Monday, May 30, 2011

A photo of the new boat

Suzanne sent me this picture of Greg in his blue boat at lake Itasca at the start of the river. Apparently he paddled around in the morning and left about 1pm after having lunch with Suzanne and her husband.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The New Boat

I am at Suzanne's with her husband Greg waiting for her to return from having an MRI scan which has revealed two broken bones in her foot as well a sprained ankle. She will have to wear a moon boot for 6 weeks and take it easy for the following weeks which is big disappointment with summer around the corner and a move to a new job in California.
Well I have gone for the big and beautiful-boat that is. I am the proud owner of a Current Design Solstice Titan GT. It is dark blue all over with a red trim for the cockpit edge. I also bought a small trolley,aPFD and the gun for firing flares. It comes with four flares and I am looking to being able to say "Is this your lucky day punk"I am not sure if I am going to be able to bring it back to NZ.
We stopped at a bigger supermarket on the way back to the house and I was able to get some long life milk and milk powder as well as toilet paper and more crackers so I think I am pretty well set except for a weather radio which I hope to get on the way to the lake.
With all that is happening I don't think we will get away much b/4 mid afternoon so I am not likely to get the boat in the water today

 

Friday, May 27, 2011

Another Successful Day

I went back to Mid West Mountaineering first thing. I think I have decided on a PFD even though I couldn't get one exactly as I wanted. I bought a smoke flare,safety knife and some bug proof clothing.I was tempted to buy some ordinary flares if only because of the awesome looking pistol used to set them off.It would satisfy those who thought I should take some sort of fire arm to shoot it out with any bad guys. However,as I don't plan to do any night paddling there didn't seem to be much point. I left without telling the assistants of the choice of kayak I had made but promising to be back in the morning.I bought a small pocket mirror at the pharmacy next door,not out of vanity, but to tie to my paddle if I need to see over the grass in the wetlands if I take the wrong path.
I jumped back on the train and got off near the Metrodome to walk to the river.I was quite staggered to see the amount of turbulence below the St Anthony Falls and the amount of water going over them. I wouldn't want to be swept over them. I was pleased to see the water into the lock. while fast flowing,was quite calm. It was good to see in real life so I know what to expect when I turn up again in 3 weeks. I watched a tug with two barges lock through.
Feeling hungry, I decided to see if I could find the grill I had passed yesterday without taking note of it's exact location. One of the main streets leading away from the river has been made into a pedestrian mall and it is lined with restaurants with outdoor seating. On Thursdays it has a number of produce stalls which made for a very pleasant ambience. I located the grill without any difficulty and for $7.95 enjoyed bacon and eggs,hash browns and toast. The menu is signed with greetings from Pres Clinton who popped in for lunch some years ago. If it was alright with Bill it was certainly alright with me.
I realised there was a Target Store nearby and suspecting there might be groceries sold I headed over .I was right and have now purchased a week or so of food-oatmeal,juice,tuna,rice,pasta dried fruit,bananas and crackers. The only thing I couldn't find was any long life or powdered milk and dried veges.We will probably stop at a bigger supermarket on the way to the lake tomorrow. I also need to stop at an out doors store as the only piece of gear I am missing is a weather radio. It might be good to know if a tornado was heading my way even if there was nothing I could do about it.
I phoned Suzanne from the agreed rendezvous spot at 2.30 and within 20 minutes I was picked up and taken back to their place where I am now. We are going out to a very posh restaurant called Sea Change which is situated in the futuristic Guthrie Theatre on the river. (I checked it out this morning-"Time spent in reconnaissence....." and all that)
The plans have been made for the w/e. Tomorrow will probably just be spent driving to the lake.I don't think we will get away b/4 midday. We will probably just set up camp when we arrive although it might be nice just to wet my new boat and try it out. Greg and Suzanne aren't planning to take their boats. Suzanne has sprained/broken her ankle doing zumba (I knew there was a reason I hadn't taken it up apart from the fact that white men can't dance) so probably won't be doing much of anything. They are quite happy to drive me to the far end of the lake on Sat morning and push me off into Elk lake and leave me to circumnavigate that looking for any further streams b/4 portaging/paddling the 100yards or so into Lake Itasca and the 6k paddle back to the "official start". The time it takes for me to do that will determine how far I will try to go on the first day. I am only planning to do 30k to Coffee Pot campsite but if time and conditions allow I would like to push on to the next campsite 20k further on.if at all possible.
This may be the last post for a while although I will ask Suzanne if she can take some photos to send through when they get back.

Weather

The weather around here sure changes from one extreme to another very quickly. After having a deadly tornado the day b/4 I arrived yesterday was 58 degrees with a cool wind. You don't see many people on the streets nor are there many street level store fronts Everyone gets around using internal walkways through the buildings which are linked by 1st floor sky walkways.
The temperature is forecast to rise to 85 degrees early next week and to remain in the 80's for the rest of the week. Which reminds me I must get a weather radio today when I go back tothe kayak shop this morning. Unlike NZ I can't simply turn on my VHF to get a coast guard forecast. I also still need flares,a safety knifeand mirror
Finally ,remember,a good friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg even though he/she thinks you are slightly cracked

Thursday, May 26, 2011

There Goes the Weight Loss programme

Weight loss programme? What weight loss programme? Oh,that? Well I haven't got on the river yet so it hasn't officially started. The restaurant I went to is called Chilis and it has 2 for 1 Margaritas and beers. At the least the food was reasonably healthy-make your own Fajitas. I ended up nursing a couple of Blue Moon beers (one of my favourites in the States) (alright a few) and watching the Stanley Cup playoffs between the Bruins and the Lightning-it brought back memories of my grad year in Toronto all those years ago when we had a key to the student common room and used to  let ourselves in to watch Hockey Night in Canada,play shuffle board,use the pinball machines and eat junk food from the banks of machines. In fact Minneapolis reminds me very much of Toronto and I guess the climate is similar. It is certainly a very green town and very clean. It strikes me as a very liveable city.
I have finally made contact with Suzanne and sorted out my plans for tomorrow. I shall go back to the kayak shop with my spray skirt and see how it fits the kayaks and perhaps buy the PFD,a set of small binoculars,(to watch birds and seek out landing and camping spots. I am going around to Suzanne's place mid afternnoon to use her computer ,then we are going to dinner at a seafood restaurant. I also will try to find a supermarket. There is a Walmart some miles back down the freeway but it looks like it will be quite difficult to get to by public transport.
And so to bed (Samuel Pepys)

Bloody Computers

When I arrived at the motel last night I was able to get on to the ondemandit site to check my office e-mails. Think I could do it today I just can't seem to get the website up again. Similarly, I cant even get the xtramail site at all.I am not allowed by the computer to get on to facebook as it is blocked. I can only access this blog. Maybe I will try at Suzanne's tomorrow night.
This is a great motel even though it is a lot further from the airport than the ones I had checked out a few weeks back. It is cheap ($55 a night plus tax) with a standard continental breakfast. It has a big indoor pool which I haven't used yet. My room is perfctly fine and the bed is great
A change of plans tomorrow. I will not be going to Lake Nokonis to test kayaks as they are not taking any of the 3 that I am interested in. I sat in the Storm and Titan at the boat shop. The Titan is a mighty fine fibreglass boat and I am sure we could have a happy and fulfilling relationship over the next 2 plus months if I bought it, but I am leaving it to the last possible moment to make my decision

What A Day

What a great day. Did everything I had planned.Took the shuttle back to the airport and hopped on the Light Rail to Downtown,something I had planned from NZ. As my wife is fond of saying "Time spent in reconnaiscence(? she can't spell very well) is seldom wasted" She also says "First secure your perimeter" (I must find out more about her past.
After walking around town for an hour I took the train back to the kayak shop where I spent time looking at the camping gear,PFDs and boats. I didn't buy anything but set off across the river for a Rotary meeting. My first glimpse of the river was very exciting. It is certainly flowing fast and if it is still like this when I get back in 2-3 weeks I will be in for a fast ride. I had quite a long walk and can feel the pounds slipping away already.
After lunch I went back to the kayak shop and bought matches,gas cylinders,water purifier,water purifying tablets,insect repellent.
I then hopped on the train to Mall of America where I found the perfect T shirt for my wife but unfortunately had to buy another one for me too,so I could get advantage of a two for one deal.Train back to the airport just in time to get on the waiting shuttle back to the motel. Off to a chain restaurant in the car park for dinner.
Haven't made contact with Suzanne who is providing the ride to Lake Itasca but will try again after dinner.
Still got to get food though did get some freeze dried meals at the kayak shop as a back up

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Feeling Happy

After my convoluted flight over 30 hours through Melbourne,Los Angelesand Denver I am now at the Days Inn in Bloomington Minneapolis.It was with relief that my luggage appeared at both Los Angeles and on arrival here. The connections between flights were made with ease even though there was a delay of nearly an hour out of Melbourne. The United flight out of Los Angeles was right on time. I had forgotten that United's theme music was Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue which is perhaps my favourite piece of music and always brings tears to my eyes (OK I am an emotional guy -who would have thought it-it just makes me so happy).
Today's order of business is to take the shuttle back to the airport and there catch the light rail to town. I am going straight to Mid West Mountaineering to check out their kayaks and other items of equipment I still need. I am going to try to get to a Rotary meeting at the Metrodome across the river which will be my first glimpse of the river which is going to be my home over the next weeks. I will also start buying my food supplies if iIcome across a supermarket
Feeling super excited

Monday, May 23, 2011

Why

I have often been askked why I am doing this paddle. I think the best way of answering this is to be found on the wbsite of a fellow paddler (deltaserf.com) where he sets out what it is not about. So with some adaptations;
1/It is not a race
2/I'm not the first (and not the last either) (Although if I start in any tributary that feeds inti Elk lake ,which feeds into Lake Itasca I might be able to claim that i am the first to travel the whole length of the river from it's source-every one else starts from where the river leaves lake Itasca and so I will have travelled another 10k or so further
3/I am not the oldest (well I am not sure about that)
4/I am definitely not the youngest
5/Its not for a cause(well that was true until I gave a talk at my rotary club on Friday and some of my fellow rotarians decided they would like to sposor me for my favourite charity. I did not want to be involved in using the paddle as a fund raising event because I simply didn't have time to put something together and I am an unproven long distance paddler. That was also behind my resaon not to seek sponsorship although there is an ideal company in the States that I could have approached called Musselman. They make fruit juice and fruit based snacks so it will be amatch made in heaven for future trips)
6/I am not raising money for anything (that was true until Friday see point 5 above. I have nominated my charity/ies as Pakinson's and Alzheimer's research,partly because it is an area my daughter Jane is involved in as a medical researcher and partly because the Michael J Fox Foundation has a high visibilty in the States to partner with in the future should I be foolish enough to want to do another paddle
7/It is not a tour or organized trip.
8/I am not trying to find myself
(hopefully I'll know where I am at all times)
9/It won't help me figure out the meaning of life
10/It won't make me a better man(at this point there probably isn't much chance of changing who I am)

This may be my last post for a while as I depart in less than 24 hours and I am not taking a lap top with me. I hope that the motel will have a computer or that I can go to the library or an internet cafe

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Day After

What a great farewell party-3pm to 1.00am-just like the old days when post paddle drinkies would often extend into the wee small hours. A big thanks to Steph,Guy and Mags for staying to play cards and for everyone else for making it such an enjoyable evening. I have said it b/4 and I will say it again-one of the best parts of kayaking this past 12 or so years has been the wonderful people I have met.
I loved the adptation of Moon River that was sung. Here are the lyrics
"Moon river,wider than a mile
Greg's crossing it in style
Old dream maker,you heartbreaker
Wherever you're going,Greg's going your way
One drifter,off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
You're after the same rainbow's end
Waiting'round the bend
My Huckleberry friend
Moon river and Greg"

with apologies to Andy Williams

Friday, May 20, 2011

Some More words of wisdom

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do.So throw off the bowline.Sail away from the safe harbour.Catch the trade winds in your sails.Explore.Dream. Discover"
or as someone else put it
"You should always do something you might regret later rather than regret something you didn't do"
NEWS FLASH
I have just learnt that the first of this year's paddlers is setting off from Lake Itasca today. He is travelling by canoe with his father who is leaving him after two weeks to be replaced by a friend for the rest of the trip. He is planning to take 10 weeks which is the same as my schedule so he should always be just ahead of me but it will be fun to try and catch him. I am secretly hoping that if all goes as welll as I would like, that I will do it in 9 weeks in which case I will catch the canoeists just b/4 the end. I think that there will be other paddlers setting off at the same time as me and if so,while I don't intend to wait for them or expect them to wait for me ,it will be fun if we are constantly leapfrogging each other all the way down the river

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Party Party

I am having what I have termed a going away/memorial party to which I have invited all my kayaking buddies/Rotarian friends and family. I don't know how many Rotarians are likely to turn up but there will be a good turnout from the kayakers, including some that don't kayak much these days and who as a consequence I don't get to see as nearly as much as I would like. It also looks like we will have a full turnout of all the 9 members of the original kayak for Cancer team except for one who is in Australia.This is fitting as it was this trip that sparked my interest in long distance paddling and has resulted in this trip being undertaken. My wife says it is all Chris Dench's fault and she will be having words with him on Saturday

D Day Minus Four

Only four days until I fly out.
I have spent the last few days checking out motels in Minneapolis. Most of them are close to the airport (naturally) and also close to the Mall of America. One is located across a parking lot from a Walmart Super Store which will be handy for buying my camping food.
I have also been checking out the public transport. There is a light rail that runs from the Mall of America ,through the airport to Downtown with a stop near the kayak shop. There is also a bus that runs from the motels to the Downtown,with a stop near the kayak shop.
The other development is that Suzanne Currie, the kind lady who is driving me to lake Itasca,would like to get away on the Friday,not Saturday. that should suit me down to the ground as it will mean I am a day ahead of my schedule right from the start.I am also looking at whether I can get off to a flying start by knocking off two days paddles on the first day.Both are relatively short and were intended to ease me in gently before the long days ahead. But if conditions and my fitness permit ,who knows. It would be a great psycological boost to be two days ahead of my schedule at the end of the first day.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Wilderness

I found the following quote the other day which I thought was appropriate

"Generally speaking a howling wilderness does not howl,it is the imagination of the listener that does the howling.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams
Live the life you have imagined

The Final Countdown

Three weeks today I will be winging my way to Minnesota.This weekend I have a paddle to Kawau Island and that might be the last time I dip a paddle in the water until Elk Lake or Lake Itasca. There are still a few items I have to buy before I go and I plan to spread out everything I have on the family room table and check the items off against the various gear lists to make sure I don't miss anything and also to be ruthless about what I do take.(Definitely taking the Roses chocolates and giant Jaffas)
On a previous post i identified 17 unique risks to plan for. Well make that 18.There was a documentary recently on Bull Sharks,mainly focussed on Queensland and how far they penetrate into fresh water and attack swimmers.,They also showed a map of USA which indicated that Bull Sharks may have penetrated a considerable distance up the Mississippi River. One of my helpful friends went on the internet to find two articles about Bull sharks in the river which he e-mailed to me (thanks Dave!!!!!)