Kayaking has become my new obsession. I simply love the fact that my home has so many cool recreation areas nearby. I'm still just a novice and can almost count the number of times I've been in a kayak on two hands but I love it and got my own little super-sweet boat in July 2006.
I'm going to try to summarize my outings here. In the course column of the table below, you'll see a small-ish image for some of my outings. If you click that thumbnail, you'll see a larger image that I prepared using Google Earth. My first trips were just from memory. Later on, I was using a friend's GPS and finally my own spiffy GPS but I've only just recently got the ambition to upload the data to a computer and figure out how to display it nicely (see the 2007/04/01 trip). Here's how I do it:
So now that I know what to do with GPS data, I'll go back over my old routes and try to present the same sort of route images. I'll also probably try to remember to take my GPS with me and use it more regularly.
| Date | Area | Launch point | Course image | EveryTrail link | Comments |
| 2007/04/28 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 |  |
EveryTrail | This was the first time in a while that it was warm enough to go out without a splash jacket. Once a twice, when the wind kicked up, I wished I had the jacket but I knew I would have been too warm most of the trip. I went southwest and past my usual turn to the northeast, past the nuclear plant. Instead, I kept going southwest and turned north up the next "finger". I probably would have stayed out longer and explored more except I had aleady drank more than half the water I took with me in the boat (note to self: bring take more water next time). Also, the wind was made things a little less enjoyable for me. |
| 2007/04/13 | Lake Crabtree | Cartop launch @ 35.84157623277819,-78.79839785866589 |  |
EveryTrail | A favorite spot of mine: the water level seemed to be a little higher than usual and some of the grass area of the launch was covered by water. I did a "grand tour" and went as far down Crabtree Creek as I can remember going. |
| 2007/04/01 | Beaver Dam Lake @ Falls Lake | State-maintained launch |  |
EveryTrail | I hooked up with two folks from a Yahoo group to go to Beaver Dam for the first time. Since I traveled with people and I was the only one with a GPS, I made an effort to upload the data and do something useful with it so they could benefit from it.
I liked the trip a lot and it was fun doing it with others. We saw a lot of wildlife and a cool "mini-waterfall" at a beaver dam. We went almost 7 miles in about 3.5 hours. |
| 2007/03/31 | Lake Wheeler | Boat launch @ 35.69358, -78.70018 | No GPS but I went west, under the bridge, and returned. | n/a | I saw a cool house for sale right on the edge of the lake - anyone want to buy me a gift? |
| 2007/03/23 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 | No GPS but I went northeast, under the bridge, and returned. | n/a | I was at Crabtree earlier in the afternoon and after I finished up there and took a short break, I figured I would go out again since I probably wouldn't go out again on the upcoming weekend. |
| 2007/03/23 | Lake Crabtree | Cartop launch @ 35.84157623277819,-78.79839785866589 | No GPS but I basically circumnavigated the lake, counterclockwise. | n/a | I got this Friday off of work so I went here in the early afternoon and had a great time. |
| 2007/01/20 | Lake Crabtree | Cartop launch @ 35.84157623277819,-78.79839785866589 |  |
EveryTrail | I'm loving my wet gear! The temperature was about 48F but except for my hands, I was toasty warm! On my upper body, I wore a light tee-shirt, a light long-sleeved shirt, a medium weight warm-up hooded jacket, my spray jacket, and, of course, the life vest. On the bottom, I had jockeys, warm up pants, and spray pants. I used the skirt, cap, and scarf. Here are some photos:
There are more on this set on Flicker. |
| 2007/01/14 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 | I didn't take my GPS | n/a | Happy New Year! Wow! Kayaking in January! You gotta love that! It was very warm for this time of the year so I took advantage of it. I used my spray jacket and pants but just stowed the skirt and didn't use it. The water was pretty choppy but not bad at all in areas where trees along the shore created a natural windbreak. I picked up a little trash on the lake and was enraged by the spent shotgun cartridges left bobbing in the water. Hello? Firearms and hunting are strictly prohibited at the lake! As if that's not bad enough, they didn't even have the common decency to pick up their trash (the aforementioned shell casings). I guess that just shows the mentality of these "hunters". Perhaps someone should hunt them down? |
| 2006/12/29 | Lake Crabtree | Cartop launch @ 35.84157623277819,-78.79839785866589 | I didn't take my GPS and didn't track my course. | n/a | Yes, kayaking in December! Don't you love it? The temperature was around 60F and I had gotten some new outer wear to help me keep dry and warm in the fall and winter: a splash jacket and pants, a skirt to close up the cockpit, some dry socks, waterproof gloves: except for my head, my whole body was covered! I even got a couple of more things I didn't even use on this outing: a waterproof cap (I used my regular wide-brimmed hat) and a sort of versatile scarf - I imagine I'll get use of these in cooler weather. |
| 2006/12/19 | Coles Bay, Tasmania, Australia | I didn't take my GPS but I think we launched from about -42.113473,148.258181 | We kind of went southeast across the bay, northwest up along the coast of the park, back across the bay, and back to the launch point. | n/a | Crickey! Australia! To celebrate my weight loss in 2006, I visited the country for about two weeks and was on Tasmania for about 3 days. I really wanted to kayak somewhere and because it was late in the year, I immediately thought of the southern hemisphere and realized this was a chance to go somewhere I've always wanted to go. I spent most of my time on the mainland (Sydney, etc. - I was tempted to kayak in Sydney but didn't have the time) and planned on hiking and kayaking on Tasmania. When I got the Tasmania, I was afraid it was going to be too cold to kayak but I managed to squeak in this trip on my "getaway day": I had already checked out of my hotel and was going to drive back to Hobart so I could catch an early flight to Melbourne the next morning for a connection back to the US. I figured I would kayak in the morning and delay getting to Hobart.
For this trip, I joined a tour of about 8 kayaks for about 2.5 hours. All of the guests were in 2-man kayaks and since I was traveling alone, I was in the front of a boat with one of the guides. It was the second time I used a skirt and the first time I wore a splash jacket. I liked them so much that I got some similar gear for myself when I got home. |
| 2006/10/01 | Lake Johnson | Boathouse shore @ 35.762289,-78.714015 |  |
EveryTrack | I had done a little Geocaching and decided to find some caches near the edge of the lake that I could approach using my boat. I was 1 for 2. |
| 2006/09/23 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 |  |
EveryLink | The sea was angry this day! The water was pretty choppy but i still stayed out for about 90 minutes. I took a path near the nuclear plant, much like on August 20th. |
| 2006/09/16 (afternoon) | Lake Crabtree | Cartop launch @ 35.84157623277819,-78.79839785866589 |  |
EveryTrail | I had a good time in the morning on Wheeler but had plans for the next day (Sunday). Often, I try to go out once each day but since I knew I wouldn't go out Sunday, I decided to go to good old Crabtree again. The only thing that beat's Crabtree's cheap launch fee is free launch.
I took a waypoint at the entrance to this cool creek. A friend showed me this creek on July 3rd but I wanted to find it again and record it's location. I went past the Evans Road bridge but I was a little disappointed that there were downed trees in the path that prevented me from going as deep as I did last time but at least I have the waypoint now. It's a little difficult to approach because there's a large shallow area sheltering the creek so it's kind of a challenge to navigate. |
| 2006/09/16 (morning) | Lake Wheeler | Boat launch @ 35.69358, -78.70018 |  |
EveryTrail | This was my first time on Lake Wheeler. I had wanted to try it a few weeks ago but the lake was closed to activities where you can get wet because of the bacteria level. They reopened it and are careful about what types of activities they allow but they let me on with my "sit-in" kayak. I saw a couple show up with a couple of kayaks when I was leaving but they left before I was done loading my boat. I figure the two boats they had were the "sit on top" type - I know some of those are designed so that you sit in water so maybe they didn't let them on the lake.
I was a little disappointed that the lake was was small as it is. I guess I seek more challenge. I was pleased that they have a "no wake" rule until 11am on Saturdays. How pleasant! They ban jetskis completely but they have ramps that will allow boats with big engines in most areas of the lake. I left before 11am so I didn't have to contend with obnoxious boaters. |
| 2006/09/09 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552
I took a new waypoint with my GPS but I haven't uploaded it yet. |
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EveryTrail | This was the first trip I took after I got back from the OBX trip and after I got my GPS. The weekend of Sept 2-3, I was at a music festival so I didn't do anything that weekend. I had Labor Day (Sept 4th) and was tempted to go out but I wasn't feeling great in the morning - probably because of being outside the past couple of days. |
| 2006/08/29 | Currituck Sound, from Duck, NC | My GPS said I launched here. | I had my friend's GPS with me but I don't have a good way to upload the data. I'm going to look for a way. | n/a | I was still on the OBX and wanted to try kayaking on the sound again but from a different renter. I saw a Kitty Hawk Kites store close to where I was renting. I was closer than the other place I went to but in direction I hadn't gone that first day I went looking. I was relieved that they didn't just have "ride on top" boats and thrilled that they had a vest that went all the way around. I've learned that makes a big difference for support! I was very comfortable in the boat and stayed out about 90 minutes. I might have stayed out longer but I wasn't thrilled with the chop of the water. It was just of couple of days before Hurricane Ernesto started dumping lots of rain and wind on the area so maybe that had something to do with it.
The next day, I was visiting Roanoke Island Festival Park and saw this awesome launch point right about here. I was envying a couple who were going out on the calm water in a tandem boat. I want to go back and try that sometime! |
| 2006/08/27 | Currituck Sound, from Duck, NC | My GPS said I launched here. | I had my friend's GPS with me but I don't have a good way to upload the data. I'm going to look for a way. | n/a | I was vacationing on the outer banks (OBX) and wanted to kayak. It was my first full day in the area and I didn't know it well but I went to a little independent place that rents boats and stuff. I was disappointed that they only had "ride on top" kayaks. I had never used one before but I was curious to try. I didn't like the boat at all. I didn't know that they had holes in the bottom that let water come in! I guess they're designed that way?! Great, so you sit in water! Yuck! I guess not all "ride on tops" are like that but this one was! Also, they had very basic life jackets that basically just went around the front and that, combined with the boat, gave me no support for my back or hips. Very uncomfortable! I only stayed out about an hour. |
| 2006/08/20 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 |  |
n/a | I went a route similar to July 9th, but went a good ways beyond nuclear power plant.
The buoy waypoint shown on the GPS is a sign identifying the area around the plant as private property of CPL (Carolina Power & Light). They don't say "keep out" but I guess they're just making it clear that it's private property and we are guests. Here's a neat photo I took of the sign with the plant's cooling tower in the background. I think I took the photo on July 9th. I turned around at this cool siren tower I saw, which I figure may be part of the warning system at the plant in case of a disaster. Its coordinates are close to N 35° 37.769', W 78° 55.958'. I got a pretty good photo on my cellphone. Summary data from the GPS:
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| 2006/08/19 | Lake Crabtree | Cartop launch @ 35.84157623277819,-78.79839785866589 |  |
n/a | I hit the lake early with a GPS device that I a friend lent to me. I like it and am seriously thinking of getting something similar. It recorded:
I set a waypoint for the launch at N 35° 50.479', W 78° 47.725' (right on the money when I enter those coordinates into Google maps!) at an elevation of 559 feet above sea level. |
| 2006/08/13 (afternoon) | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 | I didn't keep good track of my course but it was similar to the route I took on July 12th. | n/a | After finishing up at Bond Park and having lunch, I wanted to take advantage of a unseasonally cool day so I went to Harris Lake for about 70 minutes. |
| 2006/08/13 (morning) | Bond Park | Private boat launch @ 35.78184,-78.825767 | I only stayed out about 30 minutes. | n/a | I came here so my friend Mary could take some decent photos of me in my boat. Here's one. I probably would have come here on Saturday with another friend but the weather was crappy so we went to museums in downtown Raleigh instead. |
| 2006/08/06 | Lake Johnson | Boathouse shore @ 35.762289,-78.714015 | I didn't keep good track of my course. I kind of circumnavigated the lake once counter-clockwise, then went from the west end to the east end, then reversed it, and then finished up back at the shore. | n/a | I intended on going to Lake Wheeler and stopped there first but they had a sign up that the bacteria level in the water was unsafe for activities where submersion was possible (water skiing, rafting - yes, it's that kind of lake. It's pretty big and I've only been on it once a couple of years ago in a canoe. I plan to cruise it some day when the water isn't so funky.
So heading a way from Wheeler, I tried to think of other places to which I could go. The most probables were Johnson and Crabtree and I decided to go to Johnson because it was closer and I knew where a Subway restaurant was close to the park. |
| 2006/08/05 | Bond Park | Private boat launch @ 35.78184,-78.825767 | I didn't keep good track of my course | n/a | I returned to the place where I took the class in mid-July to take a real tour of the lake. It's pretty small and very shallow in some parts. I prefer larger lakes where you can explore up close to the edges of the lakes but will probably return occassionally. The size and depth is also good for first-timers so I may take new people there. |
| 2006/07/29 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 | I didn't keep good track of my course. | n/a | I hadn't been out in a while and was anxious to do some kayaking. The weather forecast wasn't great but it didn't look bad in the morning so I took a chance. It was a tiny windy on the shore but windier on the water, making the water very choppy. I didn't like the way the water was behaving and left after only about 45 minutes. |
| Late July 2006 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | The weather was too crappy the weekend of July 22-23. The forecast called for rain most of both days so I didn't want to risk going out. July 29-30 isn't loking much better either! That makes me sad. 8-( |
| 2006/07/15 | Bond Park | Boathouse @ 35.78145,-78.826287 | ? | n/a | I signed up for a class that was held on this lake I've never been on before.
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| 2006/07/12 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 |  |
n/a | I went to the lake near my house again after work, taking a different route. There were a lot less motor boats on a weekday afternoon. I virtually had the portion of the lake northeast of New Hill Holleman Road to myself! |
| 2006/07/09 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 |  |
n/a | I felt more confident on the lake and with the boat so I went down a little leg of the lake near the Shearson Harris Nuclear Power Plant that the motor boats avoided. Gee, I hope the water wasn't radioactive! |
| 2006/07/08 | Lake Johnson | Boathouse shore @ 35.762289,-78.714015 | I didn't keep good track of my course. Geez, I want a GPS device!! | n/a | I wanted to try different lakes and had never been to this one before. I tried to use Craigs List to hook up with someone new to do it with but the park has very limited parking. I got there early and figured she could join me but she didn't make it until I was about ready to leave and she had already hooked up with someone else.
It wasn't a total loss. I liked the lake although it's a little small and shallow in some parts. That makes it ideal for someone to learn! |
| 2006/07/03 | Lake Crabtree | Cartop launch @ 35.84157623277819,-78.79839785866589 |  |
n/a | I hooked up with my friend Gil from work. Gil brought his one of his canoes and I brought my 'yak. We went all over the lake and down a cool stream I didn't even know about. |
| 2006/07/02 | Harris Lake | Cartop launch @ 35.618883,-78.927552 | I didn't keep good track of my course. | n/a | I just went north from the launch for about 1/2 mile, turned around, went about 1/2 mile south of the launch, and then finished. It was my first time with my new boat as well as my first time on Harris (a very big lake!) so I wanted to take it easy. |
| 2006/07/01 | Lake Crabtree | Rental shore @ 35.839681,-78.794879 | I didn't keep good track of what I did but I basically went all around the lake. It took me just slightly over an hour and the rental place only charged me for an hour. | n/a | You may wonder if I did anything on June 24-25... I did, of course, I wasn't in a coma! But I was satisfying one of my other passions by listening to cool progressive rock at Nearfest!
Today was the start of a long weekend - I had Monday and Tuesday (the Fourth) off and planned to make use of them. My Jordan Lake friend was out of town so I was kind of on my own. I was going to try to rent a boat at Bond Park but they were just getting their new boathouse into operation (grand opening on the Fourth) and weren't renting and I didn't even see any kayaks so I went to Crabtree instead. I don't like that they don't open their rental house until 11am but it worked out. I ended up going out the first three days of the weekend but didn't on the Fourth because I went to an outdoor festival instead and figured I would be over-taxing myself if I went kayaking as well. Mostly because of I was sick of places that rented boats, I wound up buying my boat on the evening of the July 1st. |
| 2006/06/18 | Jordan Lake | Farrington Point @ 35.79891403711331,-79.01621459904408 | n/a | n/a | I went with the same friend from the previous week but went south instead of east. I'm not sure how far down we went so I didn't work up a course but I think we were out longer than the first week. There wasn't a great permanent landmark where we turned around: we went down to a couple of big houseboats that were anchored together in kind of a cove, made a turn around them, and headed back. If I had to guess, I would say we turned around here: 35.76894,-79.035473 |
| 2006/06/11 | Jordan Lake | Farrington Point @ 35.79891403711331,-79.01621459904408 |  |
n/a | The second time I ever stepped into a kayak! I put at post on Craigs List looking for someone who liked to kayak and met a women who has two solo kayaks and lives near Jordan Lake. I'm not sure why it took me 2½ years to get into another kayak. Maybe because I lost a ton of weight and have more energy. |
| 2003/12/15 | Key West | I know our tender boat docked near the Hilton, we walked a short distance, and were picked up by a shuttle bus that took us someplace else. | n/a | n/a | The first time I was even in a kayak was on a shore excursion from a cruise that stopped in Key West. I had canoed before (still a beginner) but not kayaked and I think my canoe experience helped a little. Sorry but I'm not sure where I put in or what course we took. There was a group of about 25 people split across 15 boats and it was a very slow nature-watching pace for about 90 minutes. |
