Day Two...Snake Two

Today's snake I can deal with...check the last photo. He was sunning himself on the rock in Donut. Today I met up with Ben. I haven't seen him since before he went to study in New Zealand. Good to see him back and rocking the river. On our second run we met a mother and son. Laura and Erik. Since I didn't know how he paddled Ben and I eddy jumped him down to Triple and then ran Triple. In RR I told him what to expect and he just jumped right in and threw it down. We all marathon tag teamed Donut until it was time to go. Great way to spend the morning before going to work.

Paddling with Snakes

I loved the film Cross Country Skiing with Snakes...I saw it this winter at the Expo. Today I caught a quick hour before work at the Verm. RR beaver was out. The heron is following the fish and is now hanging out in S-Bend. Donut was pretty manky. Threw me a few times and once was down into Fishermans. Since it was still early I went to walk it back up on river left. I climbed on the lower ledge and set my paddle on the ledge above while I kind of rock climbed with my boat. I got eye level with the ledge my paddle was on and went to grab it and move it up further. As I was reaching for my paddle shaft I noticed another shaft right below it in the grass. It took only a nano second to realize that it was a snake with a body just a bit larger than the shaft of my paddle. I snatched my paddle and threw myself off the rocks and into Fishermans pool expecting fangs of fury to fly at me at anytime. It didn't happen. I walked the boat back up and paddled down again and got some good play in Donut. Last year I saw a rattlesnake on the Verm. This one didn't rattle and I only saw a portion of his body so I really can't positively ID the snake but I'm guessing it was a bull snake. Good news about bull snakes is they run off the rattlers. Whoo Hoo! If you can call that good news?

Birdwatching

The annual fish migration is on. Carp were attempting to up the drop at Donut today. I was hoping that Donut would be at the 190cfs level which in my opinion is the biggest it can get without losing it's shape. Unfortunately it was beyond that and the rails were huge and squeezing the foam pile. My partner said "You first" Sometimes I dislike that "ladies first" rule...it's more of a guideline. Anyway I jumped in. He followed suit. It was big and flushy.

Kettle Fest

It was a cold and snowy Saturday...oh wait...that's what the weatherman predicted. Saturday ended up being sunny and beautiful and Sunday even better. Due to torrential rains on Friday night the Kettle jumped up to 3200cfs on Saturday and 4000cfs on Sunday. Big and fast. With people from all over Minnesota and some special visitors from the Milwaukee/Waukesha area coming to check out the root beer water in Minnesota. They definately found it to their liking with Craige Esposito taking first in the rodeo and Jim Jenson taking second. Melissa Grover took first in the womens. Good times with great people!

Just a few photos from Saturday.

Having a Ball on Da Verm!

The Verm is having a great spring! The level hasn't fallen below 100cfs since it opened. I, and many many other paddlers have been rocking the Verm. Kind of funny how some days you have your mojo working and other days NOT! Sunday was a "not" for me but after working a 12 hour day it was just enjoyable being on the river trying to find that elusive mojo. The rest of this week I guess I can consider it found and I know I've spent entirely too many hours (if that's possible) on the Verm this week. More rain in the forcast and plenty of options for this weekend.

Verm....Again....and Again.....and Again.

Verming this week it's been really nice. My son checked it out with me on Monday and took the photos of me. My second run that night I thought I was going to be solo but when I hit RR pool I saw Mike getting ready to launch. Alon joined me Tuesday. The level is holding great so the play has been fun. Some people have asked why I run the Verm alot...well it's right there for me and it sure beats going to the YMCA every night for mindless exercise. Mindless exercise being treadmills and weight lifting. I use the YMCA for raquetball, the climbing wall and hot tub!
More rain coming...WOW... the forcast for the Verm is 1 to 2 inches with this next system and 3 to 4 inches for the North Shore...as I said WOW! I only have Friday off this week...what to do??? Hmmmmm.

Any Rose Freaks?

I have a couple of suckers coming off my roses and would like to pass them on to a good home. The roses are William Baffins from the Canadien Explorer series. You cannot kill these roses. They're climbers that grow to 12 or more feet. This is a photo of just two of them. I recomend you plant a clemantis with them. Click and enlarge and you'll see the clemantis on the left rose. Let the neighbors figure out how you can have purple and pink on one bush. The roses will repeat all summer. I also have some shrub roses that are sending shoots. They're light pink and magenta. I won't know which they are until they bloom.

Spot in the Hole.

Monday night Donut was the biggest I have seen it while still allowing play. Huge! Today it was a bit smaller but still likable. The level is going down slowly which is good as opposed to fast, but it's the time of year when the speed slows down. Get some before it's gone! So far this year the best thing has been my sight. I had Lasiks done and the results are 20/15 in one eye and 20/13 in the other. In the past I have had Accuvue contacts that have consistently blinded me while paddling. Usually the first wave hits my eyes and I literally can barely see a thing! Confinement Canyon...didn't see it...until I got to the bottom and my contacts cleared and I saw the boys all to the left and a big rock in front of me...son of a gun...I knew I couldn't get left fast enough so I took the right and boofed. Having tried everything from Seaspecs to goggles, I finally had the surgery and it was worth every penny. The difference on the river is amazing. Even coming up from a roll I can see immediately where I am in the river. Not all brands are as bad as Accuvue for this but talking to others Accuvue is the worst. I had Dr. Omar Awad at Lasiks Plus in Woodbury do my eyes...I highly recommend him!

Kettle River

Today I headed up to the Kettle. Just a sunny friendly day on the Kettle. Not too many photos as my camera was without a battery on the river so I just snapped a few before I left. I did snarf one photo of myself, that Aaron took, off his website http://www.mnkiting.com/ . Thanks Aaron for taking photos today! Check out his site for more photos.

Verm at 275cfs

Caleb and I hit up the Verm this morning. I had just came from Midwest with my new Shogun paddle and was wanting to try it out with my creek boat. The Verm was moving at a good pace and the paddle was perfect for me! I had known for awhile that I needed a longer paddle for my creeker. Caleb and I had a really fun run...not too much play for us, but Donut had a little play with me for a bit. Just as I was leaving I ran into Paul turning off of 61 doing the "wave" at me. I turned around and headed back. All my gear was wet and I was froze from the wind so I didn't opt to paddle again but I watched and took some photos of John, Mike and Paul. The sports in my life that I have been drawn to have always combined mind and body. I spent many years in Shotokan Karate. Mind and body train together. The key to becoming good is to train your body to become automatic with your mind. Split second decisions can only be executed if the mind and body are simultaneously linked and react at the same time. Thought equals action. This is accomplished only thru many hours, days, and years of practice. When I used to fight I would try to see how little I had to shift to miss a punch. It was an adrenalin rush to be able to dodge a punch and have it so close you can see the hairs on his arm as it passed you by. A miss by an inch is as good as a mile. By now you're wondering what this has to do with kayaking. As with the levels of ability in karate there are levels of ability in paddling. Caleb and I had a great run today but watching the second crew run the river was an education. It's all a mental perception of the river. I've posted before that confidence is the strongest and the weakest thing on the river. It's like a bank account...training, experiences, partners, teachers and luck all add or subtract to your confidence level. I feel blessed to have the great paddling partners I have! In karate I enjoyed teaching and bringing the under belts up thru the ranks. In kayaking I see alot of new paddlers on the Verm and love watching them grow. You may be surprised to know that I didn't pass my first black belt test. I had the skills and could compete in the men's black belt division but I had a mental shift that needed to be made. Same as with kayaking. When I watched the comfort level and confidence level of the second group I was looking at where I want to be.