The Paddler Autumn/Fall issue 2017

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ThePADDLER muscles. Catch, pressure, rotate, exit. Time, distance, speed. My mind is falling into that abyss of fear, the frustration, the incessant mental smackdown… and with it, draining the precious few positive thoughts left. I am so screwed! Every time I look ahead, Priscilla seems unfazed by the experience, somehow living in a world of fuzzy bunnies only attainable through an enlightenment far greater than any I have achieved in this lifetime or any other. We land in the sheltered bliss of Bixby Cove, sip a some of water and attempt to throw some calories down rather than up. The absence of wind is deafening. The constant pressure, the strain, the wind's howling eddies forming in my ears, the salt spray with each stroke, the chill of sweat and exhaustion… gone. This is a snapshot in time. A molecule of the sublime qualities of being, wordless and lacking definition to the mind. We sit relieved and smiling under the towering concrete cathedral of the Bixby Bridge once again. I am thinking things will get better as we approach our final point, Soberanes. Why I am thinking this is beyond me. The wind is getting worse. With each point we clear, the pressure mounts. The wind is dancing with my paddle blades – teasing and encouraging each blade’s independence from my control. I am no longer the dominant partner. We still have hours to go in deteriorating conditions. Rocky Point comes after a two and a quarter mile slog across one of the most beautiful bays along the coast. Bordered to the east by an iconic bluff extending along Rocky Point, Palo Colorado and Rocky Creek, this bay is often tranquil and is the summation of California's Coastal elegance. Today, I see none of it. I am aware of none of it. We just need to clear our next point. I am paying no attention to our Mother’s beauty. How many of these moments of grace have been lost to my inability to embrace the suck? How do I experience beauty when all I am feeling is exhaustion, frustration and fear. Sixty enlightened moments lost to an unenlightened soul. This stopped being a sightseeing trip a long time ago. The conditions are too rough to enjoy a nearshore paddle. We are trying to shave off every foot we can from every mile just to get off the water sooner. A and B are the only two letters in our alphabet at this point. Mush-mind. The face relaxes and droops slightly, the eyes soften, the body, working at hyperovercapacity over time, begins to move without direction, without notice. The mind conjures fewer thoughts – a string of sentences melts to a string We land in the sheltered and attempt
liss of Bixby Cove, sip a some of water to throw some calories down rather than up ThePADDLER 53
Page 1 and 2: ADDLER ezine The International maga
Page 3 and 4: Issue 38 Autumn/Fall 2017 004 North
Page 5 and 6: ThePADDLER 5 Darren Bason
Page 7 and 8: ssociation of Northern Ireland with
Page 9 and 10: Junior HP Classes. She was also a s
Page 11 and 12: Tamsin Green Tim Thomas Jack Davies
Page 14 and 15: ThePADDLER 14 THE RIDE Story and Ph
Page 16 and 17: ThePADDLER 16 I invited myself. A f
Page 18 and 19: ThePADDLER 18 however, rumour has i
Page 20 and 21: ThePADDLER 20 Testing, Kitvision Im
Page 22 and 23: ThePADDLER 22 Having said that let
Page 24: ThePADDLER 24 Both the Immerse 360
Page 27 and 28: MORE THAN JUST A SPRAY TOP! ROOSTER
Page 29 and 30: ULTRALIGHT KAYAKS award winning des
Page 31 and 32: Osprey Aether AG backpacking rucksa
Page 33 and 34: www.celticpaddles.uk DIRECTORY Cana
Page 36 and 37: ThePADDLER 36 KERNOW G R A N D T O
Page 38 and 39: ThePADDLER Headwinds Fast forward s
Page 40 and 41: ThePADDLER 40 Day three was a slog.
Page 42 and 43: ThePADDLER 42 The morning shadow hi
Page 44 and 45: ThePADDLER 44 The afternoon was tra
Page 46 and 47: ThePADDLER 46 They are relics of te
Page 48 and 49: ThePADDLER 48 S U R F I N G T O BIG
Page 50 and 51: ThePADDLER 50 We were on the water
Page 54 and 55: ThePADDLER 54 I keep an eye on Pris
Page 56 and 57: ThePADDLER 56 I drive home 20 minut
Page 58 and 59: ThePADDLER 58 K A Y A K I N G T H E
Page 60 and 61: ThePADDLER 60
Page 62 and 63: ThePADDLER 62 removed. Prajapati ha
Page 64 and 65: ThePADDLER 64 for a hostile port re
Page 66 and 67: ThePADDLER 66 I’ve just dipped my
Page 68 and 69: ThePADDLER 68 Karnataka The first t
Page 70 and 71: ThePADDLER 70 https://youtu.be/ITLX
Page 72 and 73: ThePADDLER 72 As we slipped past Ke
Page 74 and 75: ThePADDLER 74 W I N T E R C R O S S
Page 76 and 77: ThePADDLER 76 It wasn’t exactly t
Page 78 and 79: ThePADDLER 78 Retrieving my beautif
Page 80 and 81: ThePADDLER 80 I’ve no idea how, b
Page 82: ThePADDLER 82 experienced five days
Page 85 and 86: Day one - Oster-Vingarna A Scandina
Page 87 and 88: looked at, for it had been sounding
Page 89 and 90: Day two - making our way through th
Page 91 and 92: eindeer Osprey Day three - sunset r
Page 93 and 94: the west end of the lake, where the
Page 95 and 96: Day three - evening paddle getting
Page 97 and 98: W E A R E A L L U N I Q U E . W H Y
Page 99 and 100: ThePADDLER 99
Page 101 and 102: On the trail portaging on the Musko
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ThePADDLER 103
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COMPLETE CUSTOM BACKCOUNTRY CANOE T
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Story: Richard Harpham Photos: Ashl
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Arriving at Bear Island canoes. Bef
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Giant tranquil paradise We made lan
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carpeted with so many different spe
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C A N O E | K A Y A K | S T A N D U
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LOCHS ThePADDLER 117
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The graveyard on Isle Maree Explori
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Loch Morar https://goo.gl/maps/WMSR
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SICKLINE 2 0 1 7 By Steffan Meyric
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centimetre short of the level where
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Very nervous Grades are hard for pa
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In the women’s race, Nouria Newma
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Passion for paddlesports? Share you
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T H E E X P L O S I V E H I S T O R
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01479 861 256 www.glenmorelodge.org
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O N T H E TSARAP R I V E R Ian Jone
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The peace and quiet of the high Him
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Tsarap Phuktal Monastery. Photo: Ge
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George Younger, Chilling Rapid, Zan
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To advertise email: ads@thepaddlere
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R - R E V O L U T I O N By Corran A
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Now I’m hardly going to be that g
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Drone images: Yannick Larouche TheP
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Adventure on the Wild Atlantic Way
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ThePADDLER 156 M A K I N G WW
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ThePADDLER 158 After a few choice w
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ThePADDLER 160 I thought that was i
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ThePADDLER 162 The money shot. SUP
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ThePADDLER 164
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ThePADDLER 166 Walking on water The
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ThePADDLER 168 Glenn Eldridge and P
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The Paddler Autumn/Fall issue 2017

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