Tuesday, April 28, 2009
“In all of nature there is something of the marvelous”…..Aristotle.
It does not take long in banging around the rural roads, bike paths and rivers and streams of Michigan that we begin to resonate with Aristotle. For you philosophers this is not some soft pantheism, but I must say that the beauty of this state for me is both marvelous and mysterious; enough so, that just being out paddling or biking is physically exhilarating.
I was leafing through much of the literature handed out at the last Quiet Water Symposium held in Lansing and was amazed at all the literature about the natural trail systems in Michigan. These trails include hiking trails like the North Country Trail which is designed to rival the more famous Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails(North Country National Scenic Trail, National Park Service,700Rayovac Drive, suite 100, Madison, Wisconsin 53711). Or the more than thousand miles of Michigan bike paths, with hundreds of miles in west Michigan alone( see www.michigantrails.org). Finally, I was visited by john Mitchell of the Heritage water trail from South Haven to Bangor and discussing its 21 beautiful miles; talking about breaking through log jams and using that beautiful river for longer paddles. Probably more than any other type of trail, Michigan has more miles of water trails.
Thus, the theme for Kayak-kayak this year and perhaps permanently is getting into nature. I was struck with a comment made in the recent publication of “Dividend” from the Ross School of Business at the U0f M, the statement was “the 21st Century will be the Century of Natural Capital” . I would amplify that to say that it is the “Century of the merger of Intellectual (human) Capital with Natural Capital”. This means to me that the real returns on these forms of capital are rising and we will all benefit as we participate in them.
Okay, so what does this mean for us? It means that Kayak-kayak wants its friends to take advantage of the good things that are out there and we will be providing leadership in trips to see some of these wonderful places and encouraging others that are going other places to share their experiences, so we can all benefit.
Beginning in June Kayak-Kayak is having Tuesday paddles starting at about 10AM on the water through about 3pm in the afternoon. Some paddles will be longer, some shorter. Combinations of river and Lake Michigan are planned for later in the summer when the Lake water temperature rises.
Kayak-kayak is sponsoring overnight trips later in the summer. The second week of august Aug 9 thru Aug 12, we will paddle the inland waterway outside of Petoskey to Cheboygan. August 30 to September 3, we will have the annual Drummond Island paddle ( our next blog and new web site will carry the details). Finally in September, we will be paddling the caves on the Bruce Peninsula on Georgian Bay. You will be hearing more about all of these trips. We are also thinking about some joint bike and paddle trips in South Haven and maybe some other spots.
Other local high quality nature activities are the DeGraaf Nature Center and the Outdoor Discovery Center. We have links to them on our web site and they provide excellent programs for all ages.
I was leafing through much of the literature handed out at the last Quiet Water Symposium held in Lansing and was amazed at all the literature about the natural trail systems in Michigan. These trails include hiking trails like the North Country Trail which is designed to rival the more famous Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails(North Country National Scenic Trail, National Park Service,700Rayovac Drive, suite 100, Madison, Wisconsin 53711). Or the more than thousand miles of Michigan bike paths, with hundreds of miles in west Michigan alone( see www.michigantrails.org). Finally, I was visited by john Mitchell of the Heritage water trail from South Haven to Bangor and discussing its 21 beautiful miles; talking about breaking through log jams and using that beautiful river for longer paddles. Probably more than any other type of trail, Michigan has more miles of water trails.
Thus, the theme for Kayak-kayak this year and perhaps permanently is getting into nature. I was struck with a comment made in the recent publication of “Dividend” from the Ross School of Business at the U0f M, the statement was “the 21st Century will be the Century of Natural Capital” . I would amplify that to say that it is the “Century of the merger of Intellectual (human) Capital with Natural Capital”. This means to me that the real returns on these forms of capital are rising and we will all benefit as we participate in them.
Okay, so what does this mean for us? It means that Kayak-kayak wants its friends to take advantage of the good things that are out there and we will be providing leadership in trips to see some of these wonderful places and encouraging others that are going other places to share their experiences, so we can all benefit.
Beginning in June Kayak-Kayak is having Tuesday paddles starting at about 10AM on the water through about 3pm in the afternoon. Some paddles will be longer, some shorter. Combinations of river and Lake Michigan are planned for later in the summer when the Lake water temperature rises.
Kayak-kayak is sponsoring overnight trips later in the summer. The second week of august Aug 9 thru Aug 12, we will paddle the inland waterway outside of Petoskey to Cheboygan. August 30 to September 3, we will have the annual Drummond Island paddle ( our next blog and new web site will carry the details). Finally in September, we will be paddling the caves on the Bruce Peninsula on Georgian Bay. You will be hearing more about all of these trips. We are also thinking about some joint bike and paddle trips in South Haven and maybe some other spots.
Other local high quality nature activities are the DeGraaf Nature Center and the Outdoor Discovery Center. We have links to them on our web site and they provide excellent programs for all ages.
Skip
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Cruelest Month
Picture is of Don Harper taking his prijon across the straits of Mackinac.April is the Cruelest of Months…thank you T.S. Elliot. While it is how Mr. Elliot saw the tease of the changing of seasons. Paddlers particularly in the Midwest must feel the same because there is the teasing of the intermittent sun to draw us on the water, which has not warmed much at all. It is the time of the year that paddlers must remember that we dress for water temperatures, not the warmer air temperature. The shock of sub 50 degree water can render us helpless within minutes. Remember, of all times to paddle with a buddy this is the time. Also if you have a paddle float for reentry, make sure it is a solid foam paddle float and not one that you need to inflate. By the time it takes to inflate a paddle float in 40 degree water, your limbs may have lost much of their strength.
Last week we opened the store on Douglas Avenue and welcomed back a stream of friends. Mary stopped in; she is enroute to an adventure in Alaska. Rick reported in with 91 estimated miles this year so far. Clock Doc has been out four times. Krazykayak seems to be out most days and has picked up white water and a roll from his winter pool time. These are just a few. I have not seen Scott yet who usually brings in some very cold weather paddling pix from his mid winter efforts.
It is great fun catching up with these friends and meeting new ones.
John Mitchell dropped by, he is the president of the Black River Heritage trail in South Haven, one of our beautiful rivers. He mentioned that there are about 5 miles of log jams after the winter runoff and they will be working the river in the next several weeks. If anyone cares to help contact John at h2o_trail@yahoo.com. Macatawa Greenway is also working on the Black River in Holland/Zeeland over the next few weeks contact Derk at greenway@macatawa.org.
My next few writings will include some of our paddling plans for this year. Many of you have commented that my web site could be refreshed……I appreciate the reminders and it is underway. Keep checking us out at http://www.kayak-kayak.com/. I came across a great statement that was printed in the recent issue of Dividend, the periodical put out by the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan,…..”the 21st century is going to be the century of natural capital”. I agree with this and it is why we will be focusing on some interesting nature paddles this year. Michigan is an outstanding venue to paddle and we want to enjoy it.
Incidentally, I’ll be introducing our new Nifty series of Kayaks to augment the Prijon and Emotion lines. I am very pleased with our product offering.
Cheers,
Skip
www.kayak-kayak.com
Saturday, April 11, 2009
New Season Beginning
Green shoots surround us, giving signs of spring. Warmed by the sun, the waters of local lakes and rivers capture our thoughts as we prepare for another season of glorious paddling Michigan's abundant waters. We are really fortunate to be living in such a paddler's paradise. Never far from a put-in spot, we are surrounded by opportunities.
Kayak-Kayak opens this week on April 15. We are located at 321 Douglas Avenue, Holland, Michigan, 49424. Our phone is 616-366-1146 and our web site is http://www.kayyak-kayak.com/.
Our web site is in process of being updated. We will be listing trips, tours and other paddling topics on this blog. We are happy to have your comments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)