Calm

One of the great things about the sport of kayaking is that you can have the excitement and rush of rock gardening on week and the calm and tranquility of a flat-water paddle the next. Gearing up for the Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium which starts this weekend, we wanted to get out in our long boats. But we wanted an easy and relaxing day. The forecast for Tahoe was sunny and calm and that's just what you want for a winter paddle on the lake.

Of course, a winter paddle means it was 2 degrees when we got there. But as soon as we launched and paddled into the sun it wasn't so bad. In fact the sun warmed us up to such a degree that I had to take off the light fleece layer I was wearing at lunch. My new drysuit kept me warm and dry with just lightweight wool underneath.

Though we almost didn't get to stop for lunch. We had hoped to paddle into Emerald Bay and take a break near the beach. But even at 2pm most of the little bay was still iced over. And not just a thin coating like I've seen before - this was an inch thick plate of solid ice that wasn't going to melt off anytime soon. We managed to break our way through a lighter section in order to reach a little bit of sand near the mouth of the bay and enjoyed a little rest in the sun before paddling back to Camp Richardson. The wind never came up and the easy paddling was just what we were hoping for.

More pictures on my Picasa Page.

And for those long-time readers who remember my posts on my making of my own Greenland paddle: I finally got around to putting on some Tung Oil and taking it out for a spin. It was okay, but I think I need to make a few changes to improve its performance. The shaft is a little thick and the blades need to be thinned for a smoother entry. But it looks nice (or at least it did before it was used to break up the ice).