I finally joined Prairie State Canoeists. It's a family oriented paddling club, centered in Du Page county, but they run trips into surrounding states as well. There is at least one trip every weekend from March into September. Great bunch of people.

My first trip with them was on a familiar stretch of the West Branch of the DuPage. My second trip was on Nippersink Creek in McHenry county. It was a cold day - 40 degrees, solid overcast with a sharp breeze and a threat of rain all day. The water was very cold. I wore all the cold weather gear I had and my hooded, rain overjacket was in the boat in case our luck ran out. It ended up being a very nice day, considering the cold. The rain didn't come until we were driving home.

Six canoes and five kayaks put in at the southwest corner of Glacial Park, on Keystone Road. Most of the run was in the park and was great. The creek was high and quick with only a few strainers. The most interesting was a 14" diamter tree that beavers had felled completely across the creek, which caused most to pull their boats out and around. A few of us lazy types opted to go under. It was a tight fit - I had to push up on the tree to lower my boat the last inch needed to clear. One of the canoe guys bounced his several times to get it under and through.

About half way through the park, we saw dozens of Sand Hill cranes both flying and on the ground. That was pretty cool. Most of the rest of the wildlife was laying low, maybe because of the weather.

Only one person fell in, a guy in a 17' sea kayak hung up on a strainer on a fast corner and flipped trying to get out. He was dressed properly so no harm done, nothing lost. He said the water was very cold.

Because it was so cold, and being in a new boat, I didn't take any pictures - next time. I had ordered a waterproof housing for my still camera, but it didn't arrive 'till the next week. From now on, the camera can hang around my neck or be within arm's reach for quick shots.

This paddle proved most of my cold weather gear choices. The one exception was my paddle pogies. Mine are Dynapogies (no longer made) with soft, flexible cuffs. I discovered that using them with my 0.5mm neo gloves works great as far as warmth goes. But they are too difficult to put on. They're fine once on, but getting them on is a challenge. The first one is easy - pull up the cuff with the other hand. The second one must be pulled up with your teeth. Yuck. I've seen pogies with very stiff cuffs so you can just shove your hands in. But I've decided I really don't care for pogies - I like my hands more free on the paddle and more free to let go, so I'll be getting a pair of thicker neo gloves instead of using 0.5mm under the pogies.

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