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White's Pond on Tuesdays (Walden alternative)

billvoss

By billvoss
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billvoss

billvoss

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According to the Walden park rangers, starting this coming week the boat ramp gate will be locked at 6:30pm instead of the summer 7:30pm closing time. That means getting off the water at 6:00pm which does not work very well if people are arriving at 5:00pm.

For the few remaining hard-core pond addicts, I propose that instead we meet at White's Pond on Tuesdays. White's pond is an eight minute drive from Walden. Here are Google directions.

The advantage of White's pond is that nobody locks the gates. We can also practice right in front of the boat ramp. The disadvantages are limited parking and no restroom facilities. If White's pond runs out of parking, you can still unload your kayak at the pond, then park your car at the nearby school. The pond is "A" and the school is "B" in this Google link.

By the way, I'm proposing Tuesday because the Boston AMC Paddlers meet at White's pond on Wednesdays, and their leader requested that I pick another day because of the limited parking. I rejected Thursdays because the NSPN calendar shows the Chebacco Lake sessions continuing through September on Thursdays.

I'm only going if I know someone else plans to join me. So post here or message me. I can also arrive earlier in the afternoon if someone else can join me earlier.

I'm also open to more Walden Wednesdays, but only if someone else wants to join me there by 4:00pm.

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Joyce Carpenter

Joyce Carpenter

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Hi Bill -- I wonder if another spot would work for Wednesday. There's a pond in Chelmsford that I'm fairly certain is open to the public with decent parking at this point in the year. It's Hart Pond, along the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. Do you know it by any chance?

http://goo.gl/maps/6NU1F

I suggest it because it might only be a few people, so maybe a little further out wouldn't be a problem and becuase of the temperature differential between Tues & Wed.

Thoughts?

--Joyce

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Joyce Carpenter

Joyce Carpenter

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Bill, the more I think about it, the more I'd prefer Walden on Wednesday. I can get there by 3:30.

Andy -- yes to all + lots of rolling instruction/practice. The idea is to come and practice whatever you need to work on. Maybe you're just practicing something you know how to do or perhaps you'd like to work on something that another attendee can help you with. There's no set list and no guarantee that an expert in any particular skill will be present, but it usually works out that someone can give you some advice and everyone's happy to help you get back into your boat when needed.

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billvoss

billvoss

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There's a pond in Chelmsford that I'm fairly certain is open to the public with decent parking at this point in the year. It's Hart Pond, along the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. Do you know it by any chance?

http://goo.gl/maps/6NU1F

I'm not familiar with Hart Pond. Your "fairly certain is open" comment worries me.

Bill, the more I think about it, the more I'd prefer Walden on Wednesday. I can get there by 3:30.

OK.

This week, I will plan on arriving at Walden around 3:30pm despite the heat. This week, I will also NOT plan on White's Pond.

Future weeks TBD later.

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billvoss

billvoss

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Hi everyone,

I'm new here and interested in joining your pond sessions at some point. My question is: what do you guys actually do in the pond :)) ? Rescue practice? Stroke critique? Just hang out?

Thanks!

Andy

You do what you want! There is certainly a bit of "just hanging out" involved.

If you are new to kayaking, you usually start with wet exits and assisted rescues. With some practice you should be comfortable as both the rescued and the rescuer with capsizing the kayak, wet exiting the kayak, having the rescuer empty the capsized kayak of water, and having the rescuer assist the swimmer back into their kayak.

Many people stop there. However, if you kept coming back you might practice solo self rescue techniques learning to dump the water out of your own kayak in water over your head, and learning paddle float, cowboy or ladder solo reentry techniques. You might also practice your strokes at least part of the time.

Eventually you might decide that spending minutes getting back into a kayak is silly when you could instead just roll up in a few seconds. So you might keep coming to learn to roll, or to maintain and improve the reliability of your roll.

Eventually, you might get addicted to rolling, and start working on lots of different ways to roll. At that point you would probably acquire a Greenland Paddle, and might even start practicing rolling more often than you go paddling!

If you kept at that, you might start working on rolling with a paddle stored on your deck, or half a paddle, a Greenland throwing stick, or work on rolling with just your hands, or just your fist, or just your elbow, or without even your elbow.

There are no formal instructors at pond sessions. However, there is a strong tradition of passing it forward and helping others. Even the first time you show up you could help someone practice their rescues by volunteering to be the rescued. People first learning to roll usually like someone standing by ready to offer a quick bow rescue if they miss their roll, or an assisted rescue if they have to wet exit. Later you may find yourself trying to teach people to roll, or show them new rolls they have not tried.

Some people also work on "stupid pond tricks" such as standing up in their kayak, and progressing to juggling while standing up in their kayak.

The rolling addicts with drysuits usually start attending pond sessions in late May. In July and August only a swimsuit is required. After Labor Day attendance quickly crashes as the sun sets earlier and the water cools.

If any of that sounds like fun, come ahead and join us. Though early and late in the season, or if thunderstorms are in the forecast, posting first can be a good idea to see if anyone else also plans to be there.

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Joyce Carpenter

Joyce Carpenter

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Great. 3:30 at Walden this week. See ya!

Note: It would be extremely hard to close Hart Pond as there's no gate or anything. There's a pond and there's a parking lot. Many people use the lot for the pond, the picnic area and the bike trail. However, in the summer there's a lifeguard at the roped area who won't let me swim outside the ropes. Grrrrr. People put in kayaks from the beach next to the ropes. I can't really imagine that the pond could be closed, although I suppose the town of Chelmsford could decide not to allow anyone (other than property owners) to access it. I'm not sure how to double check other than to show up and use it until someone says we can't.

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rfolster

rfolster

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Andy,

NSPN is a place of great camaraderie. As for cold water drills, there is a small portion of the club that makes an effort to paddle and practice year-round. Watch the TRIPS/EVENTS message board for the annual Cold Water Workshop offered by Suz around November, as well as other opportunities to get on and in the water this winter.

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...

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Andy,

Have you considered cold water/weather kayak camping during November, December, March and April. It does require some planning with proper gear and it is safest when performed with others, but the rewards are many. Shoot off an e-mail or post if it is something you would like to consider.

Warren

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Inverseyourself

Inverseyourself

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Andy,

Have you considered cold water/weather kayak camping during November, December, March and April. It does require some planning with proper gear and it is safest when performed with others, but the rewards are many. Shoot off an e-mail or post if it is something you would like to consider.

Warren

Rob and Warren

Thanks for the inspiration.

I don't even have a boat yet. B u t....I am itching to buy a NS Atlantic RM and virtually all the gear you need to paddle safely incl. drysuit in October. My kids will just have to postpone college for a year. Once I'm all set with my equipment, I'll be game for a lot of the NSPN activities I have been enviously following online. I usually ski throughout the winter and have little time off but I can easily imagine tagging along on a camping trip in April (who knows, maybe I'll even turn hardcore in the meantime and go camping in deep winter with one of you), when I'm sick of skiing again. I will try to harvest the vast paddling knowledge in the NSPN community at every opportunity open to me.

Looking forward to meeting you all.

Andy

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Lallen

Lallen

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Hi Andy,

Welcome to NSPN. This is a great time of year to buy yourself an NS Atlantic RM if you've tested it and are confident it's the one for you. Check the classifieds on the various paddling boards and local shops and you are likely to find one at a great price since it's end of season...

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cfolster

cfolster

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Andy,

Don't want to worry you, but once we started paddling, my husband and I have never gone back to skiing! ;-)

So that I don't get scolded by the group - yes, yes, lots of people manage to do both . . .just not us!

Rob and Warren

Thanks for the inspiration.

I don't even have a boat yet. B u t....I am itching to buy a NS Atlantic RM and virtually all the gear you need to paddle safely incl. drysuit in October. My kids will just have to postpone college for a year. Once I'm all set with my equipment, I'll be game for a lot of the NSPN activities I have been enviously following online. I usually ski throughout the winter and have little time off but I can easily imagine tagging along on a camping trip in April (who knows, maybe I'll even turn hardcore in the meantime and go camping in deep winter with one of you), when I'm sick of skiing again. I will try to harvest the vast paddling knowledge in the NSPN community at every opportunity open to me.

Looking forward to meeting you all.

Andy

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BLConaway

BLConaway

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Andy,

Don't want to worry you, but once we started paddling, my husband and I have never gone back to skiing! ;-)

So that I don't get scolded by the group - yes, yes, lots of people manage to do both . . .just not us!

You're not the only paddling couple on this board who (almost) never ski anymore! ;) And I met them through skiing--ha!

Edited by Brenda C
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Suz

Suz

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I stopped skiing when picking up kayaking back in 1999. Last few years I have gotten back into skiing in the winter. I'm not sure how it started. Just this week paying for the Epic pass for the season so that we can!

It isn't that I don't want to paddle in the winter but I think I got the skiing bug back after having so much snow a few years back. Then we had so little the year after we just had to travel to Vail.

(sounding like a spoiled brat! Loving both skiing and kayaking!)

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