return to the car to store the “extras”  after inflation.

We launched from a dock on the northwest shore of Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis.  There were a steady stream of canoes and kayaks putting in and launching from the floating dock.  I had planned to do a launch from shore, but there were gaggles of geese that were not too keen on that idea.  Luckily the dock worked out wonderfully.

I had no trouble getting in or out of the kayak from the dock, so I pushed off and paddled around in the launch site.  I neither flipped nor sank, so I figured that was a good omen for the day.  Retrieving the camera from my wife so that she could lay out in the sun, I headed out to paddle around the islands and get a feel for the kayak.

My first impressions are that the kayak is quite comfortable and has fairly good storage.  Given its width of over 32″, it is extremely stable.  The tracking seems fine, but I think I may need to brush up on my technique before blaming any directional issues on the kayak.  The wind was fairly quiet near the launch site, although I figured I was hitting 10-15 mph winds out on the lake.

Having traveled around a few of the small islands in Lake of the Isles, I decided to head west to the connecting waterway that leads to Cedar Lake.  This connecting waterway is very quite and still, with a few bridges to go under and some homes close to shore.

I had passed a “real” kayaker launching his touring kayak.  He said, “Oooh, an inflatable.  Cool.”  With a quick nod, he glided out for Cedar Lake.  I could keep up with him without too much trouble, but I believe he had a more efficient kayak and technique.  As he was decked out in a full waterproof suit, I imagine this wasn’t his maiden voyage.

Overall, the short trip was quite pleasant.  I’ve paddled around this area quite a few times with rental kayaks, but I’m glad to say I enjoy my inflatable more.  The seat and footrest are far more comfortable than any rental kayak I’ve used.  Quietly drifting in the kayak would be incredibly awesome, but I’m afraid I would fall asleep and wake up in the bushes.

Having paddled for an unknown amount of time, I decided to head back and see if my wife had grown impatient with my wandering.  I later found out that I had only been out for about 30 minutes at this point.  I’m looking forward to some far longer trips this summer with a few supplies to help me along the way.

My arrival at the dock was fairly uneventful and dry, with the exception of me almost hitting a little girl in the head with my kayak as she came up to see what I was doing.  I thought her mother was going to be upset, but she seemed unconcerned as they waited for the father to drag their canoe down to the shore.

Now for more good weather and some more extensive inflatable kayaking in Minnesota!  I’ll probably stick to the Lake Calhoun/Lake of the Isles/Cedar Lake area for the next trip, as it is familiar and convenient.  We are planning a canoeing/kayaking trip to the Boundary Water Canoe Area, but those plans still solidifying.

Here is a run down of what I got:

• Advanced Elements Expedition 13′ inflatable kayak
• Carlisle Magic Plus 240 cm paddle
• Astral Buoyancy LDB PFD
• Advanced Elements foot pump
• 10 L SealLine Baja Dry Bag
• Safety whistle

Overall, I am happy with the kayak and anxious to get out on the water.  It takes about 20-30 minutes for me to inflate the kayak (which I am sure will get faster with experience).  It is cumbersome to carry (at 46 lbs), but the duffle bag seems sturdy and holds everything I need.  If necessary, I think I could haul all of this out to my launch point and pack it in the storage areas of the kayak.  For longer trips, I would probably store that equipment in the car.

I am 6′ 2″ 180 lbs, so a kayak with sufficient leg room was important.  After unzipping the forward storage area, you can see that there is an adjustable footrest that can accomadate anyone’s preferences.  Even with long legs, there is a bit of storage left over up front.  There is bungee deck lacing on the bow, but it is far too forward to be comfortably accessed while sitting in the kayak.

There is more storage room behind the seat, and this area is more easily accessed while sitting in the kayak.  The back of the seat has an inflatable lumbar support and a pocket containing a small repair kit.  The main chambers run the sides of the boat and are inflated to 2 psi.  The floor and other chambers that sit atop the main chamber all are inflated to 1 psi.

The underside is fairly plain, but does have a landing skid on the front and a rear skeg-like fin to help in tracking.  The bow and stern of the kayak have aluminum ribs that help maintain the shape of the hull.  There is a ‘backbone’ available that you insert underneath the floor to help make the kayak a bit more rigid.  We’ll see if I feel that is necessary.

Now all I need is fair weather over a weekend for me to escape to the water and try things out.  Our last snowstorm seems to have finally blown through the area, and the snow has melted.  The rivers have been ice free for a few weeks now, so I think I need to take a trip down to Lake Calhoun and see how that looks.  I want to get some practice in before I try to go on a trip with the River Ramblers in May.

My experience with lakes and water is quite limited.  When I was fairly young, I remember my family renting a house on a small lake in Michigan.  I would spend the days using the paddleboat to wander the lake.  On other vacations, I had been out on Tims Ford Lake in Tennessee, but that lake was a bit crowded with powerboats and jet skis.  It was there that I discovered my absolute love for hammocks (especially hammocks hanging under a shade tree next to the lapping water!).

There is an extensive Park & Trail System [PDF map] in the Twin Cities area.  There are miles of paved trails that let you get anywhere you want in town.  After discovering this, my wife and I immediately bought bikes and began to explore.  A beautiful 45-minute bike ride to the north brought us to Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles.  We stopped to eat our packed lunch and enjoyed the sun and lakes.

This was late September of 2008, so everything was warm and green.  I had never seen such a large lake with such still water.  Although later trips to these lakes would show me that the wind could definitely get things choppy, I saw that paddling these lakes could be relaxing.  Without motorboats, these lakes are pretty quiet.

There were a number of kayaks effortlessly gliding out on the lake.  Whenever I had thought of kayaks, the mental image of whitewater kayaks battling the rapids and dodging rocks came to mind.  Having whitewater rafted in the past, that type of kayaking was not terribly appealing.  Seeing sea kayaks and recreational kayaks casually driving around the lake quickly redefined my mental image of kayaking.

On a number of the lakes, you can rent recreational kayaks, canoes, paddleboats and stand-up kayaks (ack!).  I quickly returned to the lakes to rent a kayak and see how it was.  I was uncomfortable in the rental kayak with no footrests, but did enjoy my first 2 hours on the lake.  Later I convinced my wife to go paddling with me in a two-person kayak.  She enjoyed sitting up front while I paddled from the back, but I doubt she will ever go out in a one-person kayak.  A couple weeks later, I managed to get on the water one last time before the frigid fall/winter weather rolled into town.

I was hooked.  As the temperatures plummeted, I began scouring the internet for any information I could find on kayaking.  I picked up my first kayaking book.  I watched almost every kayak technique video on YouTube.  I found out that there is a kayaking group that enjoys quietwater paddling around Minnesota.  Now all I needed to do was convince my wife to let me get a kayak, figure out how to live in an apartment with a kayak, and wait for the bitterly cold temperatures to subside…