Back to Yack!

Having made the JMT hike alive, next up was some kayaking adventures. I've had a project going on for the last couple of years, kayaking the length of the Erie Canal from Buffalo to the Hudson River. Accompanying me on this "Grand Tour" are my buddies Carl, Scott (Koz), Peter, and a relay team of some of the wives/proxies (Kathy, Jan, Pam, Jerry, Tom). We've done about 80 miles each summer for the last couple of years, and the end is in sight this year.

Also, this year, I've decided to start a multi-year adventure to kayak the length of all the Finger Lakes (Upstate NY). There's 11 lakes (just like your fingers...), ranging from 10 or so miles to 35 miles. They have great names like Canandaigua, Hemlock, Sleepy, Dopey, and Sneezy. I've had a special love affair for them over the years, having bike around all of them, and swum two of them. So, off we go a kayaking....


Our first trip was a "make-up" for one short leg that we had missed the prior summer (weather). It was only 8 miles, near Syracuse, but it turned out to be an epic day. First, when we went to leave, the hitch on Carl's truck was bent; apparently he had been rear ended earlier this year, but it left no damage on the truck. That was because the hitch took the ENTIRE IMPACT!. No way we were hooking the trailer up to that, so I pulled the loaded trailer with my little subaru.

Then, we got to the start, got paddling, and at 4 miles went to switchover the girls for their relay. This was accomplished uneventfully, EXCEPT for one of them (who shall remain unnamed because one of us happens to sleep with her) dropping the car keys IN THE CANAL. That was a good time retrieving them and wiping down the zebra mussels!

And to cap it off, as we approached the end of the day, a massive storm front rolled in. We paddling like our lives depended on it (which it probably did), and made ground just as an incredible lightning storm hit, with bolts hitting ground and water all around us. We beached the kayaks, and huddled in the car (6 smelly dogs in a subaru, what a good time....) for about an hour until it dissipated. It was frightening, and the first time that we'd been caught in what could have been a fatal lighting situation; we'll have MUCH more respect for the weather on the water from now on, that's for sure.

Lumpy out