Canoeing / Kayaking / Paddle Boarding / Rafting Posts

A Paddle with Jeff and Jesse

 

Paddling the Pier

Photographer A. Hoppenyan of Noct Studium studio took this photo last night at sunset on Lake Superior next to the Duluth Shipping Canal. The identity of the person in the shot is unknown. Hoppenyan would like to get a print of the photo to the mystery paddle boarder, so give a shout if you can provide a clue.

Late on the Water

I arrive at the paddleboard shop on Barker’s Island in Superior just before noon. Because I learned to paddleboard last spring, and because winters are long, I need a refresher on how to attach the folding seat and ankle strap to the board. (I don’t need a crash course on how to tie my shoes—they have Velcro straps.) Last year after I connected the seat and strap to my board, they stayed put until I deflated it in the fall. Heather, co-owner of North Shore SUP, helps me. (She’s friendly and supportive and would show me how to tie my shoes, if needed. It took me a long time to learn to tie them when I was a kid.)

It’s July 16, and I will paddleboard for the first time this summer. I’ve lost a month because a long, cold spring latched onto the heels of a long, cold winter. Toss in stormy weather plus the three days a week I provide daycare for my grandkids, and getting out on my board slid to the bottom of my list.

I stopped saying I wanted to learn to paddleboard and just did it

After a Saturday fling with a paddle board on Superior Bay, I was smitten. Within an hour of finishing my lesson, I wanted one. I experienced this same love-at-first-try feeling forty years ago when I cross-country skied for the first time and rushed out to buy skis. I used those skis for years.

Duluth Adventures: An Encyclopedia of Human-powered Multisport Adventures

I’ve been a bit obsessed with planning human-powered multisport adventures in Northeastern Minnesota. Even within Duluth city limits, the options for loops are nearly endless. I was curious if anyone else out there had done similar trips in the past. Then I thought about how cool it would be to have a documentation of many routes for others to explore, want to replicate, or spur their creativity for a new route/loop. And Duluth Adventures was born!

Check out duluthadventures.com. This website pretty much hinges on other people’s submissions so I strongly encourage anyone to navigate to the “submit” button and send in their own routes.

Video Archive: Illgen Falls Huckamania

Andy McMurray uploaded this video to YouTube ten years ago today — Sept. 5, 2008. It shows a group of Duluth kayakers plunging down Illgen Falls at the Baptism River, about 60 miles northeast of Duluth. The video also details the work a video crew went through to set up shots — rigging highlines, pulleys and ropes.

The video was described on Perfect Duluth Day in 2008 as “tightrope walking meets kayak boating.”

Video: Lester River Race 2018

Video of last weekend’s Lester River whitewater kayak race by Blue Forest Films.

Creamy Stouts on the Brule

Clint Massey plunges down the Brule River in this short video by Brian Robin and Jesse Credille, shot April 22.

Paddling in and around Lake Superior

Highlights from a year of paddling in and around Lake Superior — St. Louis, Lester, Cascade, Beaver and Baptism rivers; Lester point break, Duluth and Apostle Islands.

Price Check: Kayaks

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Price checking kayaks is like shopping for puppies, with so many colors and personalities. There might never be a perfect time to get a puppy, but May is damn-near the perfect time to buy a kayak. The summer bug starts crawlin’ in with dreams of sunshine and light campfires. 

Video: Lester River Race 2016

Point-of-view video of a run during last weekend’s Lester River Race in Duluth.

A nice easy paddle through the canal with Dan the Man

Video by Christian Dalbec.

Duluth & North Shore Kayaking on NPR

NPR’s weekly sports show ended with a feature on the area’s whitewater kayaking. Hear Only A Game’s story on SoundCloud.

Some terrific photos are on the show’s Flickr stream, too.

Canoe Repair in Duluth

Being Duluth has been recognized as the Outdoor mecca we all know it to be, it seems someone around here would do canoe repairs. Does anyone know of someone who does? I have a Tripper that needs patching and I don’t have the know how or the space. Any help would be great.

Stationary Kayaking on Chester Creek

The first four seconds of this video is the gonzo adventure part, but the next three minutes and 26 seconds of trying to get out of the water is pretty good comedy.