The Cook Family

I apparently wrote this last winter (08/09) and forgot to post it. I thought it might be interesting so I am posting it now. We used it all last season and a few times this year too. It has worked out great and spending the extra cash on an awesome yoke was well worth it.

In the fall I put a canoe downstairs so I could do some work on it over the winter. We bought an Old Town Penobscot last summer for about $500 to use as our everyday (or everyweekend as it sometimes is) canoe to limit the wear and tear on our more expensive tripping boat. It was in good shape. There was some fixing up and changes I wanted to make to it. The wood seats and thwarts were a bit neglected but a sanding and refinish was all they needed.

The only change I wanted to make on it was to remove the center seat and put a yoke in. Some people would do the opposite, but we have solo canoes. A yoke allows the canoe to be carried comfortably by one person. Comfortable is relative. Portaging is never comfortable, but can be made less miserable. Flat yokes are a thwart that has a place for your neck. They are better then a regular thwart, but for long carries your shoulders start hurting fast.

There are different schools of thought on this and I have tried most of them. In the BWCA foam blocks that sit on the shoulders are popular. They are ugly, get dirty soggy with use. They work best when used with a flat yoke so there is more room for your neck. I am a believer in the Canadian school as far as yokes go. Take a big hunk of wood and sculpt it to fit nicely on the shoulders. They look beautiful. On our Swift Kipawa the best looking wood is the yoke. So after looking around for the perfect yoke I decided on a shadow yoke from SlipStream.

It took almost three weeks but it finally happened. We went with my brother, Nic, out to Pickeral Lake. It was a nice day and we paddled around for an hour or so before going to the beach for some swimming.

Pictures

We no longer have Abe's canoe that we had been watching for about 2 years, he finally took it with him and know that he will enjoy having it again.

So we have been down to three canoes, the problem is that only one is a tandem. If we want to go with another family/couple we weren't able to. We have been looking for a good second tandem for a while now and whenever we find one someone else gets it first. Today I got a chance to get all my news read and say a Old Town Penobscot (the ideal canoe we were hoping to find) in Ypsi. I went to look at it this afternoon and bought it. It needs a seat reapired and is ready for skid plate

Now we are back to a 1:1 people to canoe ratio. Eli is excited.

and that means that it is time to go canoeing. Also that it is time to do some maintenance that I have been putting off. Earlier in the week I oiled the wood on the Kipawa. I don't think that Birdgit will want to do any solo canoeing this year. Her center of gravity is off and the water isn't warm yet and later in the summer we will have a newborn to deal with in the canoe.

I got the rack on the car and bought some replacement bolts for ones that end up missing. The paddles needed some love too so I got some varnish and have been touching up spots where it has worn off.

We did get to go out at Bandemer for a paddle. Eli is much more mobile and inquisitive this year. He is able to walk around the canoe and was enthralled with the ducks, geese, and muskrat that we saw. He also really wants to paddle, so I will be making a paddle for him (hopefully this week). He kept picking up a paddle to put it in the water. I have started teaching him the proper way to hold the paddle, but his stroke needs some practice.

This year should be a lot of fun, but it will be challenging with 2 kids and 2 adults. We may just have to tie up and sit in the canoe.

Also other canoes are out. We saw a number of nice canoes: a Merrimack Tennessean, a Kruger Seawind, and Mad River Eclipse.

So there has been talk of removing a couple of the dams in the Huron River Watershed. The dams in question are Argo Dam at the north end of Ann Arbor and the Mill Creek Dam in Dexter. I think it would be great. The Dams on the Huron do provide nice flatwater sections, but this part of the state has plenty of that nearby. The Argo Dam is 18 feet above the previous rapids that once existed there. I would love to see some good whitewater in downtown Ann Arbor. It would also serve as a good excuse to let Bridgit let me get a whitewater canoe. The only thing nearby are the Delhi rapids which are ok, but get crowded sometimes.

Here is a study by the Huron River Watershed Council, and another done by the School of Natural Resources (where my Mother did her undergrad BTW)

After this weekends paddling I looked at making a custom Google Map. I was originally intending to do just what we did this past weekend, but next thing I knew I started doing all of the Huron River that I have paddled. I am planning on adding pictures, but I don't have many on the river.

I am going to try re-paddle much of it this summer and maybe take some notes and pictures to add.

My Map

This weekend we paddled Ypsilanti. I have been looking at the map all summer and looking at the huge chunks of the Huron River that I have canoed, and also the fact that I haven't really done anything down river of Gallup park. So we started this weekend. Bridgit and I paddled the solo canoes and I had Eli in mine (he slept the whole time). We put in above the dam at Peninsular Park (aka the Paper Mill) and paddled up river to the bridge at Superior Rd and Back.

On Sunday we had a graduation party to attend at Riverside Park in Depot Town so I had Bridgit drop me off at the paper mill and I paddled down to Riverside. It was a great, quick paddle at 15 minutes. Water levels are pretty high and the river was moving at a good clip. I am not sure if I would want to do that in late August. the river was about 2-3 feet deep in most spots. The section isn't too technical. Things to watch for are: 1) a downed tree underneath the Forest Street bridge with the roots upriver in the center. 2) small rapids under the Cross Street bridge should be paddled on the left side of the river.

With this bought of warm weather, let the canoeing begin. It was over 70 yesterday so we decided to put the boat in the water. We called up Abe and he decided to shirk his homework in favor of canoeing. We headed over to Gallup park, got to the boat launch and it was iced over. We went to the main (and crowded) part of the park and and found some open water in the flow of the river. Elijah didn't seem to mind being in the canoe, he was more annoyed by the bright sunlight. He decided to instead take a nap. Of course we took pictures, the link is below.

The Photos

On Saturday Bridgit, Eli, and I went to the QuietWater Symposium at MSU. It was a lot of fun, the speakers we saw were interesting and we learned lots on new tips. There were also lots of great exhibitors selling things and spreading awareness of causes.

None of us (wife, kid, me) have been canoeing since Oct. 1st. The whole having a baby on Oct. 5 put a rude end to my paddling season. I won't take Eli out until the water warms up along with the air, but all I need is some warm air and I would be happy. Hopefully we will have a warm March and I can get out some.

I have been eyeing this new canoe trail that stretches 740 miles of through New York, Vermont, Québec, New Hampshire, and Maine. It has gotten a good amount of press since it officially opened this spring. One person so far has through tripped it and it took him 55 days. There is some upstream poleing required and up to class IV rapids, but looks like a fun couple of months. Bridgit just bears with me when I mention the possibility of doing the whole thing at once. Eli thinks it's a great idea.

I think that we need to start doing a piece at a time every summer.

Northern Forest Canoe Trail

It has been so hot this week, but the other night I was able to fit all four boats in the garage. Two spent a week on top of the car in our driveway. But now they are all comfortable in the shade. I only got one canoes worth of rack done hopefully I will have time this week/weekend to get it finished. I also need to mow the grass now that our lawnmower came yesterday.

Bridgit, my brother Nick, and I went out to Pickerel Lake on Saturday and had a great time. I also had my first experience canoeing with a baby. I got a rude awakening.

I just got my copy of Canoe Songs Volume I and it is really cool they have samples of all the tracks on the web page. The CD benefits the Canadian Canoe Museum

It looks like it's going to be another warm week. I am hoping to get the canoes prepped this week. Bridgit's Nighthawk suffered some damage a few weeks ago when a large doll house fell from its shelf in the barn. I am going to have to do some gel-coat repair. I don't think the glass was compromised, or else I will have to do a patch.