A week ago Caurie Putnam, a reporter from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (D&C) stumbled across nakedkayaker.com as she was researching kayaking for an article called "Do It: Paddle sports taking hold." The Do It series encourages people to try new "obscure" sports [no offense taken :)].We spoke briefly about beginner-friendly kayaking spots  and why kayaking is so wonderful, and she kindly linked my blog. She also wrote about BayCreek and paddling opportunities on the Erie Canal, Genesee River, and others. You can read the full article here, or see the excerpt by clicking "Read More" below.

I must admit, reading through past posts stirred up a mean bout of nostalgia and longing for the upstate NY kayaking environment: wide open freshwater lakes that feel just as vast as San Francisco Bay (if not more - SF Bay can feel somewhat confining when you're surrounded by boats and traffic and city noises), silent 6am paddles when the thin layer of fog still hovers and the boat leaves a perfect V-shaped track behind you in the glassy water, and the rolling rainbow hills that surround all the lakes in the fall.

Anyways, I've just been reflecting on the beauty of upstate NY kayaking. 

It's May, and this was sadly the first time Big Purple has touched H20 since... November? How sad. I guess that's what happens when you chose not to work on your Master's project for the majority of the year. Yesterday was my final presentation, so now there are many paddling trips in the works (in my mind...).

Anyways, Rob and I met up at East Shore Park at 8 am. We were on the water by 8:10 am, paddling North along the familiar east shore of Cayuga. Although my project had me out on the lake in a motor boat many times this spring, it's just so much better in a kayak! 

A few weeks ago my graduate adviser offhandedly mentioned that there was a need to develop a more detailed outline of the south end of Cayuga Lake for the hydrologic model he and some colleagues are working on. There is a particularly high need for a more accurate outline of the inlet and other contributing waterways at the southern tip of the lake. In an effort to validate my kayaking with some sort of productive excuse, I offered to take a GPS along while I paddled as far as possible up the various tributaries of Cayuga Lake.

Last Sunday some Ithaca kayaking buddies (Ben, Rob, and Esther) and I headed down to Cass Park to attempt to map the inlet. The GPS seemed to be working and recording data as we paddled, which was a relief! The channels we paddled (from west to east) included:

#1 The "Inlet" - The widest and longest of the four, this channel is relatively unexciting. The wind was coming from the south, so we had a pretty strong breeze to paddle against on the way down. We were stopped by a dam across the channel. 

I'll admit it. I'm feeling a little sentimental right now. Bear with me please :)

In my first post I laid out my paddling goals for this summer. Some were intentionally ambitious and others were intentionally ambiguous. At some point last spring it occurred to me (possibly caused by some senior year sentimentality) that I live in an incredibly beautiful region called the Finger Lakes that's lush with kayaking opportunities that I had never really taken advantage of. I set out to circumnavigate or paddle at least 15 miles on each of the 11 Finger Lakes by the end of the year. It wasn't really a challenging goal, but it certainly took some great company, planning, dedication, and hours in the car. Over the past 6 months I managed to drag myself and my friends to 24 different bodies of water, and I loved every minute of it! I guess now it's time to make some new goals!

Click read more to hear about our last Finger Lake and see a stack of beautiful fall photos...

Today couldn't have been more perfect: perfect weather on Otisco, magnificent fall colors surrounding us, no motor boats on the water, and great turnout! Eleven of us (Daniel & Amy, Ben, Laurie, Don, Mike, and I from Ithaca, and Jeff B., Jeff H., Heather, and Nick from Rochester!) showed up for this beautiful paddle. After a few wrong turns, an incredibly steep hill, and some pungent overheated brakes, we all managed to meet at the causeway at the southwest end of the lake...

This is the first year (ever) that Cornell has canceled school on Labor Day! We (Ben, Daniel, Amy, Rob, Anna, Julia, and I) decided to celebrate by tackling a far away Finger Lake: Hemlock Lake! It was a 2 hour drive across 5 other lakes to get there, but it was well worth it. We launched from the North Hemlock Boat Launch. The boat launch was about a mile down the lake. The DEC doesn't let people paddle north of there since that's where the water treatment plant pulls its water from.

Hemlock is characterized by the absence of lake houses along the shores,...

On Friday nights, Morgan leads a group called the Easy Gliders (a chilled out version of the Rough Riders) on a paddle from the shop onto Irondequoit Creek or Irondequoit Bay. Arno and I decided to join them this Friday for a nice evening paddle to the bay bridge and back. We arrived at the shop a little early and decided to try out the shop's newest addition: the stand up paddleboard.

For the kayaking trip I tried a P&H low volume Cetus. It was the most comfortable of the three boats I tried over the weekend. It's about a foot longer than my Avocet. There is a handy little hatch in front of the cockpit for easy access to snacks, cameras, water, and sunscreen.

Back at the shop we relaxed by the creek with a bottle of wine (carbonated grape juice for Arno!), cheese, and crackers before heading back to Dave & Morgan's house for the night.


Click "Read More" to see swan photos and a map of the route...

Jeff and I met up at Canandaigua Lake State Marine Park at 8am on Friday morning. I managed to leave my euro paddle in the back of Dave's car the night before, so I spent the morning practicing my greenland stroke. For this trip Shannon let me borrow her elegant Pilgrim Expedition. This boat was smaller in the hip area, but roomier for my knees. It fit really well!

We paddled out to some-point-I-forgot-the-name-of where we snacked on plums and dark chocolate granola bars (yum!) supplied by Jeff. A few ominous-looking clouds passed over us, but luckily it only rained for about 30 seconds. Click "Read More" for pictures and a map...