Advantage is a really nice hull design for the right weight person. Efficient. That one looks good on you, @mtaratoot.

mtaratoot wrote: »

It has so much glide, it's completely ridiculous.

Funny, it also seems good to fish from... if you pay attention. I almost went for a swim (would have lost one rod and possibly a couple other things) but twitched my hips. I put foot straps on the foot bar so I am in better contact with the boat/water.

So. Much. Gide.

(Nods.) That's what we call "the whee! factor".

I'm drywalling every day, trying to finish up the renovation and get the house ready for the market. The rec room is just over 23 feet long by just over 15 feet wide... big enough for my pool table which was the original plan before we started talking about selling and moving east.

That looks amazing. I'm jealous!!

sigsby wrote: »

I'm planning a long paddle for this weekend. Every year I paddle all the way around Presque Isle on Lake Erie. I don't know the mileage. I'm guessing it's about the same distance as the one you posted. Maybe a bit less.

Looks like a nice 14 or 15 mile paddle.



Take pictures!

You could stretch it to more than 20 miles if you explored all the inlets and hugged the shore rather than made straight lines.

Sorry if this is getting routine and/or boring. Yep. Did it again this weekend. This time about 17 miles that included the 14 miles we did August 22. We started about three miles further upstream; it actually makes the shuttle easier.



We paddled a tiny bit up the Luckiamute River; I caught fish in two different rivers.

This group likes to just drift sometimes so we were out over five hours. Near the beginning of the trip we saw the remains of a fire someone set in the middle of the river. Odd.




Otherwise we were simply treated to the beginning of fall colors, mild temperature, only a little wind, beautiful clouds, good company, and a refreshing beverage.

Well.....

Had to go pick up dive gear so took a canoe. Met up with an old friend and did a short six mile paddle starting on the Middle Fork and ending on the mainstem.



Things are WAY more exciting in a fast long canoe than a whitewater kayak on water like that. Fortunately I did not have an "out of boat experience." Almost....

This lovely creature, and 3 friends, were lunching on either side of the path (and gradually meandering across it) on my walk today.

Paddling day today.

Some friends called last night and said, "We're going to Waldo tomorrow. You should join us. We're packed, and Matt wants to leave at 07:00, but I know we won't leave until 08:00." I sent a text to my ex; we both love Waldo. She said she'd be interested in going; I called my other friends back. They're up there now camping; we just went for the day.

Only about 6.5 miles. On the way out, the wind was pretty stiff, and it was blowing from the south end of the lake. The first two miles or so also was open to the most fetch on this very large natural ultra-oligotrophic lake. We had lots of chop. I put my ex in my big canoe. I forgot how awful it is in wind, but at least it's very seaworthy and can handle the chop well. Was fun.

We stuck to the very north end of the lake. Once on the western half, the wind subsided. We were sheltered by hills on the shore.








We paddled back to where North Fork Middle Fork starts. That's my church.







We walked around a bit and ate lunch, then paddled back.

Lobster mushrooms.

Hypomyces lactifluorum

They are actually a parasitic fungus that grows on another mushroom. Around here they grow on a species of s Russula (Russula brevipes). They are easy to identify, but they are almost always really filthy and often full of beetles or maggots. After you clean them, you can dry them to use later, or you can saute them and freeze for later if you have more than you want to eat right now.

They are huge. Sorry I didn't put something in this picture for scale, but that piece of paper they're on is bigger than a large cookie sheet.

One of the best exercises to do for paddling is... paddling.

Did that today for three hours.

I love the mushroom pics! I'm just learning about them myself and so far have only dared to eat chanterelles.

Found these choice Hen-of-the-Woods (also known as Maitake) earlier this Fall. I'm still very green at wild mushroom collection so I didn't harvest them at the time. With further research I found there are no lookalikes and allergic reactions are rare.

Those are walnuts on the ground around them (about the size of a tennis ball) for size although the mushrooms are at the base of oak trees. Each mass is probably 5-10 lbs (2.5-4.5 kg) so 30-ish lbs (15-ish kg)total. I'll probably harvest them next year as they do tend to reoccur at the same spot one year to the next. Been boning up on cleaning, cooking, and preserving methods.




Also found a what I think is a Turkey Tail buried in the bremuda grass. Not considered edible but is thought to have cancer fighting chemicals.

mtaratoot wrote: »

@d_thomas02

That bottom picture looks like a Ganoderma. They grow on wood. Like turkey tails, they are polypore mushrooms. One species of Ganoderma is known as Reshi, and it is used as medicine. Another one is called Artist's Conk, and it has really interesting characteristics.

After more research, I think you are right. Size alone would rule out Turkey Tail. Turkey Tails are two, maybe three inches across and thin. This specimen was larger than my hand.