Kayaking - Anyone else love it?

Many years ago, I took a a kayaking trip with some friends on the Chesapeake Bay. It was an amazing experience for me. I loved the freedom I felt on the the water and the ability to go where ever I wanted by just the stroke of my paddle.

I was just out of college and had a bit of freedom to do what I wanted and then, LIFE happened. Full-time job, rent and bills to pay, yeah, that whole chestnut. I never made it back on a kayak again despite always wanting to make it a permanent hobby.

That is until this past spring. My husband bought us both kayaks because he remembered me always talking about how much I loved it.

Four years ago we moved to the country and our property has a beautiful creek that runs along side of it. Perfect for kayaking.

Since then, most of our weekends have consisted of us going to the creek and kayaking, swimming, fishing and cooking out. We are truly blessed.

I feel a sense of complete happiness and contentment when I'm on my kayak. I love the challenge of the currents, the peacefulness of still waters and the over all peace that settles in me while I'm in my "boat" in general. I love everything about it!

Well, the dragging in shallow waters isn't that fun but, I try to look at that as a workout because that's pretty much what it is. lol

My upper body and core strength is insane after all the kayaking I have done this year. It's like working out without hating the workout.

I was just curious to find out if any other members love kayaking as much as I do and maybe hear some of their experiences as well.

a reply to: MagesticEsoteric
Last year I went sea kayaking. I am gutted I discovered it so late in life. It is one of the best things I have ever done. We have a beach that when the tide comes in it is only 6-8ft deep for up to a mile out. It is fantastic.

I love my Kayak, actually it's a hybrid between a canoe and a Kayak made by West Creek.


www.westcreekkayakandcanoe.com...

I mainly use it to get to inaccessible fishing spots. I love fishing the Flats for Specs and Bones or Reds in the Laguna Madre.

My big adventure was in a Foldaboat in the Florida keys with a group of novices and pulling 5 women thru the shallows in their kayaks.

I have had the opportunity to also use a hybrid belly boat/pontoon to float the San Juan and Green...lots of fun and big fish.

ETA....I have yet to experience any white water...

Who are you and why can't I see your name in your name taggy thing that really annoys me it's all black. Anyway back to kayaking ...yes it's a great thing to do. When I was 13 or 14 me and my friends family all kayak down one of the main rivers in our country it was amazingly beautiful as it went through the parts where no one lives big cliffs and a stop to visit the bridge to nowhere. It was an 8 day trip with all our gear shoved in the front and backs of our kayaks it was also the first time I had a smoke of green. Would love to do it again. Have you ever tried sea kayaking.?

Sorry didn't mean to burst your bubble with the name tag thing their are a few other people who have the same unreadable tag it's just nice to know who you are replying to. Perhaps if I was on my iPad instead of phone it would show your name. .. sorry again it's morning here.

a reply to: chewi

I've yet to experience sea kayaking. I imagine it is just as amazing if not more.

For now, I will stick to creeks and rivers. lol

Regardless, kayaking in general is fantastic.

a reply to: olaru12

That is awesome! you can even put a trolling motor on it!

I'm not quite ready for white water yet either. That will take awhile and a bit more training. Plus a sturdy and reliable helmet.

a reply to: Cloudbuster

Never done sea kayaking.

Baby steps I suppose.

No white water either. Not yet anyway. lol

Your trip sounds amazing! We are hoping to do something like that next year.

I love it. When I was a teenager I went on a long trip from Seattle through the San Juans into Canada and back. One of my favorite memories. I want to get back into it but don't want to do it alone. I'm thinking about picking up one of those crappy little sit on tops and ,easing around in the lake nearby.

Yes, we love it. Last year my cousin from Stockholm, who has a kayak there that costs as much as a car, went with us to Aleta Park, inside Miami, and followed the river out to Biscayne Bay. We saw an entire huge school of fish, jump out of the water in synchrony and dive back in, and then again. I never knew a whole school of fish could maintain their position while jumping. I will never, ever forget that sight. And it was only because of kayaking that we saw it.

Yep. Used to do a lot of kayaking but do not seem to have enough time for anything anymore. I still have my kayaks though. One is a professionally made touring/slalom type and the other is called an Olympic because it was a copy of the one that won the 73/74 Olympics. Have had heaps of fun over the years. Last time I went out though the there was a lot of water in the river and I was using someone else's kayak. It was one of those plastic ones which I don't find as responsive as a lighter fibreglass one. At the first white water one of the other guys came out and I beached and ran to help him but slipped on mossy rocks and cut my shin to the bone. Had to spend the next seven hours like that. No problems though. We came across a group of Middle eastern guys who had never been kayaking before and one was literally shaking and trembling with fear in the wild conditions so we arranged for a vehicle to take them down the river or they would have been statistics. Got home and my wife was so angry that we went out in such conditions but every kayaking trip is an adventure of some sort.
We were back out on the water a couple of weeks later.

a reply to: MagesticEsoteric

Love it, as long as I am not in it. I will sit on the hill and watch the water flow, searching for the salmon to jump over the bow!

Me and my rod and a lure for bait, kayaks turn upside down and this I would hate.

When I lived in Belleville, MI, I would kayak all over the lake and the Huron River. The best was in August, the week before the Thunder Over Michigan airshow when the Blue Angels were in town. They'd do a lot of practice and media flights, so it was like a week long show that I could watch from the water.

I haven't been kayaking in a few years though. We're looking to trade our kayaks in for a canoe to accommodate the little ones a bit better now.

originally posted by: Domo1
I love it. When I was a teenager I went on a long trip from Seattle through the San Juans into Canada and back. One of my favorite memories. I want to get back into it but don't want to do it alone. I'm thinking about picking up one of those crappy little sit on tops and ,easing around in the lake nearby.

I say go for it.

It's a hobby of solitude sometimes.

originally posted by: StanFL
Yes, we love it. Last year my cousin from Stockholm, who has a kayak there that costs as much as a car, went with us to Aleta Park, inside Miami, and followed the river out to Biscayne Bay. We saw an entire huge school of fish, jump out of the water in synchrony and dive back in, and then again. I never knew a whole school of fish could maintain their position while jumping. I will never, ever forget that sight. And it was only because of kayaking that we saw it.

Sounds amazing.

That's what I like about kayaking...seeing things you wouldn't normally see.

originally posted by: grumpy64
Yep. Used to do a lot of kayaking but do not seem to have enough time for anything anymore. I still have my kayaks though. One is a professionally made touring/slalom type and the other is called an Olympic because it was a copy of the one that won the 73/74 Olympics. Have had heaps of fun over the years. Last time I went out though the there was a lot of water in the river and I was using someone else's kayak. It was one of those plastic ones which I don't find as responsive as a lighter fibreglass one. At the first white water one of the other guys came out and I beached and ran to help him but slipped on mossy rocks and cut my shin to the bone. Had to spend the next seven hours like that. No problems though. We came across a group of Middle eastern guys who had never been kayaking before and one was literally shaking and trembling with fear in the wild conditions so we arranged for a vehicle to take them down the river or they would have been statistics. Got home and my wife was so angry that we went out in such conditions but every kayaking trip is an adventure of some sort.
We were back out on the water a couple of weeks later.

Sounds like quite an adventure.

a reply to: soulpowertothendegree

Don't knock it til you try it.

It's probably more fun than you think

a reply to: MagesticEsoteric
Long kayaking trips are always an adventure. You get to have fun going down rapids, seeing wildlife and being away from civilisation. I wish we could have had some of those waterproof go-pro type cameras in the early days and gotten some fantastic footage. One thing we noticed was the change in the water levels in the river over a few short years as weather patterns shifted about.

a reply to: MagesticEsoteric
I've never been in one. I've wanted to though. I've been canoeing. My friends and I used to take trips down the Kalamazoo river. Good times.