paddling with a camera

Tag: Verlen Kruger

  • Starting 2021 Paddling Season with Kruger Canoe in Colorado

    Starting 2021 Paddling Season with Kruger Canoe in Colorado

    Sea Wind Kruger expedition canoe on Horsetooth Reservoir

    New Year Day afternoon. I started the 2021 paddling on Horsetooth Reservoir with Sea Wind, my expedition canoe. No drysuit or wetsuit needed, but loading this boat on Toyota 4Runner and carrying to water was a good crossfit training in comparison to paddleboards. It wasn’t a long trip, just 6 miles with a longer break for photography.

    This boat is almost 20 years old. I bought my Sea Wind, #127,  from Verlen Kruger in Michigan in 2001. Actually, it was the first canoe built by Mark Przedwojewski aka ManitouCruiser, then the new owner of Kruger Canoes. It’s all history now …

    canoe paddler overlooking Horsetooth Reservoir

    Horsetooth Reservoir is pretty low at 46% of its capacity. Last winter is was almost full. A very different scenery and paddling conditions. Water temperature is still 49F and no ice cover. See: current Horsetooth Reservoir conditions.

    Satanka Cove at northern end of the lake is the best place to start paddling. I usually launch my boats just next to the Horsetooth Dam. It is steep, but the shortest walk to the water from a parking lot. At low water level, the boat ramp (closed) at Satanka Cove is very long. You can also launch from Lory State Park at Soldier or Eltuck Cove, but again it’s a very long walk under current conditions.

    It looks like during last few years I was able to paddle Horsetooth Reservoir almost all winters. The effect of a global warming? I remember that 10-20 years ago I was doing most of my winter paddling and training on the South Platte River with an occasional trip to Lake Pueblo.

    Related posts:

    Winter Stand Up Paddling on Horsetooth Reservoir
    Do you need a hot tea for your winter paddling?
    South Platte River from Wildcat to Evans by SUP
  • Lake Superior: Journeys on an Inland Sea by Gary and Joannie McGuffin

    Lake Superior: Journeys on an Inland Sea by Gary and Joannie McGuffin

    There are several books which have influenced my paddling and photography. One of them is definitely Superior: Journeys on an Inland Sea, a wonderful coffee table book by a Canadian couple, Gary and Joanie McGuffin, full of great pictures from their kayak and canoe trips on Lake Superior.

    I believe that most of the pictures including a paddler (i.e., Joannie) were carefully staged, but they are still impressive. I am not aware of many photography books published by paddlers. Only Joel W Rogers comes to my mind.

    This in an old book. I bought it probably 20 years ago. Nowadays, you can buy used in a good condition for a few dollars. Originally, I posted this review in December of 2004.

    After getting this book I started to plan my own paddling trip on Lake Superior. It hasn’t happened yet with an exemption of a very short exploration of sea caves near Bayfield when driving back from Michigan and another short car visit in the same area. However, the book has had significant impact on my paddling.

    Lake Superior book

    I was intrigued by weird looking kayak-canoes used by McGuffins. After some research I learned about Verlen Kruger and his expedition canoes. McGuffins paddled his Monarch canoes. As a long time kayaker I wasn’t immediately convinced by Kruger’s designs, but after reading about some other long distance expeditions and e-mail exchange with Norm Miller I became a happy owner of Sea Wind canoe #127 in the summer of 2001.

    The McGuffins published several other books including Paddle Your Own Canoe, Where Rivers Run: A 6,000-Mile Exploration of Canada by Canoe, In the Footsteps of Grey Owl, Canoeing the Great Lakes Heritage Coast devoted to the 2003 expedition is also worth visiting. Again, a lot of wonderful pictures including impressive panoramas. It was example of a modern expedition combining a home built strip canoe with a high technology equipment – digital cameras, laptop and satellite communication to send updates from the trip. They also produce Wilderness Paddling calendar. It is worth to visit their web page.