Perhaps activating this blog means I can no longer chicken out. There are plenty of monkeys (expression used to connote the multitude of voices in my head telling me that I am nuts, etc) acting on my psyche but with this blog, although not stilling them, my commitment is open to scrutiny and my resolve better be up to the task.
The task is to paddle across Canada for 131 days from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta to L'Ilse-aux Grues, Quebec (salt water for one) from May 19 to October 4, 2012. If you try to do the math you will come up 7 days short, which I will use to fly back to Vancouver (from North Bay, Ontario) for purposes of my son's wedding to Vanessa Burdett on September 15.
My purpose is to raise funds for my deceased son's foundation, the Strachan Hartley Legacy Foundation, all the while paddling the route used by fur traders to open up this land to immigration and commerce.
Sunday February 12 was my first training day on the water. I paddled my kayak on Maple Bay, Vancouver Island, BC for two hours. The temperature was 7 C and there was only a light wind out of the SE. While I have been doing plenty of dry land training, it was good to get my kayak on the water again, smell the salt air, feel the movement of the water, and glide along the shore.
ReplyDeleteI have 3 months to build up my technique, endurance and stamina. Actually, as I can only paddle on weekends, I effectively have 26 paddling opportunities. I need to build up steadily but without sustaining injury. Focus will be on paddling from my core with a minimum use of arms and wrist. Inflamation in the wrist and / or elbow would be a sign of poor techinique and to be avoided so as not to become chronic. Even as I build up my capacity I will have to plan to take regular days off during my trip so as not to be come subject to a repetitive stress type of injury.
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