paddling with a camera

Sunday, March 11, 2007. I was passing the Beaver Pond in Arapaho Bend Natural Area near Fort Collins on a bike. After a warm week the ice cover started to shrink. The very northern end of the pond was ice free.

Monday, March 12, 2007. I launch Thunderbolt kayak on the Beaver Pond. The first lake paddling this year! The area of ice free water was growing. With some pushing through a soft ice I was able to paddle around 3/4 of the lake using a narrow strip of water between ice and the shore. A lot of dead fish after 3 month of solid ice cover.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007. Another afternoon paddling on the Beaver Pond. I was able to paddle around the entire pond staying close to the shore. Then, I tried to run a 5 mile virtual race, but I had to quit after 2 laps. Wind shifted the ice and blocked my narrow passage along the shore. Thunderbolt is definitely faster than my Sisson Nucleus kayak. I easily managed to maintain slightly above 6 mph despite of the shallow water and soft floating ice.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007. A bike ride to the Boyd Lake State Park. The lake is mostly frozen and very, very low. There is some open shallow water in a marina and along the shore towards the northern end of the lake. The shores were really muddy, so the only way to paddle there would be to launch from the marina boat ramp.

Thursday, March 15, 2007. Paddling Thunderbolt on the Beaver Pond. The ice is gone. Dead fish was moved by wind to shores, so paddling was quite pleasant.

Related posts:

• Paddling WSBS Thunderbolt-X Racing Kayak - 1 Minute Video Clip
• Sisson Nucleus Kayak in Fall Colors - A Photo Study
• Paddling with Fall Colors near Fort Collins in Northern Colorado
• Shores of Colorado - Paddling Lakes at Foothills of Rocky Mountains

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