cold weather paddling

[Guest]

Caution

Caution

I put in once on a duckhunting trip on a river with thin ice around the rim, paddled 5 miles downstream and discovered thick ice stretching from bank to bank as far as the eye could see. We weren’t getting down to the take out vehicle, and working the boats back upstream was a chore.

I did a New Year’s Day trip several years ago that involved some mild whitewater and standing waves. When I got to the take out the spray covers on the canoe were frozen stiff as a board (literally, I put them in the truck like giant pizza slices) and my painter lines were useless blocks of ice frozen under the deck plate bungees. Worst of all my throw bag was frozen solid and useless.

I’ve had one subfreezing swim, without immersion gear. I did have a dry bag of spare clothes, from long underwear to fleece, gloves and hat, but the changeover was teeth chattering cold.

All good lessons, and I have become more conservative about what and how I paddle in the winter. Even in the spring when the temps warm the water can still be bone chilling cold, and spring snow melt and run off add another dimension of increased difficulty.

Let’s all be careful out there.

 

[Guest]

Mike, your story reminds me of Midwest collegiate sailboat racing. Other than losing the race, capsizing in a fall regatta wasn't bad, since the water was almost always warm, and usually warmer than the air. In spring, however, with racing starting as soon as the ice was off the lakes, well, that was a different story. Crews lacking an insane need to win - and without wetsuits - generally sailed more conservatively. The hotshot schools like U. of Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Michigan - the ones that almost always finished 1st, 2nd or 3rd - generally had both the drive to win and proper cold-water gear. They braved the freezing spray and the risk of capsize, but of course they never dumped. It was the other schools, with the less experienced crews, that did. Maybe that's the reason I don't paddle when it's below 50 degrees. Memories of hypothermia linger long after one gets warm again.

Dave