San Diego is Amazing, Part 2: Because, Kayak

This post is way overdue, but the second reason we loved San Diego is, it was December.  Winter was setting in at home in TN.  Our kayaking was over for the season.  Then we go to SD.

And the weather was fantastic.  What's more, the resort we were at was on the beach in Mission Bay, and rented kayaks right from their beach. 

The boat we rented was a Hobie Kona tandem sit-on-top.  It was very sturdy with great stability, but it was a slug to get going compared to our Pamlico.

We had a funny discussion with the young rental guy (do all beach rental guys have to be ~18, skinny, and blond?  Must be a union thing.)  He started strapping some cheap, around-the-neck, perfunctory only-because-the-law-requires-it PFDs to the back of the boat. 

But since we were paddling into uncertain depths, we wanted some real floatation devices.  After searching around, he rustled us up some that weren't at all made for paddling, but at least we could wear them around our torso.  The juxtaposition of the boat quality with the life jackets was remarkable.

The views were fantastic.  I'm sure there's an explanation of why such an arid climate can coexist next to the ocean, but I'm just going to go with, "magic."

From the signs and amount of waterfront park space, I got the impression that this could be a busy place in the summer.  But it was quiet and serene that day.

Paid for 2 hours - made it! 
Also, we paddled our butts off, but this boat was at least 25% slower than what we'd come to expect.  Wow.

132 Miles: A Year's Worth of Adventure on a Used Kayak

I've always liked canoeing and kayaking, anything that lets me paddle on the water, since I was a boy at camp. In fact, I clearly remember hating all things about a camp I attended one summer as a child, except for the time I spent in a canoe.

The Clinch kayak trip that started it all.

Tabitha and I  had been renting kayaks from River Sports Outfitters, a local shop here in Knoxville, for about $35 for a tandem for two hours.  It was a nice way to get outside, get some exercise, and see stuff.  We enjoyed it, but weren't too invested.

A kayak in a garage takes up space.

Until we went on a big paddle with a group at the end of 2013.  It was after that experience that we decided that buying a kayak might be in our future.  But kayaks, like most serious outdoor equipment, are expensive: you get what you pay for and quality isn't cheap.

675 miles over 11.5 hours of rain and Atlanta traffic couldn't shake this off.

So, we scoured the local classifieds, checked out the used gear from River Sports, talked and listened to experts and generally obsessed over finding a good used tandem kayak.  Then, the day before a trip to Florida to visit family in November 2013, I decided  to check the Tampa area Craigslist, and behold: there were three (three!) tandems of one of the makes and models I had identified.  One of them was just two miles from my father's house!

Our maiden voyage on a cold day in February.

We checked it out, and borrowing my dad's truck bought it for $675 cash: a Wilderness Systems Pamlico 145T.  (The "145" stands for 14.5', and the "T" stands for tandem.)  With a rudder.  And inflatable life vests.  And paddles.  We thought we'd scored.  But had we?

Tellico, our favorite and most frequented spot.

We couldn't find out right away, because we'd flown to Florida, and try as I might, I could not fit it into my carry-on.  So, I secured permission to store it in my dad's garage until we visited again for Christmas, which I was grateful for.  Storing a 14.5' boat in the middle of someone's garage is a significant favor.

Up Citico Creek off of Tellico Lake.

Christmas time came quickly, and we had already rented a car (something we do often - why put miles on our own cars when we can find a good deal for a rental?).  The giant-kayak-on-the-floor was wearing thin at my dad's, so it was up to me to secure an upgrade that would put us in a car with a roof rack to tote that boat home.

Lake Santeetlah, NC.  We've put in some miles there.

Fortunately, the clerk at Hertz was a nice guy, and even after explaining to me that they don't like you putting things on the roof rack, he let me go pick a car that had one.  I ordered some good kayak cradles online that worked well with our new kayak, and after the holiday drove 11.5 hours back, through the rain and Atlanta traffic with a 14.5' boat-shaped wind sail strapped to the roof.

Miles traveled, 2014.

So was it worth it?  Our first paddle of 2014 was a warm-enough (barely) weekend in late February, and we finished the season in TN in mid-November.  During those months, we paddled our boat on 22 trips, which comes out to an average of one paddle every 1.6 weeks.  By my calculations, we traveled over 132 miles on our boat, with an average trip of 5.76 miles.

Paddling downtown at sunset to watch the fireworks, 7/4/2014.

Watching fireworks from the river.  Best seat in the city.

As far as the boat goes, I've had to repair the rudder cables and replace the rigging for the straps the connect the foot pegs to the rudder cables as a result of the cable repair.  It's an older boat, so I've  spent some time applying protectant coating. I also installed tie-downs, hooks, and shock cord to make paddle holders. We bought new paddles, too; the ones that we bought with the boat were ridiculously heavy.

Left-side: protectant.  Right-side: bare.

I built a storage system using a bike hoist system mounted on heavy-duty pocket door track that I cut and installed.  The hoist drops the boat into a sling made out of nylon webbing that I constructed.

Hoist and track system.

Sling cradle made with nylon webbing.

There have been some additional costs, a few odds and ends that make your life easier, but as far as the boat goes, that's how much we've invested.  In that time we have visited 16 different places, met plenty of great people, done the best kind of exercise (the fun kind that you don't know you're doing!) and generally had a blast.  We've watched sunsets and fireworks, floated (mild) rapids and paddled quietly by moonlight.

I think it was worth it.

Hiwassee River Paddle: 14.1 miles of fun!

A few weeks ago we joined a group of other paddle junkies for a float down the Hiwassee River.

Our group arrived early on a foggy morning.  It was a beautiful drive in as well.

This is one of my favorite types of paddling trips.  The river is dam controlled, meaning normally the river is too low to take a boat of any kind down it, but the power company releases water, usually on the weekends for recreational purposes, that brings the water level up high enough to take a kayak or canoe down.

Cool, clear water.  You can see right to the bottom.

What it also means is that there is a nice current to carry you down the river at speed, meaning you can cover more ground, see more stuff, and generally feel good about how far you've traveled.

Looking upstream, waiting for the dam release.

On a hot summer day, the cool, clear water from the dam is most welcome.

Looking downstream near the put-in point.

On this particular weekend, the TVA apparently didn't quite keep their published schedule, as the dam release was a little late. 

Stuck in a shallow area, waiting for the rising tide.

This created some delays, and also meant that instead of the expected fast-moving but plenty deep water, we had some shallow rocky areas to contend with, as well as some rapids.

Hanging out the the shade waiting.  Is it time to get moving?

Getting moving!

Aside from a few scrapes on the bottom of our boat, we made it through unscathed. 

Pumping out the boat after a big rapid.

One of the best parts about traveling with a good group of people is the leadership and planning that the organizers provide; it inspired confidence to travel with an organizer who had scouted this trip in advance.

Tiny fishes!

Eventually, the water release really caught up with us, and we really were able to enjoy the river.

Canadian geese, eh?

Peeking through the river bank at some hills.

This is what it looks like when a big group of paddlers stops for a break.

The leader scouts ahead.  (I like this photo.)

That's a cliff!

Apparently not all trees need soil.

The armada.

The muddy slalom of a takeout.

The takeout point was a steep boat ramp covered in three inches of slippery mud.  Despite most everyone wearing shoes that were far from conducive to the task, everyone pitched in and helped each other get out and get up the ramp.

The trip map computed by one of the organizers.

In a way, that was a fitting end for the trip: humping boats up a muddy ramp for people you barely know but shared a great experience with.  I can't wait to do it again.

Upper Tellico Paddle

Tellico Lake

A great tip from a friend and near record-high temperatures brought us and our kayak to the upper Tellico Lake for a delightful paddle last Sunday.

The blue sky over my shoulder.

The water was clear, the sky was blue.  It was a bit gusty on the water; when the wind blew, there was a decent chop and plenty of spray off the paddles.  But then it would subside to total comfort for minutes at a time.

TVA sign about the archeological site on this island.

We chose to paddle out around the shallow islands first.  One had a sign indicating it was protected archeological property.  Someone told us that it was the site of an ancient Native American burial ground.  That of course didn't stop TVA from flooding the valley.

Underwater treelines.

For those that don't know, Tellico Lake, a.k.a. Tellico Reservoir, is a man-made lake created by the Tennessee Valley Authority via the Tellico Dam.  In parts you can still see the stumps of old treelines sticking up through the water. 

Old trees want to snag your boat.  Don't let them!

What that means for boaters is keep a sharp eye out for hidden sticks ready to ruin your day.  It also means there are plenty of shallow areas to explore that motorized boat traffic can't reach. 

A really serene channel three islands back from the boat launch.

We even had to get out a couple times to move the boat along.  It also made for challenging work on the rudder.

Not another soul on the water.

The best part was we had the entire lake to ourselves.  There were a few cars at the put-in, but the entire time on the water we saw only one boat.

Sunlight off the water at the end of the day.

Ramp in, ramp out.

As we were heading back to take out, I realized that although I've lived in Knoxville for almost 12 years, I only recently discovered that the ability to paddle beautiful bodies of water like this, especially on a weekend in early April, is the best part of living in East Tennessee.  I'm really looking forward to next weekend and many more trips this summer.

Loaded up.  Heading home.

First Paddle of the Season!

As we have discussed before, sometimes you don't have to travel far for an adventure.  

What car doesn't look better with a kayak on top?

This winter we picked up a used kayak.  Last weekend's unseasonably warm temperatures gave us our first chance of the year to get out on the water with it.

The other folks.

 We joined a group from River Sports to paddle up from downtown Knoxville.

Heading downriver, downtown.

Looking forward to more!