For my third week of paddling 60km per week as a fundraiser for Movember I wanted to paddle up to the end of Indian Arm and back. With sufficient detours I could make it a sufficiently long single paddle but I've been trying to spread my paddling out a bit (largely unsuccessfully, I might add).
With that in mind I did a short 7km evening paddle on Saturday with a coworker. It was a fairly chill paddle, both in terms of content and temperature. Deck lines were just freezing up when we finished.
(As an aside, that little screen is a GPS cycling computer. Works pretty well on a kayak too.)
On Sunday I departed from Port Moody at around 8:00 am and began to make my way. I have been using a wing bladed paddle lately and have been using the GPS speedometer to give me feedback as to the quality of my forward stroke. It is also nice to have a timer showing how long I've been paddling. I think it helps ensure I'm hydrating and fueling appropriately. Have a handful of snacks at the top of the hour, etc.
The paddling was quite nice, conditions were very mellow, which is helpful when trying to go for distance. I stuck close to the east side going up, hugging the shore pretty close for the most part. I find that seeing the shoreline move past is a good morale boost, a consideration I'm more aware of after paddling across the Strait of Georgia.
Near Twin Islands I was surrounded by a dozen of so seals, all popping up to look at me from quite close. I passed over many seals, jellyfish, and sea stars on my paddle. The water was very clear.
Granite Falls had a dusting of frost all over it. Starting to look a bit more like winter around here.
Conversely Silver Falls didn't look anywhere near as cold.
I did stop for a few minutes near the estuary to eat some sandwiches and a handful of wine gums. I knew I would be pretty close to nightfall by the time I was done paddling so kept up my pace.
Sure enough by the time I got back to Port Moody it was getting dim and the lights were coming on. By the time I was loading my car it was just dark enough that I needed a headlamp. All told it was a 53 kilometer day, about 9 hours sitting in the kayak.
I mentioned that this is part of my fundraising for Movember, particularly to raise awareness and funds for men's mental health. At the time of writing I have paddled 187 of my 240 kilometer goal, and raised $628 of my goal of $500. I'm quite pleased with that.
With that in mind I did a short 7km evening paddle on Saturday with a coworker. It was a fairly chill paddle, both in terms of content and temperature. Deck lines were just freezing up when we finished.
(As an aside, that little screen is a GPS cycling computer. Works pretty well on a kayak too.)
On Sunday I departed from Port Moody at around 8:00 am and began to make my way. I have been using a wing bladed paddle lately and have been using the GPS speedometer to give me feedback as to the quality of my forward stroke. It is also nice to have a timer showing how long I've been paddling. I think it helps ensure I'm hydrating and fueling appropriately. Have a handful of snacks at the top of the hour, etc.
The paddling was quite nice, conditions were very mellow, which is helpful when trying to go for distance. I stuck close to the east side going up, hugging the shore pretty close for the most part. I find that seeing the shoreline move past is a good morale boost, a consideration I'm more aware of after paddling across the Strait of Georgia.
Near Twin Islands I was surrounded by a dozen of so seals, all popping up to look at me from quite close. I passed over many seals, jellyfish, and sea stars on my paddle. The water was very clear.
Granite Falls had a dusting of frost all over it. Starting to look a bit more like winter around here.
Conversely Silver Falls didn't look anywhere near as cold.
I did stop for a few minutes near the estuary to eat some sandwiches and a handful of wine gums. I knew I would be pretty close to nightfall by the time I was done paddling so kept up my pace.
Sure enough by the time I got back to Port Moody it was getting dim and the lights were coming on. By the time I was loading my car it was just dark enough that I needed a headlamp. All told it was a 53 kilometer day, about 9 hours sitting in the kayak.
I mentioned that this is part of my fundraising for Movember, particularly to raise awareness and funds for men's mental health. At the time of writing I have paddled 187 of my 240 kilometer goal, and raised $628 of my goal of $500. I'm quite pleased with that.