Paddling Notes

[caleb]

That snapper was really annoyed that you made it move. �� grumpy ass dinosaur.

The King of the Swamp never even moved, except to s l o w l y turn his head to keep an eye on us. I think he was still pretty cold and really appreciating the spring sun.

[bbillington]

I encountered one on my ride this AM. It’s been really warm here lately, but it was stalled out in the middle of the trail.

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[open roader]

Just returned from a 3 day 'slack bastards' paddle of the Gippsland Lakes (Victoria, Australia)

Slack bastards because we rented a holiday cottage this time and used the car to lug the inflatables to different launching spots. No big distances covered nor was it adequate compensation for losing a 6 week Vancouver Island kayak / road trip to C19 this time last year but it was certainly brilliant to be back out on the water again.

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[caleb]

Base training.





Does anyone know what these supersized painted turtles are called? Their shells are the size of dinner plates, but they have small heads with red/green stripes on the sizes.

[j44ke]

Painted turtles can get huge. Like 12" in diameter. Most areas in the US also have red-eared sliders due to the pet trade. And river cooters (eastern version is Pseudemys concinna concinna) are wide ranging with many sub-species that also can get pretty big. In all these turtles, the shell can flatten and get smoother with age.

That photo looks a bit like a softshell turtle, except for the head. There are two in Minnesota. The smooth and the spiny.

[rydesteel]

Jorn's correct that's a soft shell Turtle. I've seen them even bigger when I was growing up. Of course I was smaller so they seemed huge. Mostly see them in rivers and streams, can't recall ever seeing one in a pond. That's some Gorgeous Water you floating on, where is that?

[caleb]

That photo looks a bit like a softshell turtle, except for the head. There are two in Minnesota. The smooth and the spiny.

Looks like a great match for the softshell to me. I hadn't noticed them before, but we saw a whole bunch this trip.

Jorn's correct that's a soft shell Turtle. I've seen them even bigger when I was growing up. Of course I was smaller so they seemed huge. Mostly see them in rivers and streams, can't recall ever seeing one in a pond. That's some Gorgeous Water you floating on, where is that?

Some of it is the lower Namekagon and some is the upper St. Croix, both in northwestern Wisconsin. It's an overlooked place to paddle. We only saw a few other people on the water, and almost all of it is away from roads, houses, and noise. It's pretty secluded.

Interestingly, where we were is upstream a ways from where the DNR says softshell turtles are common. The Namekagon is a bit unique in that it's a stronghold for sturgeon.

[caleb]

Celebrating Taco Tuesday.

[caleb]

When earlier this week Maureen Dowd wrote a column titled Apocalypse Right Now, the headline was a good intro to the column's first line that gave it all away: "Holy smokes."

For those of us anywhere near the jet stream or The Heat Dome, or both, the prospect that this summer marks the beginning of the end of the world (as we know it, or for humanity) is starting to seem quite real. The sky is yellow, the sun is orange, and no Dyson air purifier is going to fix it. My world, and much of North America, is on fire.

This week the Forest Service did the responsible thing and cancelled my Boundary Waters permit for next week because I might get burned alive out there; this is a non-paddling report, but it's also a pro-paddling report.

What's it going to take to secure the natural world for the human future? Are we headed for the end of casual flights, private cars, or the normalization of vegetarian entrees?

I want to live in and hand down a world that does not extinguish the best we have, especially the outdoors. I can't imagine a greater issue of intergenerational justice than this: we must not destroy the earth for the future.

[vertical_doug]

Does anyone know what these supersized painted turtles are called? Their shells are the size of dinner plates, but they have small heads with red/green stripes on the sizes.

I think those are western spiny softshell. You really need a picture of the snout.
I grew up as a kid on the Mississippi river. I spent a lot of time floating in inner tubes as a teenager. We had tons of these always sunning on the rocks.

[Ras72]

There's something about silent motion that appeals to me. Canoes/kayaks are perfect examples. It's why I built this little cedar sled.


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Build thread is here https://www.velocipedesalon.com/foru...ighlight=canoe

[sk_tle]

There's something about silent motion that appeals to me. Canoes/kayaks are perfect examples. It's why I built this little cedar sled.


IMG_E2437.jpg

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Build thread is here https://www.velocipedesalon.com/foru...ighlight=canoe

Awesome!

[SlowPokePete]

Nice little paddling trip on the Hudson River with my wife.

Put in...Hudson, NY.

August 11, 2021 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

August 11, 2021 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

http://www.hudsonathenslighthouse.org

August 11, 2021 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

August 11, 2021 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

The fishing shacks...

August 11, 2021 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

https://www.hudsonriverwise.org/log/...shing-shanties

SPP

[guido]

Pike machine...

[guido]

The naked interior...

[guido]

Almost ready to fish. Perhaps it should be put in fishing...

[j44ke]

Almost ready to fish. Perhaps it should be put in fishing...

Wow. I don’t even know what most of that stuff is. Motor and seat - recognize those things. I guess that won’t go on the roof of the Prius any longer.

I sometimes used to fish in stocking waders and Converse All-Star high tops. But I was 16 and operating on a lawn mowing income. 16 year old me would have died and gone to heaven with a boat like that for bass fishing.

I found my old fly rods and boxes of moth eaten flies the last trip into the city. I’ll have to bring it all up here and spend the winter getting ready for spring. See if I still remember how to do it.

[guido]

Wow. I don’t even know what most of that stuff is. Motor and seat - recognize those things. I guess that won’t go on the roof of the Prius any longer.

I sometimes used to fish in stocking waders and Converse All-Star high tops. But I was 16 and operating on a lawn mowing income. 16 year old me would have died and gone to heaven with a boat like that for bass fishing.

I found my old fly rods and boxes of moth eaten flies the last trip into the city. I’ll have to bring it all up here and spend the winter getting ready for spring. See if I still remember how to do it.

Nothing that complex. It has a casting bar that lets one get have something to hold on to or lean against while standing to cast/fish (extra comfort when fishing in cold water...). Behind and under the seat are tackle boxes. And all the way back is a battery for the motor.

It all pops off and stores easily in the Prius.

[guido]

[j44ke]

Nothing that complex. It has a casting bar that lets one get have something to hold on to or lean against while standing to cast/fish (extra comfort when fishing in cold water...). Behind and under the seat are tackle boxes. And all the way back is a battery for the motor.

It all pops off and stores easily in the Prius.

Pretty cool. I see the quick releases and tracks for mounting now.