Canoeing vs. Kayaking...

I've had a bunch of people ask me what the big differences are between canoes and kayaks. Other than the whole thing of kayaks using double-bladed paddles and canoes using single-bladed, canoes tend to be a little wider and more stable, plus since they're mostly open they have the ability to carry more stuff. But remember that, whether you can carry more stuff or not, you're still going to have to move all the weight you bring along with every stroke you make, so you still want to strictly adhere to the "less is more" principle of kayaking. Ultimately, it's a matter of bringing the least amount of stuff while at the same time having enough stuff to be prepared for any possible problems you may encounter on the trip.

Looks like the starting date we set for December 11th is going to work out after all, so for right now that's what we're aiming for. This coming month there's going to be a lot of preparation going on, and I'll try as best I can to document our progress.

-Daniel

The Crew of Canoe Trip 17...

The crew of Canoe Trip 17--Stephen (Popeye) Terwick, Jesse Falcon, Brandon Dowling and myself--just successfully completed our second training day in preparation of our trip across the entire St. Johns in canoes.

The first training day was in late September, and consisted of a one-day trip from Riverbluff to the far (east) side of Lake Monroe and back; around 26 miles or so. Our trip to the lake was against the current, and our trip back to Riverbluff was against the wind, and yet we still managed to crank out a 3.4 mph moving average, which isn't bad. This was approximately what David and I averaged in our kayaks on our "Big Trip".

The second training day was just last weekend, the first one in October, and consisted of a one-day trip from Riverbluff to Orange Hill and back; closer to 31 miles, so significantly longer. Since Orange Hill lies to the north, we started out with the current, and were able to hold around a 4.0 mph moving average the entire way to Orange Hill. Our way back south to Riverbluff was quite a bit harder, and the opposing current brought our speed down considerably, but we finished off the day with a 3.5 mph moving average for the entire trip (31 miles in 8 1/2 hours), which is nothing to sneeze at, if you ask me!

Also, it is important to remember that we will be going WITH the current the entire way on our actual trip, so the 4.0 mph average is probably a more accurate prediction of our speed. We are all getting very excited as the days between us and our trip grow less and less, but there is a lot of preparation to do yet!