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IntroductionTraveling with a kayak on the roof of a car offers a kayaker the ability to stop and kayak along most any route. Whether the trip is carefully planned or spur of the moment, some wonderful kayaking experiences can result. While I have always been a planner – mapping out my route, making extensive lists of items to bring, reading every book I could get my hands on about an area I might wish to visit, I have also enjoyed many impromptu kayaking experiences just by pulling off the highway and following an interesting terrain or sign to a lake or stream. Experience has taught me what to look for in seeking out a good, safe kayaking stop and I will attempt to share that knowledge in this book. Everyone ultimately knows what water is right or wrong for their kayaking skill level but reading about other kayaking experiences can help us all make intelligent decisions about whether to attempt a spot or not. This book is the result of an extensively planned trip I decided to take from New York to Seattle, Washington, and to the San Juan Islands west of Seattle. I was excited about kayaking in the San Juan Islands and decided that rather than renting a kayak there I would like to have my own Dagger Meridien SK-S with me. I have tried other kayaks and have never felt quite comfortable in them. Even the Inuit believe that a kayak should 'fit' its user. After investigating shipping options and after talking with fellow kayakers I decided that it would be best to drive the kayak out myself. This allowed me to plan stops along the way and determine how many days I would need to allow for the long drive. This book is the result. Interstate 90 is one of the five longest Interstate routes, with 3,020 miles of highway from Boston, Massachusetts to Seattle, Washington. I hope the descriptions of my journey will inspire others to put a kayak on their car or SUV roof and then head off across the beautiful highway called Interstate 90, if not for all 3,000 miles then for a few short stretches. Chapter One - Planning for a Kayak Road Trip
So How Much Time Do You Have?If you were to drive straight through from New York to Seattle stopping only for overnight rests and meals you could make the trip in four days. Let's not exactly the way to see the country. So let's assume that we want to drive a few hours each day, rest a few hours each day and kayak a few hours each day. This is exactly the way I started mapping out my trip itinerary. I picked a starting and ending point for each day and looked for interesting kayaking stops within that area, then adjusted each end point according to how much time I wanted to spend at a particular kayak stop.Some days could have been taken up completely with kayaking stops and no driving because of the great kayaking available, but I needed to balance the driving and stopping in order to make my fixed end date. Making decisions about daily start and end points can help you see and do more with the time available.You will have more time for kayaking because destinations will be mapped out and easy to find. There is no reason to exclude spontaneous stops if a great kayaking spot presents itself and the day is calling you to the water. Ending times and places can always be adjusted. I had a fixed end date to arrive in Montana because I was meeting my brother and nephew in Glacier National Park.Other than that I was free to mix my driving and kayaking in parts which would equal the sum of the mileage I had to cover. I booked a few campsites online in order to ensure availability in several state parks I wished to visit. Some days were driven by the need to arrive at a reserved campsite before nightfall. Plan the number of days you will have available to reach your destination, then select end points for each day according to mileage. You should allow at least three hours minimum for each kayak stop. This will give you enough time to unload your kayak and gear, spend at least an hour on the water, and pack up and change clothes before getting back on the road. It is, of course, preferable to spend more than three hours. Depending on the total number of days you have to spend you will need to adjust your start and end points for each day.
Compiling Lists of Potential StopsThis book should be a resource for you as you start to compile lists of potential kayaking stops.I spent a lot of time looking over maps, travel brochures and websites trying to include as many kayaking stops as possible given the amount of time I had to travel coast to coast.I started by listing places that were not too far from Route 90, some less than 10 miles from the exit to the launch site.Then I added out of the way places that I didn't want to pass up and allowed for extra travel time to these locations.I ended up with a good mixture of short hops off the highway and longer, overnight stays a bit further afield.You can prioritize the potential stops, evaluating each one for the particular time of day, potential weather implications (elevation, wind conditions, etc.), accessibility and so forth. There will be will be to plan your itinerary around your driving starting and end points and see how many kayaking stops you can squeeze in between.Some days your whole plan may be thrown off because you may be driving down the road and see a sign for a lake that looks just too good to pass up. Things can always be shifted around but starting with a list of potential stops is a good way to ensure some exceptional kayaking.
Using Mapquest to Calculate Drive TimesMapquest is a website (http://www.mapquest.com) that claims to be "the culmination of a 30-year evolution of mapping and technology." It is one of the best resources for calculating driving times and distances. Driving directions and maps can also be researched and printed out. Prior to my trip I spent hours calculating driving times and readjusting my daily itinerary based on my research on Mapquest. There are other web-based mapping sites but Mapquest is the best one I've used. Maps.com is a mapping and driving directions website. Yahoo also has a mapping website at http://maps.yahoo.com/. Mapquest.com lets you look up locations by address, city, state or zip code. If you select "Driving" you are prompted to enter and start and end address, city, state or zip code.After you enter the information and click on the "Get Directions" button a step-by-step set of driving "Maneuvers" are listed along with the distance between each "maneuver" and a map for the end location. At the end of the list of maneuvers is the total estimated driving time in hours and minutes and the total estimated distance in miles. You can print out this page, email it or download the information to a PDA (Palm, Blackberry, or PocketPC). I printed out my entire itinerary using Mapquest and had the pages arranged in order of my kayaking stops. I saved a lot of time not having to hunt for maps and directions each day. The Mapquest directions were very accurate and knowing the mileage between stops helped me plan my driving time each day.
Kayaking ExperienceThis book can help you evaluate kayak stops but it cannot help you assess your own kayaking skills. You must stay safe and choose kayaking areas that are appropriate for your skill level. You can minimize kayaking risks with proper training and equipment but it is important not to overestimate your paddling skills. Not everyone is going to want to drive up to an unknown lake and jump in a kayak. As in all activities a little common sense goes a long way. If you have never paddled in Class III water you should not attempt it without first getting instructions. If you are unsure at all about any body of water go with a guide or an experienced partner. Learning to read the weather is important for all kayakers. Even a very calm lake can churn up some fierce wave heights if the wind begins to blow. I started a kayak trip at 6:00 in the morning on Flathead Lake in Montana with the water as smooth as glass and landed three hours later back at my campsite after having battled large waves and brutal winds. Just because it looks very smooth doesn't mean it will stay that way. You should always be prepared to find a safe landing area in case of rough weather.
Safety ConsiderationsOne of the biggest safety considerations for kayakers is temperature. A general rule followed by many paddlers says that if the air and water temperature add up to less than 100 degrees F, wear a wet or dry suit. If you capsize without adequate protective clothing you can develop hypothermia (lowering of the body's normal temperature) which can lead to death. Signs of hypothermia include uncontrollable shivering followed by slurred speech and lack of coordination. Treatment involves changing to dry clothing, warming with hot drinks, and getting to a medical facility immediately. You should always carry a change of clothing in a waterproof bag. If you are kayaking on a river it is best to be aware of "sweepers." Obstacles such as fallen tree limbs, brush or undercut river banks allow current to pass through, but strain out large objects like kayaks.The force of the flow can pin a kayak broadside causing the boat to submerge. You can become pinned in the debris either above or below water. Sweepers on the outside bends of rivers where the water is deep and the current fast are particularly dangerous. Paddlers must know strokes and ferrying techniques to avoid being swept into these obstacles. Another safety consideration is high water. It is important never to kayak on a river whose banks are flooded or overflowing. The power of the river increases drastically as the water rises. Moving-water technique is much more complex than lake paddling. In order to safely paddle moving water, kayakers need to be familiar with six basic paddling strokes:forward and back, draw and pry, sweep and brace. These allow paddlers to move forward efficiently, to stop movement downstream, or go backward, to turn, to move the boat sidesways, to avoid obstacles and to prevent the boat from capsizing. Confidence and skill in maneuvering your kayak are essential for safe paddling.
Float PlansWhat is a float plan? Float plans have been called the only life-saving device on paper.[1] Why take the time to prepare a float plan? The more information you can provide about your trip plans the easier it will be to find you if something should go wrong. It is a good idea to prepare multiple copies of your float plan prior to starting out on your trip. This will ensure that you have a copy ready to go when you're ready to launch. When the conditions are just right and you're anxious to get out on the water you don't want to have to take a lot of time filling out a form. While some people simply skip it and launch, it is a good idea to let people know that you have launched and when you expect to return. You'll be more likely to actually use a float plan is you have all the information already filled in and have several copies stashed under your front seat. Then just prior to launching all you will have to fill out will be the date and time and the approximate time you plan to spend at the location. Put your completed float plan on your car's dashboard. Knowing you have left your trip plans publicly displayed will give you an added sense of security as you paddle, and anything that adds an extra assurance is worth taking the time to do. The float plan I prepared and used during my trip follows:
KAYAK FLOAT PLAN
It's easy to make your own float plan.You can add as little or as much information as you like. Include information that could be essential to a rescue such as: á description of your kayak (color, size, hull and trim color) á your point of departure and destination á places you plan to stop during transit á navigational equipment on board (GPS, compass, maps, charts, etc.) á survival equipment on board (whistles, flares, distress lights, etc.) á communications equipment on board including radio frequencies monitored and cell phone number
An important thing to include is the "If not returned by" contact information. For example, if you are paddling to an island campsite and plan to remain there overnight you should indicate your plans and provide contact information in the event that something happens to prevent you from returning at your specified date and time.Be sure to notify the person listed as your contact of any changes to your plans. For extended trips you should fill out a detailed float plan and give it to a reliable friend or family member who will not be traveling with you. On longer trips it is crucial that you check in along your route. You should contact the holder of your float plan to amend it if there has been a change of plans en route. An official U.S. Coast Guard float plan can be downloaded from http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-o/g-opr/float%20plan.htm or from Float Plan Central at http://www.uscgaux.org/~floatplan/downloads/USCGFloatPlan.pdf.
Food Planning and Lists
Inventing Your Own Trail MixesIt's fun to plan for an extended trip and one of the best things to do during the last two weeks prior to departure is make GORP (good old raisins and peanuts), also known as trail mix. Making trail mix is a great way to pass the time after you've completed your planning, re-packed your gear for the thousandth time and still find yourself faced with several days before you leave. After several hours of fierce paddling or hiking you'll be very grateful to reach into your Ziplock bag of energy-giving goodies. Start by making a list of your favorite trail mix ingredients. You can sample some "store-bought" if you need some reminding. Try to list items in columns labeled "crunchy", "salty", "chewy" or "sweet". If you need help thinking of ingredients to include, go to the Backpacker.com (http://www.backpacker.com) website and look at their Great Gorp Content pages. Readers contribute their personal recipes to this collection and it can be a valuable source of inspiration. Some typical ingredients include raisins, salted peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, M&Ms, Raisinettes, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, dried fruits, banana chips, dates, soy nuts, jelly beans, pretzel sticks, coconut, cereal, sesame sticks, wasabi peas, rise crackers, diced candied ginger, Goldfish crackers, and Glad Corn (available from http://www.gladcorn.com). Once you have grouped your ingredients and know what you need, go to your local health food store and try to buy the items fresh but in bulk. It is a lot cheaper to dry your own fruits but if you don't have time you can always buy them. When you get everything home you should immediately put the items into large Ziplock bags and use markers to label the not-so-obvious ingredients.(I use the freezer bags because they are thicker.) This will keep everything fresh until you decide to do the magical mixing. The grand mixing activity is a nice thing to do on a rainy day or a day when you don't feel like training. Pour each of the ingredient bags into a bowl. Add a ladling spoon to each bowl and set aside a large bowl for combining ingredients. This is the fun part. Start mixing combinations of ingredients according to your taste for mixtures of crunchy, salty, chewy and sweet. Taste them as you go along. (You can't go wrong, most combinations work.) When you come upon a winning combination write down the ingredients so you will be able to duplicate it. Store your mixes in small quart-size Ziplock bags and be sure to label each one with some distinguishing name. I have included some of my favorite recipes below.
The combinations are endless. Making trail mix on the last few days before a trip helps me ease the awkward waiting time prior to setting off. These mixtures will provide nourishing snacks that taste even better after a long paddle or hike. [1] Float Plan Central. 1 Jan, 2004. "About Float Plans" Table of Contents | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 - Part A | Chapter 13 - Part B | Appendices | © 2010 Diana Schwartz
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Last Updated: 5/24/2008 by Diana Schwartz |
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