BethS

oh good, see you all there, I haven't rolled yet this year!!!

anyone planning to go tomorrow July 29?

This was truly a very special trip, I enjoyed every minute of it. The trip out to EER was a rare and special delight! Thank you Katherine and everyone else for a very memorable weekend. Next year, absolutely!

It was quite a day, my first Blackburn experience, I'm glad to hear that others were finding it challenging as well. Congratulations to Sid and John, definitely a major accomplishment! Personally I was happy just to finish... It was a lot of fun though, in spite of the endless headwinds. In a couple of weeks I'll probably be thinking about doing it again next year.

Congrats to all of you, that's a big accomplishment! Beth

Quite correct about the cough meds, and it was something that i never thought of needing. Next i'll at least bring cough drops, if not something stronger.

Hi All, I'll give a brief reply to the question about 1st Aid preparedness, with the option for more discussion later as needed. Basically, I never felt that I was in any danger, and I felt well cared for by the group. Thank you everyone!!! The only possible complication might have been that my viral respiratory infection could have advanced to pneumonia, which would have been serious, but still not at all life threatening under these circumstances. My goal was to try to get better as fast as possible under rather trying circumstances, so I could enjoy the rest of the trip! The key to this was staying warm and dry, and getting as much rest for a few days as possible. The group accommodated my need to take some rest days, which was key to my getting better. It was also a really good thing that I had a VERY warm sleeping bag (0 degree synthetic) and lot of warm clothes. In fact I even borrowed an extra emergency layer from Ryan to use when I was feverish and just kept getting chills. Having this really helped a LOT. It also helped a LOT that I had a large, comfortable 2 person 4 season tent, which would have been overkill normally, but made it a lot easier to stay both warm and dry during 2 gales! Having a tarp, tarp poles, and a pee bottle were also key. I've done a lot of wet/bad weather camping in the past, so I have a routine for how to stay reasonably dry, but still it is a lot of work and is never easy, so good gear makes all the difference. It was really good that we had and used Purell faithfully, and that I didn't do any cooking until I was better and less contagious. No one else on the trip got sick, which was a public health achievement IMHO. As far as first aid supplies, the only thing that was lacking was good cough syrup, I developed a really nasty cough that made it very hard to get enough sleep, as I kept coughing and coughing at night. I finally resorted to taking double doses of sleeping pills, as well as Nyquil, just so I could get some sleep. Some cough syrup with codeine might have really helped in this case. But who knows, even that doesn't always work. It had been so long since I had had a bad cough that I didn't even think of bringing such a thing. I also made and drank a lot of spruce bud tea, which is supposed to be good for sore throats, and it seemed to help. But in the end what really helped the most was time and the sunshine!! I think the takeaway lesson is, bring clothes that dry FAST just from body heat and are warm even when wet, bring extra clothes, bring handiwipes (they dry faster than anything else and really help to mop up condensation in the tent on cold rainy days) bring one group set of extra emergency layers (Ryan provided this, Thank you Ryan!!) and bring first aid supplies for the everyday "emergencies" as well as the serious medical conditions. Be willing to be a little flexible in your itinerary, the weather rules here, as everywhere! Treat smaller problems aggressively before they become bigger ones. Be willing to say that you need help, or can't do something; not the easiest thing to do, but usually the wisest in the end. I did get better in spite of the weather, and overall really enjoyed the trip!

Sorry, double post!!!! Pru, as I sit here back in Cambridge, all dry and comfy, I am so moved and happy to be transported back to our amazing trip... Yes, some of it was hard (ie being quite sick in a tent during a wet cold gale, not really fun at all...) but still most of the trip was simply wonderful, and even the hard parts were meaningful and filled with extraordinary moments. I am glad we had the full range of weather that Alaska has to offer, and I am especially glad that we spent so much of our trip in an area that is still truly quite wild. Thank you Pru for knitting together the threads of our journey. I am still sorting through my pictures, and will eventually add a few to this thread as an appendix. But I think you really captured the essence of this magical place, thanks so much for sharing this with us all! Beth

Pru, as I sit here back in Cambridge, all dry and comfy, I am so moved and happy to be transported back to our amazing trip... Yes, some of it was hard (ie being quite sick in a tent during a wet cold gale, not really fun at all...) but still most of the trip was simply wonderful, and even the hard parts were meaningful and filled with extraordinary moments. I am glad we had the full range of weather that Alaska has to offer, and I am especially glad that we spent so much of our trip in an area that is still truly quite wild. Thank you Pru for knitting together the threads of our journey. I am still sorting through my pictures, and will eventually add a few to this thread as an appendix. But I think you really captured the essence of this magical place, thanks so much for sharing this with us all! Beth

Sounds fantastic, definitely on my bucket list! Thanks for sharing.

Is anyone planning to go to this tomorrow Wed? The weather looks OK, i'm planning to go if anyone else will be there; i need to do a roll or 2, it's been months! Beth

Great trip and a great report, thanks for sharing it with us!

is this trip listed? id be interested!

Welcome Matt! many of us have more than one boat, and we all like to try out different boats, so bring what you have and join the fun! Beth

Yes, I actually pooped out several weeks ago (see above!) I am canoeing in Run of the Charles tomorrow (I originally got my dates mixed up and thought they didn't conflict..) Hope it goes well, sounds like you will have lots of people!

Me too! shopper5002000@yahoo.com Thanks!

Sounds great, wish I could make it!

wish i could go, i'll be canoe training!

WIsh I could be here for the paddle, but i'll be back in July!

Pru, thank you for the terific photos and trip report, your efforts make it easier to "explain" to my friends what I am doing on some of my weekends with you all, and they make my protests of "but wait, we had FUN!" actually sound believable! It was a really special weekend; my first experience with winter kayak camping, but not my last.

Thanks Pru for the wonderful pictures and the fabulous trip report, I really like your version of how we got our butts and boats off the rock and back into and on the water! Next year we should try that... Thanks everyone for a great day. Beth

I'm in for whatever, I do like the Marblehead idea... but I'm game to try whatever looks reasonably reasonable.

Rob, My apologies, something has come up and I am not going to be free this day after all, I'm sorry! If there is anything I can do before the event though to help with logistics, or if you need to borrow anything (like you don't already have it all, but still just in case!) let me know. Sorry to have to poop out on this. Beth

Rob if you need more volunteers for this event I'm happy to assist. Beth