Messages

1

Flatwater and Touring / Re: What's your favorite flatwater workout ?

« on: December 10, 2020, 09:02:59 PM »

I know this might appear to be a smartass answer.... but that is not my intent.
I am all for workouts on SUP... but wanted to give mention my approach for viewers who might be overwhelmed by the intense workouts you folks do.

I do not train or "workout" on my SUP. If I did, I would have quit long ago.
For 10 years I have enjoyed the hell out of casual paddling at a slow, sometimes snails pace..... but I AM paddling.
I go the same 6 miles as many do in "training"mode... but I take longer.
6 miles is 6 miles. 2.5 or 3 hours instead on 90 minutes.

My lungs may not be getting a strenuous cardio workout.... but I am out there all the time, when not surfing.
Mind and soul get an amazing amount of healing and satisfaction from these trips along the edges.... and I guarantee that there are great benefits for my heart as well.
The slow paddle keeps me moving and fit compared to many friends my age.

I listen to nature, not headphones.
My eyes take in everything at my slow pace.

Why am I putting this on a "workout" thread?
Because I figure the goal of working out is to improve health and body conditioning.

10 years into this and I have seen almost ALL of the "fast" crowd around me, tire of working out and slip away from paddling completely.
While I keep plugging along, exploring the marshes and creeks.
I paddle out in 20 degrees to catch a sunrise... my love for exploration and discovery keeps me paddling.

I have gone from 305 lbs to 203.
Covid lockdowns had bumped me up to over 234, but I am heading back down.

At 72, my doctors can't find anything to medicate.

My point is:
simply by enjoying casual paddling, I stay stoked and active over the long term, which has meaningful health benefits.

If my buddies on raceboards want to paddle with me, I slow them down to my pace and they love it   

I'm more SuptheCreek than Talltude - but I have begun to find I can maintain 5mph if I focus on stroke and form better than when I tried to pay attention to the GPS and maximize speed - when I push to 5.5/5.7mph, I run out of gas, I slow down, my averages are lower, I'm exhausted - and sometimes I injure myself - my left elbow has a very painful click, some sort of torn cartilage from pushing hard in bad weather last summer. I do really well if I am more in the moment and less on the gps. My 14'x28" Starboard inflatable is not a speed demon but still does the creeks, lakes and open ocean ok. So for me with limited time I just make sure I enjoy an hour at a time several times a week till the water freezes up again. I've gone from 289 to 252 this year - finally . To make sure I have fun I usually bring my 'lil friend

2

Flatwater and Touring / Re: Winter Paddle at Eklutna Lake, Alaska 10F/-12C

« on: November 11, 2020, 09:46:09 PM »

ah, Bunny Boots - I saw the last of them like 5 years ago - a guy was selling some from who-know-where out of the back of a cube-van for like $60 a pair. Truly heavy clunky WARM boots. I had one pair that my parents made last by inflating them to fit my smallish boy feet  (they have a vent for letting air out/in for flying)- I blew mine up to make the oversize boot fit - till I outgrew them   - Later in my childhood I had the Moon Boot - cheap, light, WARM boots lol - the 1 inch air gap in the soles really worked. I stood many hours in -20 waiting for a bus in those crappy boots I'll take you up on the felt if I can't get them cheap at the local outdoor store today. Another advantage to the wool is that is slowly conforms to your the shape of your foot - I had a pair in some old military style boots and the first set of inserts squished/moved to fill up gaps so much I put in a second set and ended up with a perfect-fitting set of boots that lasted many years of outdoor real world work environment

Bunny Boot for those who might never have seen them - not going to work for a SUP (well...they might float .... however.... soooo bulky ... )  but if you have to stand outside in COLD weather a lot they are the best.

oh look you can buy them - more surplus? How long is that rubber going to hold up? Holy Moly! I don't think they have made any since the 80's.

The cutaway shows why they were awesome - look at those layers! 3x1/4 inch of wool felt - or more! No wonder they looked goofy - but at -40c/f  ooohh man.... warm feet change everything.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/us-military-surplus-mickey-cold-weather-boots-used?a=504927&szc=470&clrc=000&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=CjwKCAiAtK79BRAIEiwA4OskBuLNHowJqdzrksBuqvP8lyx5rsmbesEvcYOvWyBWYa0_KFzCU1l_ihoCh54QAvD_BwE

I had a pair of those back in the 70's for ice fishing.  Like Wetstuff, we called them mouse boots.

Makes sense but I had never heard them called that

Maybe comes from being the land of fat-feet bunnies? They were sure a common footwear in the 70's for sure - if you wanted warm feet - they were it. I remember hearing from locals that if you wore them for 3 or 4 days straight (think Iditarod etc) your feet got wet from condensation - but they stayed warm.

3

Fish Tales, Stand Up style / Re: King Salmon Fishing, Knik River, Alaska June 12, 2020

« on: November 11, 2020, 09:38:03 PM »

Finally we got down to where - some - of the fish were. It's a bit early for this run, it seems - we saw 4 or 5 get hauled in but not bites for either of us. We tied off as oddballs in a line of anchored skiffs and fished about 2 hours or so - limited time, limited fish! This area is slightly tidal here and the fish tend to come up and change their minds  - just below this point it's not open. Maybe a good thing - another channel feeds in and the water is really turbulent with boils and spinning whirlpools  - no fun on a sup.
Funny thing - too bad I didn't have my head-mount Go-Pro - I got pulled over by Fish and Game We had packed up and started down the highway where we stashed my car at the start - and this skiff  zooming up river pulls along side. It was friendly enough and I turned and faced upstream to maintain against 3-ish mph current - but as I explained the odd craft I was on, lol, a boil twisted my board and the minor floatation of my pool-noodle ama was overcome by the river - sucked down out of site - and I nearly went it. The 3 officers said they would love to see my license but didn't want to make me go in I could have maybe just kneeled and held onto their boat - but eh, not having to wait longer was fine by me. I was fully good to go as far as license/king tag but it was much easier to turn and burn

The Google link - full sized images -
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wDkvTNtgfcs3AkVk6

4

Fish Tales, Stand Up style / Re: King Salmon Fishing, Knik River, Alaska June 12, 2020

« on: November 11, 2020, 09:28:51 PM »

The Tailrace came up after after a bit - we could have started the float here - but it's More Fun to start up on the old Knik Bridge.

Tailrace dumps in beautiful, clear bluish-greenish glacier lake water (via a near half-mile  long tunnel built in the 50s) into the murky gray and the gray wins out in only a few yards.

Lots of people fish here - usually bait is allowed, it's pretty boring but you can catch King and later Silver Salmon. Only open to residents - it's not a big fishery.

5

Fish Tales, Stand Up style / Re: King Salmon Fishing, Knik River, Alaska June 12, 2020

« on: November 11, 2020, 09:13:30 PM »

This is running right up against the foot of Pioneer Peak - we aren't a lot over sea level - and it goes up 6,600 ft from here. It's impressive. When I moved back after college - I was like - My God - the mountains are HUGE!!!

This part of the river - no fish - it's a hatchery run, and they will be coming back to the Eklutna Tailrace (where I did that winter race this spring).

6

Fish Tales, Stand Up style / Re: King Salmon Fishing, Knik River, Alaska June 12, 2020

« on: November 11, 2020, 09:07:58 PM »

The Knik is glacier-fed - cold, murky, silty and lots of gravel and sandbars. Andrew's carrying system is good for getting to things - but he did flip once and could have snapped off the fishing rods. Maybe needs something that would lay flat?

7

Fish Tales, Stand Up style / King Salmon Fishing, Knik River, Alaska June 12, 2020

« on: November 11, 2020, 09:02:54 PM »

You may have noticed a flurry of posts - partly - I've figured out a way to deal with the resize required by the Zone, and the lack of off-site hosting I used to do.

For this fishing trip - I brought out a project/projects I've worked on for a few years. One - variations on a theme - rear-mounted pivoting fin adapter - which evolved into a mount for a kayak rudder - it even steers. Two - this was version 2 of an outrigger. Version one was HEAVY - it used conduit and 2x2's and a ton of duct tape . Version 2.0 is light aluminum that breaks down to a short/fits in the sup-bag length - still needs work but it's close......anyway - I can fish off it - and the 26" wide Red Elite is seriously unstable at least with me on it - so this really broadens versatility for a narrow focus board. Some other thread (soon) will lay out the outrigger and another for the fin so ... this is about the Knik and - and attempting to catch a King. Kings are notorious for requiring a lot of hours on the river to catch - spoiler alert - I didnt get one.

Andrew Cunningham is the experienced sup-fish-getter here - he usually gets lots of silvers and reds - not in this river so much - and he usually takes his Tower 10x34 - stable and manuverable - but on this big river turning isn't a big deal. His 14x30 Starboard DC is pretty stable - he had zero issues this trip. He's running a shorter flex-fin but it wasn't really required I think.

8

Flatwater and Touring / Re: Rabbit Slough #2 August 16, 2020 15k Day - Lotsa' Pics

« on: November 11, 2020, 06:55:17 PM »

Looks amazing! Love the conditions and solitude 

Next season - I'm crossing over into the big swamp/lake at the portage juuuust past where I turned back. I better allow a full day paddling - it looks like just the one arm of lake is over a mile. Should be a ton of waterfowl to see. For sure going to need a shallow water fin option.

9

Flatwater and Touring / Re: Winter Paddle at Eklutna Lake, Alaska 10F/-12C

« on: November 11, 2020, 09:05:07 AM »

well might as well post the moon boot pic    They were actually a good boot for a kid to wait for a bus and cheap enough it didn't matter you outgrew them by next winter.

Also terrible for a winter SUP option tho and I see after a Google - you can buy them still - sort of a weird fashion statement but hey - warm! for sure.

10

Flatwater and Touring / Re: Winter Paddle at Eklutna Lake, Alaska 10F/-12C

« on: November 11, 2020, 09:03:50 AM »

ah, Bunny Boots - I saw the last of them like 5 years ago - a guy was selling some from who-know-where out of the back of a cube-van for like $60 a pair. Truly heavy clunky WARM boots. I had one pair that my parents made last by inflating them to fit my smallish boy feet  (they have a vent for letting air out/in for flying)- I blew mine up to make the oversize boot fit - till I outgrew them   - Later in my childhood I had the Moon Boot - cheap, light, WARM boots lol - the 1 inch air gap in the soles really worked. I stood many hours in -20 waiting for a bus in those crappy boots I'll take you up on the felt if I can't get them cheap at the local outdoor store today. Another advantage to the wool is that is slowly conforms to your the shape of your foot - I had a pair in some old military style boots and the first set of inserts squished/moved to fill up gaps so much I put in a second set and ended up with a perfect-fitting set of boots that lasted many years of outdoor real world work environment

Bunny Boot for those who might never have seen them - not going to work for a SUP (well...they might float .... however.... soooo bulky ... )  but if you have to stand outside in COLD weather a lot they are the best.

oh look you can buy them - more surplus? How long is that rubber going to hold up? Holy Moly! I don't think they have made any since the 80's.

The cutaway shows why they were awesome - look at those layers! 3x1/4 inch of wool felt - or more! No wonder they looked goofy - but at -40c/f  ooohh man.... warm feet change everything.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/us-military-surplus-mickey-cold-weather-boots-used?a=504927&szc=470&clrc=000&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=CjwKCAiAtK79BRAIEiwA4OskBuLNHowJqdzrksBuqvP8lyx5rsmbesEvcYOvWyBWYa0_KFzCU1l_ihoCh54QAvD_BwE

11

Flatwater and Touring / Re: Winter Paddle at Eklutna Lake, Alaska 10F/-12C

« on: November 10, 2020, 11:07:59 PM »

Link to the Google Album - Hi res, more pics, etc

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ah9XXT4mmNaTYvin7

12

Flatwater and Touring / Re: Aug 14,2020 Rabbit Slough (Creek? Swamp?) - Matanuska Valley, Alaska

« on: November 10, 2020, 11:06:19 PM »

Link to Google album = higher res, more pics, some video.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XivyjXD8TZ6sMAmWA

13

Flatwater and Touring / Re: Rabbit Slough #2 August 16, 2020 15k Day - Lotsa' Pics

« on: November 10, 2020, 11:03:44 PM »

Link to Google Album - i killed the image resolution to get this to fit easily on the Zone. I gave up on the panos so you have to get to the Google to look at those - and a couple short vids. I took a lot more of course than even got into the album - gotta' edit down or lose the audience

https://photos.app.goo.gl/1LmFzKLj9a9wc7go6

14

Flatwater and Touring / Re: Rabbit Slough #2 August 16, 2020 15k Day - Lotsa' Pics

« on: November 10, 2020, 10:59:50 PM »

Met a friend I knew at the launch - so a pic of me!

Maps of the previous run and this one for comparison - and the Bing image with real vegetation. I tried to get my KMZ into a Bing or Microsoft map but no-go.

Bing was rotated off-north to make it fit the available screen better

15

Flatwater and Touring / Re: Rabbit Slough #2 August 16, 2020 15k Day - Lotsa' Pics

« on: November 10, 2020, 10:47:32 PM »

So - paddling against the current. Not terrible - but I thought I was going to catch up to a canoe full of fishermen (and women ) - they had a trolling motor - how fast could they be? Then I could steal their wake and have a nice ride! I had them pretty close a couple times - but yeah, who can turn down a race? It was John Henry vs the Steam Drill and I was tired!  

BUT - The Steam Drill/Trolling Motor got hung up in the weeds on the last corner. I still say their 18ft canoe was part of the reason - maybe their battery was drained but I caught em about a 1/4 mile from the launch. Ha! Take that! Of course - John Henry beat the Steam Drill but laid down his hammer and died so I'm glad I didn't have to keep pushing lol

Zara says we kicked their butts!