A cold and windy December 29 was my last day out at 2015. I started at Sunnanå on Lake Vanern and paddled north about 10 km to a friends house. He invited me for coffee and a bit warmth at the open fire.
The wind was fresh at about 12 m/s (23 kn) from SE and the sea was a bit rough outside the islands. It is possible to paddle all the way to Gutvik inshore, but how much fun is that?
I was a bit hesitant to do my normal roll in this weather. -1°C in the air and +1°C in the water (got that from some friends out the day before. And where I did my roll it was ice in the water!
I will try to have some time tomorrow to recapture the kayaking year 2015 here on my blog.
Looks cold
Starting place at Sunnanå. Notice the ice in the water
Approaching Gutvik
My friends country house
My friend Kent is stoking the fire
He made some great coffee (his only skill in the kitchen)
At December 13 every year we have a kind of light festival in Sweden. It is some, mostly girls, with candles in their hair going to schools, offices and nursery homes singing Christmas carols and serving special Christmas buns, ginger bread, warm wine or coffee.
We are some kayaking folks that have a tradition to go kayaking in a small river that day. Last year we were about 12 persons but this year only four. It was a cold Sunday but sunny and calm. The river is called Flian and is the outlet from the lake Hornborgarsjön that is famous for it's many birds.
The start is at Herrtorps Qvarn (a water mill) and paddling up the current to the lake were we take lunch. Thereafter we go back down the current and that only take half the time.
Unfortunately one of us tipped with his kayak and got very wet and cold so he gave up and let the remaining three continue. We missed you Dag! On the way we saw quite a few birds but the most exciting was a kingfisher (Alcedo Attis, kungsfiskare) with it's beautiful metallic blue back.
I was freezing my toes quite a lot when we got back to our cars at Herrtorps Quarn and didn't make any roll this time. Besides the water was rather murky so it was not very nice to do one.
Cold and frosty day. The back of Magnus
The upper part of the river is a bit more open
Lunch break at Horborgarsjön
Peter in his fishing kayak
A view over the shallow lake Hornborgarsjön, known for it's rich bird life.
After four days of storm and rain it was a very nice day today. I just had to take the kayak down to the lake for a trip in the sun.
I started at Dalborgs ruin. It's a ruin of an old castle built 1304 and destroyed 1434 in the civil war called Engelbreksfejden. Then i paddled south along the west coast of Lake Vänern and soon passed the estuary of Dalbergså and the petroglyphs from around 1500 BC. There was just a bit of sea and swell left from the last storm, I was hoping for some more!
Petroglyphs from around 1500 BC
After two hours I took a break at a small beach and had a walk to a nice viewpoint. The view of the lake was gorgeous. Then I paddled back with the setting sun in my back and the low swell almost gone now.
Just as the sun was going down at the treetops I was back at Dalaborg and did my customary roll. Very cold today!
This was my first trip this December and that completes my "Harry year". That is a year where you go kayaking every month. And why it's called a "Harry year"? I have no idea. It's now also 21 months in a row I'm out kayaking.
November 24 was a beautiful monday and we were six friends that were out kayaking this cold day. We started at the parking lot at Yttre Bodane in Dalsland and took a five hours trip on the Lake Vänern. Besides me it was Fredrik, Christer, Björn, Hasse and Göran.
The thermometer showed -6°C and it was a nice frost. Fredrik was already in place as he had stayed the night in his tent at the parking lot.
We took our kayaks out to the wooden jetty and put them in the water. All dressed up warm in our drysuits, gloves and hats. But the sun didn't manage to warm us any but paddling against the wind was a bit hard so it got us all pretty warm.
Soon it was coffee time but we didn't sit very long on the cold stones. We had a nice pace among the many islands and tried some passages that were covered in ice, but it was to thick to brake in places. 2-3 centimeters thick, maybe.
On the north end of Rotön we stopped for lunch but the sun was on the way down all to soon so we kept that stop a bit short as well. A very nice paddling towards the sunset on the way back and the wind was decreasing to almost calm weather.
I have had many posts from Yttre Bodane, my favorite place, and this was one of the more memorable trips. A really great day with good friends.
I will later update the post with a video, one that is a bit longer than the ones I usually make Updated now!. And even on this cold day I did my roll. To see it, watch the video!
Morning at the parking lot at Yttre Bodane. Christer is walking past Fredrik's tent
One of many foot-bridges at Yttre Bodane
The small jetty, special built for kayaks and canoes.
Björn, Christer & Fredrik
Hasse
Coffee break. An important part of the trip
Some passages were not possible to pass due to ice. This one was OK.
Low water level as shown on this beautiful rock. See the icicles?
Today it was only a short trip on the Lake Vänern for three hours. I waited until about 11 AM for the temperature to rise a bit. The air temperature was about -1°C and in the water 5°C.
A few boats are still in the water at Sunnanå marina but most of them are out of the water now. I saw one guy with his boat out fishing, a tough dude :) But the real tough ones are out kayaking!
And my customary roll was done at the end of the trip. It's getting cold to do that now.
The photos show what nice blue colors it was today and don't miss the movie at the end of the post.
Today we had the first snow flakes in my part of Sweden. A bit late in the season but I don't mind :)
Hopefully there will be some kayaking in the weekend and I will write a bit about my experience with winter paddling and what gear I use. First out will be how I protect my hands from cold water and icy winds.
February 2015
I have during many years mostly used pogies made of nylon and with a "silver" lining. I have tried with mitts and gloves made of neoprene as well.
Before it has not been a big problem as I was hardly ever freezing my hands. But as I have lost a lot of weight and have less body fat my hands are almost always cold. To be able to continue kayaking all trough the winter I have to do some experimenting and testing.
Neoprene gloves
Here are some of my gear for protecting my hands.
Kanuk nylon Pogies
NRS neoprene mitts
From the top:
Neoprene gloves. Works when it is not to cold. These are rather thin and a bit to tight. I sometimes use them when hiking in wet weather also. Price: 300 SEK or US$ 35.
Neoprene mitts from NRS. Warmer then the gloves but very awkward to use. It is easy to put on the first, but to put on the second one is very hard, especially sitting in a kayak. To put them on before entering the kayak it's impossible to fasten the spray hood. And to use a camera? Forget it! Never use them. Price: 450 SEK or US$ 50.
Then it's my well used pogies from Kanuk. Easy to fasten on the paddle shaft, very easy to enter the hand into and normally warm enough. I think the reflecting silver lining is helping to keep some warmth. Price: 300S EK or US$ 35.
Next ones are the blue gloves from GUIDE made of latex. I have not used them yet but together with pogies I think the will work out well. It is possible to have some fleece gloves as a lining inside them if its very cold. This is a cheap alternative that I have used on ships in the Baltic during winter with good result. Price: 60 SEK or US$ 7.
And last the neoprene pogies from Paddler that I use mostly nowadys. Very easy to enter and warmer than the ones made of nylon. Also easy to fasten with snap buttons rather than with velcro that the Kanuk ones use. How that will work when the water is freezing I have to test this winter. Price: 420 SEK or US$ 48.
GUIDE latex gloves
My experiences with pogies are that they work best with a short sleeve and that the material is stiff enough to keep them open when the hands are out of the pogies. I have seen some with a draw-string and do not recommend that type.
The best thing with pogies is that your hands are gripping the paddle with no material between the skin and the paddle shaft that can make you lose the feeling of the paddle or cause the grip to slip.
I have not tested the Snap Dragon Hyper Hands that are supposed to be very warm and are recommended in forums and reviews.
Paddler neoprene pogies
Paddling often makes me warm and unless it's windy my hands stays somewhat warm as well. But it's when going ashore for a break I freeze the most. Then the very warm mitts made of wool felt from Edvardson that helps me keep warm.
Testing my Paddler neoprene pogies for the first time. Warm and works well when rolling.
I have been busy with work and other training besides kayaking lately. But I have been out a few times anyway.
First it was close to home with a trip from Sunnanå to Köpmannebro and back with a friend. A very nice day with calm weather most of the day. We saw a few sea eagles, a raven and some seabirds. That is always nice.
Then on the 11th I was out with two friends on a more windy, but sunny, day from Donslund (Rackeby) north of Lidköping. We went straight outside the islands to surf some nice sea for a bit before going inside to have a lee for some lunch and not to have to paddle against to much wind on the way back.
Look at the video at the end of the post from that day.
And I have a new camera! My old GoPro was not working very well and I sent it in to the shop (Dustin) for repairs or replacement. Even if it was two years old they replaced my old Hero 3 with a Hero 4 Silver. That is an amazing camera! Better battery time than my old one and and a touch screen on the backside. Unfortunately the batteries for the old camera didn't fit so I had to buy some extra. I will now make some more videos when I'm out kayaking or hiking.
Nice sunny November day. Sunnanå in the background
So, I'm back again at Yttre Bodane at Lake Vänern. I started on a bleak Saturday with some drizzle. After being indoors a lot last week it was anyway nice to come out and in my kayak. I didn't go very far, maybe only for two hours before setting up my tent. No hammock this time.
I built a small place to make a fire (stones and dirt at bottom to protect the cliff) to put the kettle on. Tea and and apple before unpacking the rest of my gear. This was also an opportunity to test my new sleeping bag. It's a special ordered down filled sleeping bag from Roberts' Outdoors in Poland. It's the Explorer 1000, M+/W with 750 cuin fill with goose down. And it is warm! This night was not a cold night, so most of the night I had to have the zipper open until early morning when it was clearing up outside and getting a bit colder. Then I closed the zipper and it was very warm and very cosy. The bag is a bit big but it fits in one of my watertight compression bags which is nice. Takes a bit of space in my kayak but I managed to get all my stuff for a night outdoors into my Anas Acuta anyway.
Some nice hotdogs on the fire, more tea and simple quesadillas made on a flat rock on the fire, at the end of the day. In bed early in my luxury sleeping bag and after some hours reading I fell asleep.
Next morning I got an extra hour due to the end of "daylight saving time". The weather was clear, very windy and a bit cold. I made breakfast and broke camp in a slow way to let my tent dry in the morning sun. I took a small detour on my way back against an increasing wind to practise my paddle stroke a bit. The last part was with some nice sea and surf. I ended my trip with my customary roll. See the video at the end of this post.
Starting from the small wooden jetty special for canoes and kayaks
