Kayaking into Geezerhood

I do most of my kayaking alone on area waterways. As I have gotten older, I have been concerned about the strength needed to wrestle my kayak up onto the roof rack of my car. When I was in my 40s and 50s, I just heaved the kayak up through brute force, and that wasn’t much of a problem. Of course, its also an easy way to throw a person’s back out, and I have had my share of painful and enduring back pain. As I passed the midpoint of my 60s, I wondered how long I would be able to continue hauling my kayak around, especially by myself.



Right after buying my first rigid kayak, I purchased a Yakama roof rack. The rack has special kayak attachments that include a cradle at the front of the rack into which the kayak slips. At the rear, I have a set of rollers that enables me to slide the kayak up onto the rack. For a long time, when alone, I still heaved the kayak up over the side of the car onto the rack. One day, though, I talked with Dick Davidson, the long time president of the South Dakota Canoe Association and a great arctic adventurer, about how he managed to get his big decked Loon canoe onto his roof rack. He told me that in younger days, he used to just heave the canoe up and onto the rack, much as I used to do; as got he older, however, he began using an old burlap bag to drape over the trunk of the car so that he could slide the canoe up onto his rack.




Well, I thought that this would be a good adaptation for me to try. I went to one of the big hardware stores and bought a 3 x 5 foot rubber backed floor mat that I could easily roll up and put in my trunk. It cost me less than $10.00. I also found that the hardest part about carrying the 58 lbs. kayak from the car to the water’s edge was the pain in my hands from the rim of the cockpit. So, I also got a pair of gloves to keep in the trunk and to use for carrying the kayak.



My method for loading the kayak is now to first get the straps for the roof rack ready and lay out the mat along the top of the trunk. I then, with gloves, carry the kayak out to the rear of the car and lift the bow up onto the mat. I can then just slide the kayak on the mat onto the rollers and push it up into the cradle. I then use the two straps that came with the rack to secure the kayak. Being cautious, however, I also have two rope lines that I use in addition to secure the kayak onto the rack. One end of the line is secured to one side of the rack, and I have a loop at the other end that I use to secure to the other side. So, there are really four attachments: two straps and two rope lines. One of my straps goes through the car above the rear windows so that the rack itself has an additional anchor to the roof itself. Even with all this, though, I am sometimes hesitant to drive on the Interstate for fear that the suction from a passing semi will jerk the kayak off. Over time, I have grown more confident that the kayak is securely fastened to the roof; still, though, I usually travel on secondary roads to my kayaking haunts.



There are some alternatives to using a roof rack on the car. I do have a Folbot, a fabric covered collapsible 12-foot kayak, and that company makes a full line of really nice boats that can be transported in one or two bags and carried in the trunk or back seat of the car. I like this craft, but it is quite expensive. I have toyed around with the idea of getting the larger tandem model, especially as I get older. I have also seen trailers made especially for transporting kayaks and canoes advertised in magazines. There is also a company in Hull, Iowa, that makes such trailers and will customize one to meet the needs of a customer: one kayak, two, or more. I like the idea of a trailer, but I don’t like the idea of storing another piece of gear around my house. I don’t want to dedicate the garage to kayak gear and leave the car in the driveway. Or, perhaps, it is my wife who doesn’t want to see the garage used in that way or to see a trailer left on the lawn alongside the driveway all summer.



For now, I will keep using the roof rack as illustrated in these photos and find adaptations to accommodate my journey into geezerhood. I think that the next adaptation will be a wheeled contraption that will allow me to lift the kayak and just roll the it to the water’s edge, and such a device is readily available for under $100.

Winter SDCA Conference - Sioux Falls: January 26, 2008

The annual winter conference for the South Dakota Canoe Association will be held in Sioux Falls at the Outdoor Campus on Saturday, January 26, 2008, from 12:00 noon until 3:00 p.m. This is a time for fellowship, networking, and learning for those of us interested in paddling our waterways in kayaks or canoes.

The conference this year will feature a PowerPoint slide show of waterways in the general Sioux Falls area – the Missouri River to Oakwood Lakes, navigational and personal safety, boat building, perhaps kayak fishing, Boundary Waters cruising, and bird watching on area lakes and streams. In addition, Dick Davidson will present a slide show describing one of his many adventures on northern rivers. A High Arctic Solo Canoe Trip on the Mara and Burnside Rivers to Bathurst Inlet will be great fun for all of us armchair adventurers who wish we could just chuck it all and head out on a long wilderness adventure. Dick Davidson is the most adventurous paddler I have ever known. For over 25 years, I have followed his canoe treks through Canada and Alaska. Just listening to him and looking at his slides is a great treat; I hold him in the highest regard. As the very long time president of the SDCA, he has helped many people find satisfaction in self-propelled travel on both area waterways and distant rivers, usually rivers flowing through northern wilderness areas.

There will be a discussion of cruises planned for next season, and an opportunity for conference attendees to offer their ideas for SDCA sponsored trips. We will elect officers for the next year, and there are several spots open for those who would like to take on a leadership organization within the organization.

So, I hope that you will mark your calendars for January 26, from noon to 3:00 p.m., and join us at the Sioux Falls Outdoor Campus, located near the Butterfly House and the Empire Mall –between 49th and 57th Streets.

The Big Sioux River Through Sioux Falls: A last cruise of the year.

Today was a glorious gift to those of us here on the northern plains. A bright, sunny, weekend day with temperatures approaching 65 degrees on November 11 cannot be allowed to pass without notice. Many of us feel compelled to take advantage of this welcome respite preceding the inevitable winter shutdown. Just weeks from now, the lakes and rivers are likely to be frozen. In fact, we expect a return to cold grey days next week.



So, after a midday hike in the hills overlooking the Big Sioux River at a state recreation area near Sioux Falls, I felt anxious to load up the kayak and take a last cruise of the season on the river. Within minutes of returning from the hike, I had my old beater of a river kayak (10.5 foot Dagger) lashed to the Yakama rack and was heading down 26th Street to the park along the Big Sioux River. This is less than a ten-minute drive for me from my east side Sioux Falls home: 10 minutes from driveway to “put-in.”



There was a great deal of traffic on the Sioux Falls bike trail, and many people were in the parks. As usual, however, there was no one on the river nor any cars parked at the canoe access point on the west side of the river at 26th Street.



I headed upstream in a pretty full river with good depth all along my route. Going upstream, the YMCA camp is located along the west bank and the bicycle trail on the east bank. I was able to check out any new developments within view of the river at Camp Leif Erickson, a beautiful YMCA facility that runs for nearly a mile along the river.



The current was strong, especially for this time of the year. The weather was shirtsleeves, rolled up shirtsleeves at that. I did not see any notable wildlife other than a few ducks and flocks of crows in the leafless trees. The vista certainly has changed since my last cruise along this part of the river. With no leaves on the trees and the weeds going dormant, it was a brown world.



It took me about 35 minutes to paddle upstream from the bridge over 26th Street to the bicycle trail bridge, and I spent another 35 minutes enjoying a float trip back down to the take-out at the canoe access point.



This short stretch of the Big Sioux River is a little jewel here in the city. It requires the investment of only an hour or so on the water, but the views and experience of isolation are wonderful. Sometimes we neglect this waterway because, I guess, it is so close and not much of an adventure. For a tranquil paddle and the opportunity to check out seasonal changes, look at a variety of bird life, and experience the winds and currents, the Big Sioux through Sioux Falls ought to be on the cruise agenda of city paddlers. Also, no shuttle is necessary for this short paddle.



This was probably the last cruise of the season for me. With the return to colder, grey and windy days next week and the approach of Thanksgiving, I will take the kayak rack off the Honda Civic and empty the trunk of PDFs and paddles. It seems like a long time until March when we can all get back on the water around here. In the meantime, I will read Sea Kayaker Magazine and Canoe Magazine and look at the area maps for new waters ahead. The South Dakota Canoe Association will be having a board meeting this next week, and the annual conference will be held in January, so talk will revolve around new opportunities and adventures for the next season.