Great Outdoor Blog

Hadley, from the North Raleigh shop, sent in this sweet action pic from a fall round at Cedar Hills disc golf course.

» Check out our Disc Golf Page and see more at your local shop

Bill Mauney, Great Outdoor Provision Co.

UPDATE: Check out Bittu’s follow up: “Paddling Clothing Systems for Cold Water“ 

It’s a beautiful day in early spring. The air temperature, in the low 60s, feels downright balmy after the frigid weather of the past few months. However, that water is still quite cold. I know you are not planning on getting wet, but capsizes can occur even in the most benign conditions.

Here is the sequence of events that might occur if you accidentally capsize and are not adequately dressed for immersion. As you and your kayak turn 90 degrees, your ear slaps the cold water. If the water hits your tympanic membrane (ear drum) you will become disoriented, not knowing which way is up. Making an Eskimo roll will be difficult, if not impossible. Once your body begins immersion, the gasp reflex kicks in and you may suck in a lung full of water. When you and your kayak turn to 180 degrees, cold water can be forced up your nose by the water pressure and may render you unconscious. Your ability to hold your breath is drastically reduced which would make setting up for a roll or wet exit problematic. Assuming that you are not totally debilitated at this point and you are able to wet exit and get to the surface, you will be hyperventilating. Add that to your already panic state and you lose your ability to control your breathing. The colder the water, the harder it is to maintain control. The hyperventilation can lead to alkalosis which diminishes blood flow to the brain resulting in confusion, dizziness, and possible loss of consciousness. A tingling and numbness in the hands and feet begins. This could lead to severe cramping in your arms and legs. You lose your ability to synchronize your breathing which makes swimming in waves difficult. Panic sets in because your eyes are close to the waterline and all you can see is waves and sky (Where is my kayak?) Pain, claustrophobia, disorientation, and breathlessness increases panic in an already dangerous situation. All of the above symptoms are the result of cold water shock.

If you manage to recover from your capsize and reenter your kayak, hypothermia becomes a serious problem as you are soaking wet and the wind is blowing across your body. At this point, you are losing body heat to the environment faster than your body can produce it resulting is a drop of your core body temperature. This begins the slippery slope of hypothermia. Both cold water shock, which can lead to drowning, and hypothermia are killers of the unprepared paddler.

If you are adequately dressed and prepared for cold water immersion, your accidental capsize is no more than an opportunity to practice your rolling or wet exit and capsize recovery skills.

So, what is cold water? The US Coast Guard considers water below 70 degrees F to warrant protection against hypothermia. Below 55 degrees F is a significant danger. As the temperature falls the intensity of cold water shock increases exponentially from painful to excruciating. When your body is immersed, water penetrates your clothing quickly due to water pressure. You skin is then in direct contact with the water. Cold water conducts heat away from your body 25 times faster than air.

Try this. Fill up the kitchen sink with water and ice. Stick one hand underwater and time how many seconds you can remain immersed. Notice the pain. Now stick the other hand underwater and move it around like you are treading water. Note how many seconds you can do this. Notice the pain. Now imagine your whole body totally immersed in this water. Yikes! After a minute or two immersed try to pick up a coin from the bottom of the sink. Now imagine the difficulty of using your fine motor skills when totally immersed in cold water.

Proper clothing minimizes or eliminates the effects of cold water shock by protecting your skin from direct contact with the water. This buys you time to perform a capsize recovery and continue on your paddling adventure. How much time depends on the temperature of the water, your body type, personal fitness, water movement, your movement in the water and the amount of thermal protections offered by your clothing.

The best clothing system for cold water paddling is a full drysuit. A Gore-Tex version is best because it is breathable and therefore more comfortable when you are active. Drysuits keep you dry, but the warmth comes from proper insulation worn underneath such as wicking underwear next to the skin and fleece top and bottom or one piece suit. Insulation thickness can be varied for differing water temperatures. Drysuits with built in socks can be insulated with fleece socks and a neoprene bootie or mukluk worn on the outside for added insulation and foot/drysuit protection.. A relief zipper for men or a drop down seat for women make answering the call of nature easier without having to totally remove the drysuit.

Although not as good as a drysuit, a wetsuit can be used. Most paddlers prefer a “Farmer John/Jane” version without sleeves to prevent underarm chaffing. Wearing a fleece top and a dry top paddling jacket protects the torso. Non dry top jacket arms can load up with water when immersed. The weight of the water in the arms makes swimming and capsize recovery difficult. Neoprene booties are worn on the feet. The negative of neoprene is the evaporative and convective heat loss once the suit is wet and exposed to the wind.

In either system, the head need protection. A windproof fleece hat may suffice in less extreme conditions. When the water is colder, a full neoprene or “fuzzy rubber” hood is desirable that covers your head and your neck where most heat is loss. Neoprene hoods for divers come in various thicknesses. High end drysuits also have attached hoods for wind and rain.
Also, in either system, the hands need protecting as you found out in the kitchen sink experience. Neoprene paddling gloves, sewn in a pre-curved position, are available in a range of protection thicknesses. Poggies (waterproof/windproof mittens) that attach by Velcro to your paddle shaft are great to prevent evaporative and convective heat loss from your gloves. Some folks only use poggies, but this is not recommended because if you must let go of your paddle during a capsize recovery, you will have cold “potato hands” that won’t be able to function.

A nose clip can be worn to prevent cold water from shooting up your nose when immersed upside down.

How do I know if my clothing protection system actually works? In a safe, well protected, waist deep area with a “life guard” nearby, go for a test swim. Leaks or gaps in your system will become apparent quickly. The amount of time you can stay immersed and remain reasonably comfortable will give you some idea of how much time your system will buy you. If your system fails, a change of clothes, a nearby warm car and a thermos with a warm drink should be welcomed.

Hey, but didn’t you say that it was a balmy day? Won’t I overheat? You need to stay hydrated anytime you are participating in paddlesports. If you start to warm up, just get wet. Hey, remember it is a water sport. Wetting your head, neck, torso or wrists promotes evaporative heat loss. If that doesn’t work you can practice “rotary cooling” by practicing your roll or you could swim and practice capsize recovery. Kayaking is a water sport, so enjoy the water, don’t avoid it.

This article is meant to be an introduction to cold water paddling, not a definitive work on the subject. For more information, may I suggest the following links:

http://www.enter.net/~skimmer/coldwater.html
http://www.atlantickayaktours.com/pages/expertcenter/main-expert-center.shtml

On the last link under “Safety Skills” checkout the sections entitled “Coldwater Safety” and “How to Dress”. Just because the temperature drops it does not mean that your paddling season is over. You just need to be prepared for the unexpected.

My many thanks to Chuck Sutherland and Moulton Avery who taught me about cold water shock and hypothermia as my instructors in an ACA sea kayak instructor course some twenty years ago.

Happy Paddling!
Bill Mauney
Great Outdoor Provision Co.

Rudy Hayden, Charlotte Manager

Rudy and a nice Brown (photo courtesy of Caleb)

I had the distinct pleasure to go fishing on the Davidson River near Brevard, NC with Caleb Boyle. Caleb was recently selected to join the ranks of the youth world fly-fishing team. He traveled to Penacova, Portugal this past August to compete in the championships.

I met Caleb a few years ago while working at Great Outdoor Provision Co. as he often came in to purchase select fly-tying materials and share his fishing experience and knowledge. Not only is Caleb a skilled fisherman but an award winning fly-tyer. His flies and writing have been featured in several issues of Fly Tier and once were showcased for sale at the GOPC in Charlotte, NC.

Finally, I had the opportunity to go fishing with Caleb. We chose to hit the Davidson river, one of Caleb’s favorite catch and release streams located about 2.5 hours from Charlotte, NC. We geared up for a chilly November day and talked of different fishing tactics and feeding properties on this particular river.

Caleb graciously handed me a flybox packed full of hand tied special nymph (subsurface) midges. My eyes widened and I picked some colorful options in the size 20 to 24 range for the classic “slack” water section just beyond the parking at the fish hatchery.

Being out of practice and my feet slow to warm I experimented with different strike indicator options and midges until I had my first hook-up. Game was on for some healthy size trout feeding in this particular stretch of river. I was using a special “competition” indicator rig that Caleb showed me and tied two tiny simple little midges on 7x flourocarbon tippet. Skunk was soon gone and I was getting into the rythm. Indeed, it was going to be a good day on the water!

School was in session as Caleb and Carl had several more hookups and landings. I attentively listened and watched for any tips and tricks I could put to immediate use . Several more hookups and a few breakoffs from larger fish and my heartrate was beginning to rise. Game on!

I cruised upstream to explore some other holes but not near the success I had in the slower moving water. The water was low and fast; the wind blistering it’s way down river to make casting and obtaining a drag-free drift far more difficult. I cruised to the car for some refreshments before heading back to the slack water where all those pigs were penned up. I came back and found Carl and Caleb still slaying the fish. They weren’t having to force feed these fish.

I cleaned up my leader and tied on two different flies in anticipation for some heavy hitters. Before I knew it, my line was tight. The bright red colors flashed and I knew I was going to need n’ hold on. I called Caleb over for some backup and hopefully a potential net. This gorgeous rainbow jumped but it was more like the breaching of a whale. This was by far the largest trout I had ever hooked into. I was ecstatic and proceeded to do my best at playing this tough, frightful fish.

Caleb saw the jump and shouted “Carl, you’ve gotta come and see this fish”. Before I knew it the fish headed for cover and broke me off. I could have screamed like I normally do when I loose big fish. Instead, I looked at Caleb and we both grinned. I tied on another midge and when back after him. Hint: use slightly larger tippet (6x) next time when going for large trout.

To no avail I was very content to pack up the gear and head home. Caleb ended the day on a great note pulling in a great size bow. A perfect way to end the day. It was a spectacular day of winter fishin’ and got me excited to tie some up and go back after ‘em.

John Flowers, Greensboro Staff

Going to Virginia to do anything is a joy. The Virginia Parks and Rec have done wonders developing their state. NC could learn from them. Chippokes Plantation State Park was our camp spot. We had a group site which was clean and roomy. I brought the giant tarp so we stayed high and dry no matter what the elements brought to us.

Friday morning we went over to Jamestown Island on the free ferry from Surry, Va. The put in was a swim beach with great parking just after getting off the ferry. Since the water was about 60 degrees there were no swimmers to impede our progress. We had to go under the bridge to the ferry which was concrete. We launched on high tide to I really had to lay on the deck of my boat to squeeze under the bridge, whew! It was tight for me.

A short paddle away were the replica ships of Jamestown. We paddled behind the jetty and paddled right up to the boats. Tours were going on while we paddled around and took pictures of each other. We then proceeded to paddle Sandy Bay. This is involves going through a small opening under a bridge. Sandy Bay leads to Back River which takes you around the back side of Jamestown Island. The Back River opens into The Thorofare which then takes you around the east side and into the James river side of Jamestown Island.

We encountered a stiff wind, at this time, so we took our lunch break on Jamestown Island hoping the wind would abate. After lunch we launched and paddled back out to observe The Thorofare was a wind swept maelstrom.

Looking across the bay we spotted a concrete bridge which on the map revealed Mill Creek, a protected waterway, ripe for exploration without whitecaps and waves crashing over the bow of the boats.

The paddle over to Mill Creek will be remembered by all. The waves came in sets, just like at sea. These waves were driven mainly by the wind. The boats and paddlers all proved their mettle and all made it safe to the shelter of the bridge to Mill Creek. I asked Rick how far the waves came up on his boat. He replied theycame all the way up to his cockpit. Hope said she held her breath for at least 5 minutes, during the crossing. I thought my boat was dipping into the waves with waves coming up the front hatch. It was all fun, none-the-less, and we all rather enjoyed the challenge.

The paddle under this bridge offered at look at a tidal current which was running nicely under the bridge. We cut our kayaks into the current and paddled through and into Mill Creek. This proved to be a lovely interlude, provided views, an old wooden ships ribs portruding from the creek, and finally, toward the end, some lovely homes with nice yachts moored in front of them.

We paddled back to the bridge and took a break on a nice landing before heading back out. Heading back out we decided to go ahead and go out into the James, wind and all set on cirmcumnavigating the island. We rounded Biset Point and discovered the shoreline to be lined with riprap.

The wind was still giving us a go so we took a chance and cut into Passmore Creek, at Cal’s suggestion, praying that it came out into the James again and that it did not dead end somewhere before reaching the James. Passmore proved to be another smooth paddle with twist and turns but no wind nor waves. It did come out into the James River as we had hoped. There was a welcome sandbar on the right which we took advantage of with a deserved respite before paddling back out into the bigger water and the paddle back down the James, past the settlement of Jamestown, then the ships, then the bridge, and then the beach where our cars were parked.

The launch back out proved to a rather fun paddle with a break from the strong winds. There was a breeze, now, but nothing like we had experienced earlier.

There was a constant rythym of swells from the river proper as the ferries made their runs and container ships plied the channel of the James. Tourist waved from the settlement at us as we passed by and of course we all waved back.

Paddling back we discovered the tide had gone out and the paddle under the bridge was made with room to spare. We loaded up and took the ferry back to Surry and then Chippokes for the evening.

A great video overview of several Yakima Vehicle Rack Solutions: Big Stack, BowDown, Classic Box Series, DoubleDown, King Cobra, Mako Aero Saddles, Hully Rollers, ShowBoat & SkyBox.

Fall Chill: Tunes, Toads & Brews - Sat, Nov 22

Join the Great Outdoor crew in downtown Winston-Salem for an evening of FREE fun! Enter a drawing for a chance to win Horny Toad outdoor apparel, enjoy some light finger foods, and then stick around for live bluegrass with No Strings Attached!

8pm social / 10:30pm tunes - Foothill’s Brewing, Winston-Salem, NC

Check out the video below to better understand the Horny Toad mantra:

every day is an adventure

This November, get riled up and join the Rampage down at TRC. This is another infamous Bouldering Comp at TRC, but we’ve upped the ante and made this an American Bouldering Series (ABS) event with CASH PRIZES. With various competition levels, it’s time to come and get some! Competition levels include: Junior, Youth, Recreational, Intermediate, Advanced, Open, and Masters.

Registration and climber check-in starts at 10 AM on November 15th.
Competition climbing from 12 to 4, open finals at 5 PM.

» MORE INFO

Impress everyone with these delicious holiday recipes from Chuck’s mom. Everyone in our office can attest to her incredible cooking skills!

Ace’s Oyster Dressing

• 3 cups cornbread
• l loaf French bread, cubed and dried in over, crumble
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• l large onion, chopped
• l lb. English walnuts, chopped
• l lb. fresh chestnuts (if available) water chestnuts may be substituted, chopped
• l lb. mushrooms
• 2 cans cream chicken soup
• 2 pints fresh oysters
• l fresh bunch parsley, chopped
• l Tbsp. sage
• salt and pepper as desired
• red pepper, as desired

Mix all above ingredients. This makes a loose dressing.  Stuff turkey lightly and  squirt some broth in cavity on dressing. Dressing needs to be moist if baking. If not stuffing turkey the dressing may be baked in a well greased 9+l3 pan at 425 degrees for about 25 to 35 minutes, do not over bake. This dressing freezes  well.

Ace’s Giblet Gravy

• Wings, neck, giblets (except liver) from turkey
• l onion, quartered
• l clove garlic
• 4 thyme branches
• 8 parsley stems
• salt and pepper
• hot pepper
• 1 and 1/2 quarts homemade chicken or turkey stock, in a pinch canned may be used, plus 2 cups water
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 1/3 cup plain flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 or 3 hard-cooked peeled eggs

Cook above ingredients (except butter, milk, flour and eggs) in a large soup kettle until meat is tender. Drain off stock and reserve. Remove meat from bones, cut in small pieces. Remove gristle from gizzard, then dice gizzard and heart. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium low heat. Vigorously whisk in flour. (The roux will froth and then thin out again. Cook slowly until slightly browned.  Return turkey broth (2 cups) to sauce pan, stirring constantly.  Add milk and bring to a boil.  If gravy is not thick as desired mix l/3 to l/2 cup flour with some cooled broth and add slowly to sauce pan until desired thickened is obtained. More broth may be used if more gravy is desired, and more flour-mix to thicken it. Add all giblets and heat thoroughly. Hard cooked chopped eggs may be added to the gravy.  Adjust seasoning as desired.

Just in from SmartCommute:

Tell us how you’re commuting and you could win $100!

It’s been 6 months since the 2008 SmartCommute Challenge, and we want to evaluate its impact. Please take just a few minutes to tell us how you’re commuting today.

Everyone who takes this short survey by Thanksgiving Day gets a chance to win a $100 gift card. Your answers will help us improve the Challenge and transportation in the Triangle.

Click Here! We want to hear from you!

For those of you who admire the versatility of the Leatherman but are looking for something of a slightly different build and feel, Gerber’s new line of Multi-Tools are among the best alternative options in the outdoor retailing universe.

The Gerber Freehand Tool (1), weighing in at 13.6 ounces, is one of the heavier Multi-Tools available at Great Outdoor Provision Co. The Gerber website classifies the Freehand as a “heavy duty” Multi-Tool, a description I found to be quite apt. The assorted tools all have a “Saf-T Plus” locking system. Features of the Freehand include: screwdrivers (Phillips head and flathead) two blades (one fine edge, one serrated edge) and an “Industrial flathead screwdriver with a ruler.” Additionally, you get the standard pair of pliers and “V-cut wire cutters.” Rugged and durable, the Freehand performs well in almost any situation – and has the tools to boot. Price: $89.95

The Gerber website maintains that “the Gerber Multi-Plier 600 Series (2, Pro Scout Model) is simply the best multi-function tool available today” – and, considering the quality of the build and the number of features, this statement is not an overstatement. Equipped with a pair of scissors capable of cutting through “all braided fishing line as well as light wire,” the Pro Scout Model is well equipped for any fishing excursion. A “carbide coated sharpener for fish hooks” rounds out this fisherman’s dream Multi-Tool. Price: $64.95

My first impression of the Gerber Flik (3) was its size: compact while maintaining the physical integrity expected of a Gerber Multi-Tool. The Flik is small enough to fit in the palm of my hand with space left over – the entire contraption is a mere 5.8 inches when open, and all of 4.4 inches when folded! But don’t let the size fool you – this Multi-Tool consists of ten features in addition to the standard pair of pliers. Of particular interest is the unique combination of pliers, “outboard tools” including two flathead screwdrivers, and a wicked saw. Price: $59.95

The Gerber Suspension Tool (4), more than any other Multi-Tool I reviewed, represents a break from the “status-quo”: the spring-loaded jaws, available exclusively in the Suspension model, permit an astounding degree of flexibility and controllability. Features of the Gerber Suspension include several blades (one fine-edged, the other serrated), a saw, a Phillips head screwdriver, a pair of flathead screwdrivers, a bottle opener, and a can opener. Price: $ 34.95

Having already examined several of the Gerber Multi-Tools, the Suspension model was examined with a stronger degree of familiarity. But if there is one common thread that connects the four Multi-Tool models reviewed here, it is their versatility and their unique ability to surprise. Each tool possesses a wide array of trinkets, ensuring a model for nearly every taste. Stop by your local shop to check them out.

T. Fielder Valone