Paddle 2.0 ?

[Steve-o]

Hey there,
I thought I'd throw this out there, to give people pleanty of time to plan, as the last outing, was on short notice.

If I could just quote SherpaK,
" This should become, at the very least, a monthly full moon activity."

Well, I don't know about this month. Full moon is on Sat. June 30th, The weekend before the 4th. So I realize, the first week in July, might be tough.

How's the last week in June sound?
I'm going regardless. So feel free to chime in if you're up for a paddle.

Location: ? I could make some suggestions, but, I'm all ears.
It might be nice to be somewhat central, to accomodate those comming down from NH, and those comming up from the s. shore & CT.
( Nashua River ? ) Also,
It would be good to nail down a location.( We have 3 weeks ).

Time: ? I would suggest waiting until a week before, to get the long-range forecast. ( put-in somewhere, around 6. (Should leave about 3 hrs. of daylight)
I have an extra Kayak I can bring, for those who have no ride, But no PFD.

Steve-o

 

[SherpaKroto]

I should be able to make it.

 

[KayakDan]

Weekend before July 4 is out for us. We're helping to lead an Outdoor Explorations kayak trip on Squam.
Nashua river is a nice paddle,but a bit of a distance for some(Pepperell).
Consider Lake Cochituate(Natick). The North side is quiet,plenty of parking,port a potty,and the John Harvard Ale House is just down the street!
The put in is a bit snug,but no problem.

Consider also VFTT Paddle 2.0 and Barbecue Extravaganza! Bring those lawn chairs and steaks! Cochituate North lake would be good for this.

I promise to do a variety of "silly kayak tricks" (before eating of course!)

 

[Carmel]

i might be in on this...

sounds like a great time!!! i will need to get more details!

 

[Steve-o]

I'm penciling in Tuesday June 26th.
Cochituate, in Natick Ma. is fine with me, but, open to other suggestions.
Anyone else feel like going for a paddle?

 

[SherpaKroto]

I'll be there ,though it's a bit farther than the last time... I'll need good directions to get there by 6:00.

 

[poison ivy]

I'm going to try to be there -- depends on whether I have any evening assignments at work.

- Ivy

 

[Fitz]

I should be able to make it.

But as mentioned by Sherpa above, I will need good directions and some luck with traffic to get there by 6PM.

 

[DougPaul]

I might be interested if I can borrow Steve-o's boat.

I have a PFD, just no boat or paddle...

Might also need some help getting in and out of the boat (unless I have to wet exit--I'll bet I can do that all on my own... )

There is a slight chance a friend might come with a boat for me.

Doug

 

[Steve-o]

I might be interested if I can borrow Steve-o's boat.

I have a PFD, just no boat or paddle...

Might also need some help getting in and out of the boat (unless I have to wet exit--I'll bet I can do that all on my own... )

There is a slight chance a friend might come with a boat for me.

Doug

Doug,
I will bring my extra yak/paddle if your friend falls through.
Let me know.
Also, all the help you need.

 

[KayakDan]

Directions to Cochituate.
Park Directions
Cochituate State Park is located in the greater Boston area in eastern Massachusetts.
From East or West: Massachusetts Turnpike (Rte. I-90) to exit 13, Rte. 30 east. Park is on the right.

From Mass Pike: Take the Mass Turnpike (Rt. I-90) to Exit 13 to Rt. 30 East. The park is ½ mile down on the on the right.

From Route 9: Follow Route 9 East or West to the Speen Street exit in Framingham. Go North on Speen Street. Follow Speen Street for 1 mile until you come to Route 30. Turn right onto Route 30. Park is 200 yards down on the right hand side.

NOTE-these are the directions to the state park.The put in area is on the north lake which is a quarter mile down on the oppposite side from the park entrance

 

[DougPaul]

Doug,
I will bring my extra yak/paddle if your friend falls through.
Let me know.
Also, all the help you need.

Don't know what kind of boat it is, but I have been in canoes all my life (used to have an AMC class III whitewater open canoe rating), have paddled a C-1 down a class II river, have dabbled a bit with a whitewater K-1 on some class II water, and have used a K-1 on flatwater. Presumably this should be enough for most kinds of kayak on a lake in reasonable conditions.

Might be a bit out of shape, though...

Thanks,

Doug

 

[Steve-o]

Don't know what kind of boat it is, but I have been in canoes all my life (used to have an AMC class III whitewater open canoe rating), have paddled a C-1 down a class II river, have dabbled a bit with a whitewater K-1 on some class II water, and have used a K-1 on flatwater. Presumably this should be enough for most kinds of kayak on a lake in reasonable conditions.

Might be a bit out of shape, though...

Thanks,

Doug

Doug, You might be over-qualified.
My yak's are vintage, walden paddlers 10' abs.
But I've done K2 in some class V in these baby's.
Great all-purpose boats. I've never flipped one. Tried to once, but it was'nt easy.You'll be fine.

BTW:
Some folks are having a hard time with the 6pm meeting.
I vote, we meet at the put-in around 6:30, and plan on departing by 7?

 

[DougPaul]

State website: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/coch.htm

More info: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...ark+"+natick+massachusetts&btnG=Google+Search

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...2.313625,-71.374054&spn=0.04189,0.057421&z=14

Doug

 

[SherpaKroto]

BTW: Some folks are having a hard time with the 6pm meeting.
I vote, we meet at the put-in around 6:30, and plan on departing by 7?

I'll say let's still plan on 6:30 START, just specify what direction we plan to head off in for the late arrivals (FWIW, into the wind... if no wind, just do a Nascar loop ) No sense sitting on the shoreline while the sun goes down while nasty little critters have us for lunch.

 

[SherpaKroto]

Moe Detailed Directions from NSPN

Here are more detailed directions that I got from the NSPN website:

Take the Mass Pike Exit 13 (Natick/Framingham). After toll bear left toward Natick. You’ll be on Route 30. Go through the set of lights. Shortly after that you will see the Lake Cochituate State Park entrance on the right. DO NOT ENTER THERE! Keep going about another 1/2 mile, crossing over the Lake and the Pike, until you see a dirt road entrance into the trees on the left. It is not well marked but the gate post has a white “5” on it. This is the car top boat launch area. Turn left onto that road and drive carefully a few hundred yards to the lake. (If you get to the intersection of Route 30 and Route 27 you’ve gone too far.)

Surface Streets:
If you’d rather take Route 30 than the Pike, if you are coming from the west, follow the directions above from the Pike exit. If you are coming from the east, the Lake access road is about _ mile east of Route 27 on the right side just after the Wayland Cemetery entrance. If you go over the Pike and find yourself at the State Park Entrance, you’ve gone too far.

Now you should be thoroughly confused

Anyone lurking, or just being shy, come on out! We bite ! If nothing else, you'll have a nice evening paddle, and might find some new hiking partners.

 

[Steve-o]

I'll say let's still plan on 6:30 START, just specify what direction we plan to head off in for the late arrivals (FWIW, into the wind... if no wind, just do a Nascar loop ) No sense sitting on the shoreline while the sun goes down while nasty little critters have us for lunch.

Dan mentioned that the north lake is quieter, In which case we should head north of the put-in. I'm all for that.
I'd like to get away from the pike as quickly as possible.

It's going to be HOT! If we do a reverse nascar loop, ( clockwise ) we could maybe utilize the shade of the west bank on the way out.
I may have to do an intentional flip.

 

[KayakDan]

Unfortunately,due to circumstances beyond my control..we can't make it tonite

Sounds like you will have an excellent gathering,though.

See you all at Paddle 3.0!

 

[SherpaKroto]

...If we do a reverse nascar loop, ( clockwise ) we could maybe utilize the shade of the west bank on the way out.
I may have to do an intentional flip.

OK, here are the details for this evening's paddle:
1) launch at 6:30
2) head in a clockwise direction (good call!), regardless of wind direction
3) bring beverage of choice

Kayak is waiting patiently for me. It looked ready considering all it did over the weekend was ride to northern NH and back - never left the cartop Hope to see many of you there!

 

[Fitz]

I can't swimg it either.

Sorry, I can't get to this one. I canoe tripped in Maine last week and my Get out of Town to Paddle Pass has expired. Hope to get to 3.0.