Winter Kayaking

Kayaking should't be reserved just for summer months. The clash between a typically warm weather activity and a season appropriate for snowball fights is surreal.

 I did two day trips down semi local rivers in early winter. The first was on the Straight River near Faribault, with ArcFlash and Thor. The second, on the Cannon right out of Cannon Falls. Unfortunately, by the time we got on the Straight, most of the snow was melted. On the upside the river was up and moving pretty quick, a fact that adds to the excitement and strong urge not to dump your boat.

A hot meal out-doors is the best

wavy 

The banks of the Cannon however were fully draped in fresh snow and gave us the effect of true winter paddling we were looking for. Fancy would be the only one joining me on the Cannon since everybody else I know was out fat-biking in the new snow, I think it was global fat-bike day too. Both trips down river were a ton of fun and included a mid-way stop for lunch....... and no one dumped their boat.

getting set up for real winter kayaking 

Fancy hitting some chop right out of the gate 

 Soon after these early winter kayak rides, things got cold and shut down any other rivers I might have considered. Things are opening up again as I write...I'll be out soon

hot meal...again

not normally what you see on the end of your paddle

D Rider..........................out    

Prospector Loop

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This isn't the way I like to start a ride

 Last fall  GMan and I set out for a dirt bike ride on a newly opened trail system in northern Minnesota...The Prospector Loop.

Water is always fun to ride in 

Bike killed in the deep water

mid-way...time for a snack and a little break 

   I knew not of it's existence until just the week before, while riding the Gravel Conspiracy. With fall coming to an end and all the trails set to close, I knew it would have to happen fast so a last minute weekend trip was in order. The trail, based on what we rode and what is on the map, is primarily forest trails and roads. I'm cool with that since it means I can ride my non street legal dirt bike on a designated OHM trail as well as my kids with an OHM safety certificate.

hang on 

more water....learned how to feather it a bit and keep it running

This is a beaver dam right across the road....saw three spots like this on our route

 The day started with a flat tire on my bike, I changed the tube twice after puncturing the first one and then patching it with a kit from a gas station. this cut into our riding time a bit but we still had fun and manged a little over 50 miles. We're both excited to get back out there in the spring with the rest of our crew...SuperY, BigD and Mom. The boy's just need their OHM safety cert and I'll buy them some bikes.

Tired? 

   

MEA Part 2

 Part two of our MEA week was spent in Moab, with so much to do in the area I had grand ideas of tackling a couple adventures each day. Getting a family of five moving in any direction usually counts as one of those adventures, so we were left with one decent event per day.

where's waldo

rock

I like this...fun is about to happen

GMan..second one down first rap

  On Thursday morning we headed south of town to Entrajo Canyon, a slot canyon with a couple rappels, it's easy, short, and I knew the route from my very first real canyoneering experience
 4 years ago. This trip didn't go as planned but was fun none the less, the water was really high and super cold. I'll usually suffer through some misery for the greater good of the experience, but this was too much for my family and I to go through without more gear and a bigger commitment. None of us had wet suits and the first impasse in the slot was a pot hole that might have required some work to get all of us through.

BigD

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SuperY  on second rap

Don't fall in water, it's super cold

 Walking away a little defeated, we continued down canyon bypassing the slot section and ended up at the final rappels. This was a welcome surprise and the part I wanted my kids to have some experience with. The raps are short, around 40' and are back to back. I dropped down first, with the kids going down in order of age, oldest to youngest followed by my wife. GMan and Super Y did great, but Big D made me a little nervous when he had to be reminded to never let go of his brake hand. Fortunately he doesn't weigh much, the weight of the rope acted as the brake as well as me standing guard with a fireman belay. On the second rap he did much better. Once back at camp, Super Y and I suited up for a short MTB ride north of town at Klondike Bluffs. While we rode, Lynn and the boys roamed around town checking out all the shops and ran into a couple friends from Mn.

My newest ride...Farley EX

Sunset at Dead Horse Point

 Our final non driving day of vacation was spent at Dead Horse Point State Park. It was  recommended by a friend to check out the sunset here and ride the trails..... I can now recommend this to you as well. The trails, while not as extreme as some of those in Moab, were fantastic. We saw more families and kids riding here than anywhere I have ever been. Despite the initial thought that these trails might be super tame, they were in fact a lot of fun and plenty challenging at speed. The views were absolutely stunning and had us stopping at many points along the trail. After wrapping up the ride we head to the furthest parking lot at Dead Horse Point and cooked up some dinner just before sunset. As the sun was going down a good sized crowd gathered for the show at the west facing overlook, it was impressive and a good way to end our last night in Utah.

Our wonderful van in CO

Our wonderful van after hitting a deer at 70 mph CO, NE border....out of commission and stranded. 

Drove this sucker home the next day after mechanic rigged up the tranny cooler and some blown fuses as well as some work with a sawsall....I duct tapped the headlights in at a Walmart in Grand Island and arrived home at 4:30 am the following day...then went to work

Until next time, D Rider.........................out