Gear Evolution

I was quite nervous over the early winter when we got down to only two kayaks, my Cetus and Eli's Looksha IV. Luckily I found a Valley 17.3 Étaín. This is the first Valley Canoe Products kayak I have owned. I did have a Northshore Calypso, but that was built before Valley bought Northshore. The Étaín needs some reorganized rigging and a keel strip. The latter will cover some cosmetic damage as well. Nevertheless, it is in great shape.

Then I decided to buy an Aleutian style paddle. The paddle is a stick like the Greenland Paddle (GP), but has asymmetric blades with a rib down one side. It is also meant to be longer than the GP. I purchased a handsome paddle at a very reasonable price from Tom Froese at https://tandjpaddles.com/

The Aleutian paddlers are long gone, but some antique paddles remain. Further, a few old photos do exist of Aleutian paddlers, being the only clue of how the paddle was used. This is quite unlike the GP, which has experienced a resurgence in use in Greenland. It is interesting that there is a dispute over which side of the Aleutian paddle blade is the power face. Using the rib side as power face seems to reduce flutter, while the old photos suggest using the opposite side as the power face. This paddle is supposedly easier on the shoulders compared to the Euro paddle, perhaps even more so than the GP. My quite arthritic left shoulder provided the perfect excuse for the purchase.

They say that the Aleutian paddle is to be used more like the Euro blade in that the top of the blade is not tilted forward at the catch like the GP. How do they know? Perhaps I can use the non-ribbed side as power face and get rid of flutter by tilting the blade forward at the catch. And perhaps not. At any rate, when kayak season begins I will investigate the power face question. Before that I will slightly refurbish the Étaín, so it's ready to go.

COVID-19 Vaccinations

Somehow North Idaho, particularly the Panhandle Health District, got organized early on. Eli and I both received our second shot on January 29, 2021. So we have temporarily escaped the virus, but who knows how long this vaccination will remain protective and what the virus mutations will bring?

We continue to wear masks in public (Eli says I look better anyway) and practice social distancing. However, I am now alpine skiing, braving the lift lines, and using our Schweitzer locker room. It is not yet clear, but it may be the case that we may carry the virus (e.g. lurking in our nostrils) and effectively be asymptomatic virus hosts. I believe this was all predicted in the 16th century by Nostrildamus.

At this writing, Sandpoint is experiencing a somewhat lengthy cold spell which should ameliorate in the next few days. However, despite my vaccination, the weather is currently keeping me from alpine and Nordic skiing. Eli's son and grandsons live in Placitas, New Mexico where the weather is atypically harsh.