Gearing up
Ten tips
for winter warmth R
AIN IS HITTING my face sideways. I’m huddled behind two barebranched shrubs that are doing a terrible job of blocking the wind. Every few minutes I stamp my feet to keep the blood moving while I eat a few more bites of my soggy sandwich. Isn’t winter paddling fun? If you answered “no,” then you may be one of the many kayakers who put your boat in storage for the winter or spend the bucks to paddle in Baja, Belize or New Zealand during the North American winter. I can’t blame you. But I can offer an alternative winter paddling experience close to home. It could have been like this: At lunchtime we duck under our spaceage portable shelter. We’re soon peeling off layers and venting our drysuits because it’s downright balmy inside. Soup and coffee are ready a few minutes
Icicles drape the shoreline along the Columbia River Gorge in Washington. It’s a beautiful day for a paddle, even if it is winter.
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later. We emerge from our toasty cocoon for more paddling among bald eagles and waterfalls. Before we climb back into our kayaks, we indulge ourselves by pouring hot water into our booties and gloves, and feel the warmth penetrate. I firmly believe that when kayakers hang their boats up for the winter, they miss out on some of the best paddling of the year. In the Pacific Northwest, winter padding has some major advantages. The crowds, water-skiers and powerboaters are gone. They’ve been replaced by massive flotillas of waterfowl that have flown south from breeding grounds in the subarctic. Winter steelhead fill the rivers and rain fills the waterfalls. Bald eagles gather to feed on the ducks and fish. All that’s required is preparation for the lower temperatures and shorter days. Here are ten tips to paddling in the winter, and being nice and warm doing it.