Late Night Paddling

[Jim Dodd]

Do any of you engage in Night time Paddling ?

As a Kid ! I was Scared of the dark ! Always tried to be aware of something that might jump out and Grab me, while walking home from a friends, or movie ( They were $.20 in my day).

Once I got older, I started running Coon Hounds at night, That Fear pretty much subsided.

Floating the river at night, during the Summer was a great time to get a census count coon population.

Here in Iowa, we are allowed to paddle at night, without lights, on waters Not normally used by motor boats. Avoid doing this during Hunting seasons though !

With two rivers, I consider my Home Waters, Every Summer, if they aren't Too high, or Too low, I try to get in a few floats.

I've almost wore out these rivers in day light hours, always snaking along the banks trying to sneak up on some four legged Wildlife. Many days there is little to see.

But go at night and it's amazing. A Head light is a must ! I've been so close to Raccoons ? I could hit them with my paddle. A Blue Heron will send a Chill down your spine with their deafening Squawk. A deer silhouetted against the moon, gazing at you from a high bank, as you silently glide by . Pure Fun!

Besure to Know the water you plan well ! It's amazing how easy you can see for navigation purposes. Try it this Summer if you can !

I'd like to hear from others their experiences on a Night Paddle!

Jim

 

[TrailBlaser]

A few times, on a clear night and a full moon, I have actually broke camp, paddled across a lake and made camp at a different site. On a few occasions I have also broke camp before daylight and started the paddle out in the dark - only on lakes, in good weather, on a familiar route with no obstructions and with no more than a headlamp (which I would keep off unless needed). It is different and exciting, especially because it being dark, the night sounds are accentuated.

 

[lowangle al]

I enjoy a night paddle on my lake, but I've never had the energy or desire to do one on a trip. Come to think of it after almost thirty year tripping in Alaska there wasn't much "night " available until late August. There is usually less wind at night and there are a lot of different sounds to hear. One thing I like to do at night is to look into the water with a head lamp while standing for better visibility.. I was surprised at all the fish I would see. They were usually sleeping and were unfazed by the light.

I was thinking of going out tonight if it's clear as there is supposed to be a meteor shower.

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

I fish and paddle at night a fair amount. It’s interesting how conscious you become of the noise you make.

When I am in an area with no light pollution I will paddle out on a clear night- really amazing.

 

[yknpdlr]

A few of us who are long time veterans of the Adirondack 90 mile canoe race (which is a staged race over 3 days in September) we like to do what has been dubbed the Cannonball-90. We paddle it for pleasure and training, not an official race by any means. We paddle the entire 90 mile route in a single calendar day, taking about 19 hours. I prefer to start out at the stroke of midnight on or near the Summer Solstice for maximum daylight to finish well before sundown that same day. The route starts out on a small lake to a narrow channel passing by many summer homes with soft lights all along the shore on both sides.

After the first mile we enter the first of several connected larger lakes to cross. Some years have partial moonlight, others none at all. My favorite is a totally dark calm moonless night, in which we see as many stars on the surface of the water as are in the sky. Once or twice I have seen a motorboat out there in the dark distance, when our headlamps switch on briefly until any potential danger has past. Otherwise we use no lights at all while on the water.

After many miles of pleasant paddling and a couple of portages on trails through the woods, the first dim pink light of morning greets us in the northeastern horizon sky ahead of us, just as we finish a 1.5 mile portage to enter a narrow, highly meandering stream with several beaver dams to cross, now with just enough pre-dawn daylight to help us maneuver the twists and turns.

That dumps us into a very large lake, by now in the barely risen sun, but often with dense fog ("dragon's breath") calmly hugging the surface and shoreline. But we do know the continuing route to paddle until the fog buns off an hour or so later.

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

I’ve done that paddle over the course of 4-5 days for fun. 19 hours.... I’m speechless.

 

[yknpdlr]

I’ve done that paddle over the course of 4-5 days for fun. 19 hours.... I’m speechless.

The 90 route is fun at any pace. If you are very familiar with it you can go faster and enjoy just as much. 19 hours is nowhere near the high speed record that other speedsters hold.

 

[Alan Gage]

Good post, Jim. I enjoy getting out at night too but not as often as I should. I'd usually do my night paddles in the dog days of summer when the days were hot and sticky. It was much more pleasant to put on the water just before sunset. Like you said it's fun to see such a familiar river under different circumstances. Makes it feel a little bit new.

I can remember paddling a couple nights when the moon hadn't come up yet and it was pitch black and I couldn't see a darn thing on the river, just the silhouette of the trees above me. But I knew every twist, turn, stump and snag in the river and was able to navigate around all the things I couldn't see. It was a fun game.

Alan

 

[snapper]

Paddling at night can be a wonderful experience. Not long after I became involved in living history events I attended my first Lake George tactical. We put on the lake around 8 PM (this was in October) and the lake was incredibly still. The moon hadn't come over the horizon yet so the lake reflected the numerous stars and it was truly beautiful. As we paddled north the moon eventually peaked over the landscape. The entire evening was incredibly still and the light from both moon & stars left an indelible memory for me to enjoy again & again. It was so quiet you could hear the water dripping back down into the lake from your paddle. What a night...

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Clint]

When I train for the Texas Water Safari me and my partner do a lot of night paddling. Here in Dallas we have one river that is fairly consistent on water levels. The Trinity river has the West Fork, Elm Fork and East Fork. We paddled the Elm Fork for our workouts. We would start after work on Friday, get on the water and paddle 20-30 miles, get home and do it again on Saturday morning. Or start Saturday or Sunday morning at 4am and get done by 9am. We both have families that do not paddle so we try to be away the least as possible.


But with those dark runs we saw so much wildlife right in the middle of Dallas. Lots of hogs, beaver, nutria, racoons, otters and fish. On occasion we would see deer. We have different species of gar Long and Short Nose, Spotted and Alligator Gar. With Alligator being the biggest 7'+ and 200lbs. At night with your headlamp on or the light on the front of our canoe they would come up to the surface and sometimes jump at the light. When we would go to South Texas where the TWS is held. We would paddle the sections that we would be doing during the night. One night I lost count of the alligators. I was at 40+ and was thinking there was no end. And when you are just about to fall asleep and you take a stroke and hit one on the back!! Boom!!! the water comes alive and you wake up fast!!! But there is nothing like turning all the lights off, laying back and staring at the stars. I do a lot of trail running also and most of it in the early mornings in the dark with a headlamp.

 

[yknpdlr]

Ultimate night paddling IMO opinion is on either the Yukon River Quest, or the Yukon 1000 Mile races. Paddling through the twilight of "night" while in sections still below and above the Arctic Circle (it never really gets dark anywhere there in June) we see many bears (both black and griz), moose, eagles, and wolves.

 

[Alan Gage]

And when you are just about to fall asleep and you take a stroke and hit one on the back!! Boom!!! the water comes alive and you wake up fast!!!

I know how much I jump when I hit a carp in shallow water and it explodes. Can't imagine doing that to a gator.

I've done a couple night paddles on trips too, which is pretty special. I remember paddling for a few hours after dark one night and doing some fishing. A family of otters was fishing in the same area. They'd dive down and come back up with crawdads. I could hear them crunching away on them the whole time I was there. Pretty neat.

Here's a shot of Sadie just as we were setting out from camp that evening. Perfect night.

20120824_002 by Alan, on Flickr

Alan

 

[Jim Dodd]

When One night I lost count of the alligators. I was at 40+ and was thinking there was no end. And when you are just about to fall asleep and you take a stroke and hit one on the back!! Boom!!! the water comes alive and you wake up fast!!! But there is nothing like turning all the lights off, laying back and staring at the stars. I do a lot of trail running also and most of it in the early mornings in the dark with a headlamp.

Yeah ! I'd Rethink my Night time paddles in that case ! Thankfully no Gators up here. A grass Carp can surprise you though !

Night on the water is special !

Jim

 

[Mason]

Does frog-gigging count??

 

[yellowcanoe]

Not a fan of night paddling at home. Several years ago a 850 horsepower craft with a drunk at the helm ran over a couple in a rowboat at night. After the collision which killed the couple continued 500 feet into the woods.

In Wabakimi sure..

I should try to venture out at home as we have excellent Milky Way views.

 

[Canotrouge]

Well up here we lots of night paddles, but I guess it doesn't really count since it's pretty much day light all night... but there is a few run we do after work and usually get off the way around 11pm. and sometimes on trip we will get back into the boats after supper to cover more distance or find a good campsite!

 

[Jim Dodd]

Does frog-gigging count??

Yes ! My boys took great pleasure of Netting them one night. We were in an aluminum canoe, and put the unharmed frogs in a bucket.

Towards the end of the trip, the bucket tipped over and thus began the great Bull Frog Escape. A Catch and Release tail. The Fun was had by the boys, and that was the mission of the trip ! To this day, they recall the event !

Thanks for sparking a fun memory !
Jim

 

[gumpus]

I met a guy that enjoys hiking at night through this site. I've done some paddling in the dark and it's special for sure with the heightened senses. Our paddling club in Ann Arbor used to organize occasional night paddles and while they were fun I think it's quite different when you are alone.