Tuesday, July 15, 2014

RECAP: Krugerhead 340 (the magic)

Photo Bomb (me in the background)

I just want to give a shout out to the organizers of the MR340 and their director Scott; they made the right decision rescheduling the MR340; the boat ramps at Miami and Herman were sketchy at best - debris jams would have played havoc with 400 boats; conditions on the river for those that never paddled the Missouri River would have been misrepresented; this is a beautiful river to paddle - but in the wake of heavy rain and flooding it was an eye sore; thank goodness the event was rescheduled so you can see the beauty of this magnificent river. Special Note: the log jam on the bridge at Glasgow was the largest I have ever seen - 50 foot wide and 20 foot high - boils and whirlpools that could suck up a Winnebago if you were not paying attention.


The newly designed sticker

Our pre-event ramble in Kansas classic - everyone hanging around talking story - it was a great to see old friends and make new ones; A shout out to the hotel guard who let me in at 3:30am (forgot my room card) I was out for a morning walk ( I get up early) and was standing at the door like a lost puppy. Thanks Joe for the room share!!

A huge thank you to Tom Grow and Jenny Matuszewski Grow for their hospitality and shuttle arrangements - you two are an inspiration - the best!!

My personal adventure was extremely enjoyable on what is being called the Krugerhead 340 - weather was perfect, no bugs, full moon - as peaceful as you can get, nobody on the river but us for the most part.


Missed cookie stop with fresh peaches

In Herman I got confused and went grocery shopping at the market; I had a craving for hard salami and cheese sandwich - It's actually Washington that has the deli I wanted to stop at but sleep deprived I scoured Herman - dirty sweaty and over tired - a tad scruffy I was sure to scare women and children if I asked for directions; anyway I bought a bunch of crap at the store which was totally useless - the hard salami had a couple hours of shelf life in the heat - it started to turn green so I knew at that point it was done - the imitation cheese spread with no expiration date made sense at the store but not in the boat - useless. - warm Parkay - my God man, is that stuff really edible?

My stop at Cooper's landing was memorable; Thai food made to order and an old coot that would ask me a bunch of questions (argumentative tone) about the river like I was local or something - I wish I could have offered him some green salami, that would have shut him up.

I hit the wall a couple of times, ate heavy pulled over and took a REM nap; totally rejuvenates the body a soul - a 45 minute nap makes all the difference. My sleep cycle for the event was 1.5 hours the first night past Miami; nap of 45 minutes just after Cooper's Landing and a 3 hour sleep just before Jefferson City.

The last day offered a bit of a challenge; fog in the am which made for some brail paddling bumping and grinding down the river - ah I'm going to say it - I was actually cold in July on Missouri river - a moderate breeze and fog forced me to break out a space blanket. - then the heat came later - talk about two extremes in a 8 hour span.


The Finish

I was motivated by pesky phone calls from Mark and Team Kruger already at the finish; talk of cold beer and real food fueled my resolve - greeted by many at the finish was a great reward - thanks to Jack M who helped me out of the boat - legs were a bit wobbly after sitting so long - thanks to Mark and Lauren who brought Nachos!! I loved them!! And to Mark P. Sandy and Mike Smith - you at my brats you bastards!! haha   Finished in 59 hours!!

Congrats to all that participated!!

till next time...paddle on...

The Capt'n

Saturday, July 5, 2014

MR340 2014 and beyond - let the big waters flow!!


By God people, you're still coming to my blog? I've taken a bit if a sabbatical on the personal blog - I mean how many times can I write about paddling around Rock Lake anyway; I mean, somebody might hurt themselves if I keep THAT up.

I have been doing some writing on the Kruger Canoes Blog for various events challenges and functions, which brings me to the point, I'm back on the water in the MR 340 2014. With the apprentice blogging program complete I hand the reins over to Michael Stacy and Pat to cover the MR 340; Team Kruger is well represented: solo female, solo male, coed tandem division, male tandem division and the multi crew 6 person OC 6. - this ordeal is going to be a regular hoot'n nanny I tell ya.

So swing on over to www.krugercanoes.blogspot.com or follow us on Facebook; we're sure to entertain. also you can go to the official tracking site at www.raceowl.com and look me up there - boat number 0017

paddle paddle The Capt'n