Truth be told, the last few months have not been my best. After completing the WaterTribe Ultimate Challenge, I found myself quite depressed, and have remained in a funk these past few months, even to the point of not wanting to paddle that much. Not because I tired of it, I just didn't see the purpose. I mentioned this to a friend today on the lake, and he said he'd heard this was not uncommon among Appalachian Trail thru-hikers when they complete their journey. It made perfect sense to me.
The good news, I am starting to feel better. I'm focusing on the MS150 bike ride in a couple weeks, and am hoping to join some friends on a paddling trip in October at the coast. And of course there is the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge 2007.
When I first created my website and this blog, it was focused entirely on my training and preparation for the WaterTribe Ultimate Challenge. Then during the Challenge, my husband updated the blog reporting on my progress and adventures. I thought and hoped that my story and training log might interest and even inspire others to stay active and pursue their own adventures.
Now, with the Challenge over. The website no longer applies. I have used the blog to continue to tell stores from the Challenge (I still have a few left to tell), but, I also started running out of topics. It started to become increasingly stressful to try and get a new page up weekly, if not more often. I just didn't have that much to say.
I also started noticing that there are lots of great paddling blogs out there. My favorite is Derrick Mayoleth's website and blog KayakWisconsin.net. His site also has links to many other very good blogs as well. I was actually quite honored when he added this blog to his listing.
I'm not a writer, I don't do the kayak symposium circuit anymore, I'm just not that in the know. I'm less interested these days in keeping up with the newest and latest in paddling (though I'm right in there with the Greenland popularity, having been a committed Greenland paddler for the last 10 years. Heck I was going to Delmarva Retreats before it was even Greenland only). I love my NDK Explorer, but I like my Kruger Dreamcatcher even more, and seem to paddle it most often. That kind of puts me on the fringe of "popular paddling acceptability", it's not a real kayak.
So, I'm going back to the basics. This blog is going back to being a more personal diary or journal of my activities and training, and trips, and friends. There is enough out there on the web to educate people about the world of paddling, and that was never my intent.
So back to basics, and, as my website originally stated:
"Follow the training, trials, and tribulations of a fairly ordinary middle aged woman, who has discovered a passion for paddling and adventure, and has dreams beyond what is considered ordinary."
Here I am in my Kruger, checking out an old beaver lodge on Saturday at the Beaver Dam Recreational Park on Falls Lake. Paul and I were there to celebrate at a launcheree party for Elizabeth Brownwigg's launching of her just completed and beautiful Pygmy Arctic Tern (sorry, no photo). It was a great party.
The race started this past Wednesday with 6 teams and 10 solo paddlers, finishing at noon on Sunday 8/6. Two of the solo paddlers are women, including Dawn Keller (TurtleWoman), who paddled with me in an ad hoc team during my first 
