Paddle At The Point - Click Here For More Information

On Saturday June 5th, Robbin and I plan to be part of an attempt to set a Guinness World's Record for the largest paddling flotilla of kayaks and canoes. This record setting attempt is included as part of Pittsburgh's World Environmental Day Celebration. The current record is 1,104 canoes and kayaks, but Venture Outdoors is trying to register 1500 boats to create a record that will last. So far there are over 1,300 registered so they're well on their way. We're looking forward to it. It should be really cool to see that many boats in the same place at the same time. I hope the weather cooperates.

Kiski River - Saltsburg To Roaring Run - 5/8/2010

This was my first trip of the season as part of the "Pittsburgh Kayakers" Meet-Up group. Unfortunately I had a time limit and couldn't stop at the Avonmore launch area for brunch or be there for dinner and a campfire along the river at the end of the trip. The next time I'll schedule my time a little better because it seemed like a great group.

I got to Saltsburg a little early so I paddled around for a while to warm up and kill some time. It didn't take too long to realize that this trip was going to be a workout. The river level was up a little higher than normal creating some great class 2 areas. Also, a strong, constant headwind, that gusted to 50 mph, was blowing upstream. Those conditions combined to create a rough, choppy water surface in places, that broke over the front of my kayak and landed in my lap.

This was the last time I was completely dry. As you can see, my Fusion has a pretty low profile and a large cockpit opening which doesn't make it very class 2 friendly. Seals makes a custom order spray skirt for this kayak. One of these days I'll quit talking about it and just order it. My NRS gear did it's job though. Even with the steady wind, air temps in the lower 50's, and that much water hitting me, I stayed warm. In all honesty though, I probably could have stayed a lot drier if those big riffles weren't so tempting. I'm hoping to run into those same conditions sometime when the air temperature is around 80.

** Distance traveled - 14.5 miles. **




This is the only quick shot I got of any of the riffles.

The same area 2 weeks earlier.




I took shelter behind this big rock to get out of the wind for a while and have a snack.


Remnants of the PA Main Canal Line.


I've been past here several times now and still can't figure out how they got this down here.


I don't know what kind of tree this is, but I admire it every time I paddle past it.

Roaring Run Trail - 4/25/2010

Robbin and I decided to trade water trails for a walking trail this past Sunday(4/25). After church we headed to Roaring Run Trail for a nice walk to see if the mountain laurels were in bloom yet. Roaring Run Trail is built on a former railroad grade that follows the Kiski River. During the 1800's, and before the railroad, this section of trail was part of the PA Main Line Canal. The canal ran from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg following various rivers. This trail has an interesting history. You can get more information by clicking on the title of this post, to go to the Roaring Run website. There is also an easily accessible kayak/canoe launch area at the trailhead...just thought I'd throw that in since this is a kayak blog.

Scenes From Roaring Run
There are a lot of pictures here because there's a lot of beautiful spots on and around the trail. This is only a tiny portion of what there is to see.












Our Alaskan Husky, Gabe, who passed in July of 2008, loved this spot. There is a deep pool under this large rock that he swam in. This place is very special to Robbin and I. We call it Gabe's Pool. It's off of Rock Furnace Trail where the mountain bike trail crosses the creek.


This creek is Roaring Run.






This is where Roaring Run empties into the Kiski River.


The trail foot bridge that crosses Roaring Run Creek.


This is Rock Furnace Trail. It is a side trail that parallels Roaring Run Creek.








In memory of our buddy "Gabe", who loved Roaring Run as much as we do.

Crooked Creek 4/23/2010 - Finally Some Green!!

I finished up a job around lunch time on Friday the 23rd and decided to take advantage of the remainder of a beautiful, warm, sunny day by getting my kayak on the water. I decided on Crooked Creek because it's the closest body of water to my home that I can put in and take out at the same spot. I had also been wanting to see how far up the inflow creek I could paddle before it got too shallow to continue. The water level was back to normal and the leaves are out on the trees around here. It was really was nice to finally see some green again.








This guy was really not very happy with me. I cut him off from his buddies on the opposite bank and I took entirely to long taking his picture.






The end of the road.

* Check out the trip details in the Track Log section of the blog.

Yellow Creek State Park - 4/10/2010

Yellow Creek State Park was another lake that I'd heard about and wanted to try, but knew nothing about. I was surprised by the size of it. It's a large, open lake with a lot of smaller coves to explore. The weather was sunny and cold, but very windy the day I was there. The wind whipping across the lake created some pretty rough conditions that, at times, tested the limitations of my 10 foot Fusion kayak. I was tossed around like a cork while crossing some of the larger expanses and was really wishing I would have gotten that spray skirt I had my eye on. Most of the time it's nice having such a large cockpit opening, but this wasn't one of them. Yellow Creek is a beautiful place though and I really enjoyed my day paddling there. The coves and creeks were sheltered and calm, and the rough water of the lake made for a great core workout.

Yellow Creek

Little Yellow Creek

* The park is named for Yellow and Little Yellow creeks, which create the lake. The creeks have lots of yellow clay in the banks and bottoms.









My Garmin track log for this trip can be found in the Track Log section.