2014 Paddling Year High Points and Low Points

KenM · 01-03-2015, 10:01 PM

When Mr. Tolson posted his year end reveiw on Dec 18 I thought it was possibly a bit premature. Cheryl and I usually don't think about paddling when below 50 deg but on Dec 24 with temps near 50 and without a breeze it was time for one last paddle. We went to Deer Creek Reservoir which is close to home and found calm water with a nice mist crawling in streaks around the lake. We paddled along and through the mist. The quiet was broken a couple of times when we paddled into sections that had a quarter inch of ice. Interesting but a bit hard to paddle through. After about two hours we ended our paddling season.

It was an odd year for us ..life changed. I retired April 30. My mother (94+) started to wear out and required much more attention. I worked long and hard on some (neglected) major yard and building repair projects. But with my now lack of a schedule, we managed to paddle a lot this year.

We paddled most of our favorite lakes here in NE Ohio and also a few rivers. I got in a new section of the Cuyahoga (Mantua to Redfox) and also a favorite of Eldon Russell to Camp Hi. We did a section of the Mohigan (Brinkhaven to Kokosing), a bit of the Mahoning, and a couple of other short creek explortions. We did an overnight trip of 29 miles on the Grand River in early June with spectacular low water levels. We rented canoes rather than beat up our kayaks. This followed last year's 23 mile trip on the Grand.

A major highlight for me this year was the purchase of our new Hurricane Santee kayaks which weigh 10 # less than our first boats. At 38 # loading becomes much easier. There are some drawbacks with these boats but I can live with those.

Cheryl and I only paddled with TCT twice this year: the Mahoning/picnic and Lake Milton. We enjoyed the group and expect to join in more. We are somewhat apprehensive with some river trips. Maybe it's time to clean up my 1971 - 17 foot - 80 pound Grumman whitewater? Not sure now if I can lift it!

KenM

01-03-2015, 10:01 PM	#11
KenM Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Louisville Oh Posts: 389 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	2014 Review...Ken and Cheryl When Mr. Tolson posted his year end reveiw on Dec 18 I thought it was possibly a bit premature. Cheryl and I usually don't think about paddling when below 50 deg but on Dec 24 with temps near 50 and without a breeze it was time for one last paddle. We went to Deer Creek Reservoir which is close to home and found calm water with a nice mist crawling in streaks around the lake. We paddled along and through the mist. The quiet was broken a couple of times when we paddled into sections that had a quarter inch of ice. Interesting but a bit hard to paddle through. After about two hours we ended our paddling season. It was an odd year for us ..life changed. I retired April 30. My mother (94+) started to wear out and required much more attention. I worked long and hard on some (neglected) major yard and building repair projects. But with my now lack of a schedule, we managed to paddle a lot this year. We paddled most of our favorite lakes here in NE Ohio and also a few rivers. I got in a new section of the Cuyahoga (Mantua to Redfox) and also a favorite of Eldon Russell to Camp Hi. We did a section of the Mohigan (Brinkhaven to Kokosing), a bit of the Mahoning, and a couple of other short creek explortions. We did an overnight trip of 29 miles on the Grand River in early June with spectacular low water levels. We rented canoes rather than beat up our kayaks. This followed last year's 23 mile trip on the Grand. A major highlight for me this year was the purchase of our new Hurricane Santee kayaks which weigh 10 # less than our first boats. At 38 # loading becomes much easier. There are some drawbacks with these boats but I can live with those. Cheryl and I only paddled with TCT twice this year: the Mahoning/picnic and Lake Milton. We enjoyed the group and expect to join in more. We are somewhat apprehensive with some river trips. Maybe it's time to clean up my 1971 - 17 foot - 80 pound Grumman whitewater? Not sure now if I can lift it! KenM