Other Outdoor Activities

This is my page for other outdoor activities that don’t fit into my Camping / Backpacking / Wild Edibles pages. I enjoy the outdoors very much, and despite being a geek, I plan to spend even more time outdoors in the years to come!

Kayaking

I went kayaking for the first time last Sunday. (4/21/2002) I went with my boys, David Benton and Montie Schmiege. David is a fairly experienced kayaker. He has been trying to teach me to kayak for few weeks. We spent a little time on still water trying to get my roll, but last Sunday was my first time on the river.

We went to the Cartecay River near Ellijay, GA. It was a fun river and I was able to get a pretty good feel for kayaking. My first time down the river I had to bail in the middle of “S-Curve”, probably the most difficult rapid in the stretch we paddled. I went down the sleuce on river left backwards, missing the easier route down the center. I actually managed to run the sleuce pretty well backwards, but in the middle of the rapid, I tried to face downstream and lost it. I tucked and bailed pretty quick, knowing I really didn’t have my roll yet. I rode the rest of the rapid sans boat. It was good for me. I learned several important lessons. First, be more aggressive approaching rapids — just commit to a route and go for it. Second, it’s ok to swim. If a rapid looks bad, you’ll probably be ok, even you have to bail. (At least on rivers like the Cartecay) Anyway, my second trip down the river I felt very good. I was much stronger through the rapids. I committed better and we flew down the river. I’m talking to David as I write this and we’re planning a trip down the Hiwasee and then the Chattooga. I hope to get my roll soon and then I’d really like to work on some play-boating. Time to start working out again!

Canoeing

Last week, (July 2004) my wife and I went canoeing on the Harpeth River west of Nashville. The Harpeth is a muddy, slow river, but was a lot of fun for a Sabbath afternoon outing. We tagged along with the youth group from church and had a great time. Until we can afford to take a trip to the boundary waters, we’ll have to settle for local canoeing outings.