EDITORIAL
THE GRASS REALLY IS GREENER. PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL
A WORLD APART
NOT SO LONG AGO, I departed my bicycle in a most dramatic fashion. The bike stopped rather abruptly; I continued over the handlebars.
For a moment, as I hurtled through the warm late-summer air, utterly at the mercy of the juggernaut of my own 20-mile-per- hour momentum, the sensation was not unlike falling into the sweet spot on a wave. That instant when your stern lifts, your kayak accelerates and you relinquish all power to the unstoppable force of the water. A fly on the windshield of a freight train; weightlessness and awful anticipation. Then my body hit the unyielding pave- ment, and the impact registered a simple truth: I should have gone paddling. It isn’t just two-wheeled activities that are trumped by boat and blade. Sure, avoiding the gruesome task of scraping gravel out of road rash is compelling incentive to head for the water, but there are a host of other reasons kayaking is a superior vehicle for outdoor adventure:
8 | ADVENTURE KAYAK
THE VIEW It just doesn’t get any better than from the water. Paddle within arm’s reach of the coast for an intimate perspec- tive, or head offshore to feel humbled by the big picture.
COMFORT Foul weather is a fact of outdoor life, but our boats and equipment shelter us from the worst of it. Once you slip on a drysuit or paddling jacket and seal yourself into the cockpit, even the dirtiest downpours are all but forgotten.
WILDLIFE Maybe it’s the silence of the hull slicing through still water, or the unthreatening profile of our slim crafts. Certainly it helps that our playground is the rich littoral intersection of land and water. Whatever the reason, frequent wildlife sight- ings are one of paddling’s finest perks.
HEADWINDS Okay, even kayakers whine about the wind. But try tackling a stubborn blow in a canoe, or worse, stomping on your pedals into a soul-crushing headwind on a prairie highway.
ESCAPE Hiking is pedestrian. Cycling a more efficient, yet still earthbound, enter- prise. But to paddle is to transcend. Kayaking grants entry to a secret world, unseen by those trapped on terra firma.
Further evidence that paddlers are onto something special is found throughout this issue. The water trails profiled on pages 53–58 are trails in name only. Far from well trodden, they are gateways to this boundless world apart. Rock the Boat agitator Charlotte Jacklein calls for paddle outings as a way of life (page 30), and Waterlines columnist Tim Shuff looks at the kayak’s remarkable power as a vessel for healing (page 34). Kayaking is more than mere hobby, writes Shuff; it’s absolutely vital. In that light, it hardly seems a fair yardstick for other out- door pastimes. So despite scarred elbows and mangled shifters, I still ride my bike—to the local launch, kayak in tow.
Adventure Kayak editor Virginia Marshall now keeps vigilant watch for potholes.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80