Paddle Rescue

What is a med student to do when all there is to do is study for USMLE step 2? Go dump themselves in cold, cold reservoir to practice self rescue techniques. Up to this point I haven't been able to get into a pool all winter to practice self rescue. This has been hanging over my head for awhile with my upcoming trip; with the air temps in the mid-70's, and the water temps in the 40's I felt inclined to get a bit wet. Adam Mueller, one of my M.D./PhD climbing friends joined me to video tape the debacle. I was pretty sure he was just interested in watching me freeze. My goal was to practice doing the paddle assisted re-entry. The basic steps are as follows: First, after rolling over, wet exit the boat. Second, flip the boat back over. Third, get out the paddle float, blow it up, and then attach it to my paddle. Fourth, thread the paddle blade through the rear deck bungees. Fifth, slither up onto the back end of my boat, sink my feet into the boat, and then twist into my proper position. Here is the link to the video footage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlZRyFQ-fp0 . Needless to say I froze, but I got some great practice. Now all I need to do is practice getting back into the boat in 30 mph winds and 6 foot swells.

In other news, I am awaiting my new Pacific Action 1.5 sq meter sail which should be coming this week. Tom at Tom's TopKayakShop helped orchestrate the purchase. I am also anxiously awaiting the Standard Horizon HX471S VHF radio which should be here this week as well.

DONE WITH 3RD YEAR!!!!!

Today marked the last day of my 3rd year of medical school! Pretty amazing how fast time flies. I have been privledged to have so many patients teach me so many things: about life, disease, dealing with the good, and finding a way to cope with the bad. I am really grateful for the opportunity I have had to had such a glimpse.

I finished my Pscyhiatry SHELF exam and decided to head out to the water. I was originally planning on heading down to the South Fork of the Shenandoah River this weekend, but the weather is scheduled to be rainy and snowy. So, deciding to take advantage of the 55 degree weather, I packed up the boat and headed out to Rivanna Reservoir.

My goal today was to head down the longest fork of the Rivanna. I wanted to spend some more time flatwater paddling. There was no wind and I made great time. Slowly snaking my way back down the res, I thought a bunch about the upcoming trip. I tried to think about the challenges I would face, and how I would deal with them. The time passed quickly and before I knew it I was at a riffle that I couldn't pass without getting out of the boat. Deciding the temps were favorable enough, I went "suns out guns out." In the process my glasses dropped down into the drink. Bummer. I spent the next several minutes fishing around for them, dropping down into the 33 degree water. In the picture below is that riffle. Luckily, I found 'em. Turning around I started paddling back.

Close to the car I passed by the UVa boathoase. The UVa crew team was hitting the water and I had a chance to see the Hoos paddling. GO HOOS. Anyhow, I finished up and got back to the car. I paddled 12.15 miles, not too bad for a fun little afternoon paddle.

Other news. I am in the process of looking for a sail for the boat. I want to maximize my efficiency on the large reservoirs, and a sail will increase my speed substantially. More on this as information comes in. Anyhow, off to the end of third year party, and the more USMLE Step 2 studying.

Until next time......

2/22/2009

It was a cold wintery, windy afternoon in Charlottesville. I headed out to the Rivanna Reservoir, a local body of water about 10 minutes from my house. This is the lake where the University of Virginia Crew team trains. It was windy and cold but I thought it would be a good excuse to stop studying for the USMLE Step 2 for a bit. The paddling was fun, and I spent about 1h15 min paddling around into the south fork of the Rivanna Reservoir. Eventually I started bottoming out, which is where the photos were taken. Overall a great little diversion from the med school studies.

Other exciting news! The first newspaper article about my upcoming trip ran in the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette. Here is the link to the article http://www.newsgazette.com/news/local/2009/02/21/kayaker_plans_trip_to_raise_money_for_parkinsons_researchChampaign-Urbana is where my grandfather's brother Harry Forrester, who died of complications due to Parkinson's, lived. His daughter, Rita Grider, has been extremely helpful in getting the message out about the trip. She has been tirelessly contacting news agencies up and down the river, as well as throughout the midwest. I am very thankful for all her hard work.

Make sure you check out my website http://www.paddlingforparkinsons.com/ for the most up to date information about my trip!

Post Valentine's Day

2/15/2009 - Brett Beel (my roommate) and I decided to get out and enjoy the beautiful day. Brett dropped me off in Wingina, VA along the James River. My goal was to paddle 25 miles down the James to see if my speed predictions were accurate. I set off off from the Wingina Boat ramp around 11am. The paddling was great, and there were several class II sections. Nothing was too crazy but it was fun enough to keep me on my toes. 4h51min later, I was back at the boat ramp in Scottsville, VA. I paddled the 24.77 miles in a pretty reasonable time, which made me opptomistic about my time predictions for my upcoming trip. When I pulled into the Scottsville Marina, my Tacoma was waiting for me. Brett was still doing a 60 mile road ride, so I kicked some tunes in the truck. Next thing I knew, Brett was knocking on the car windows, I passed out pretty hard! Well, that is all until next week.

James River Fun

Well,

I just finished off my first week of my third year psychiatric inpatient rotation, and after the med school date auction on Friday night, I needed to get out and paddle a bit. That, and the thermometer was supposed to hit 65F. So I went to bed early last night(7/7), and set my alarm for an alpine start. It was still chilly walking out of the apartment so my warm cup o' java was a much needed kickstart to the day. I headed south down Highway 20 towards Scottsville, VA and the James River.

Scottsville, VA is a small little town situated on banks of the James River a few miles south of Charlottesville. Founded in 1774, Scottsville originally was a trading hub due to its location on the James River. Today it is a beautiful little town that provides an excellent starting point for paddling on the James. I parked my truck at the drop-off, chugged some coffee and set off.

I decided to start paddling upstream from Scottsville. Compared to the Rivanna River, paddling on the James was much more open with deeper channels. The current felt much stronger and it took substantial effort to paddle upstream. One of the highlights was paddling upstream through the rapids above Hatton Ferry. At class II, they weren't crazy, but I had to execute some fun ferries in a 17' boat. It took me about 2hrs to reach a really nice sandbar, about halfway between Hatton Ferry and Warren, VA. I kicked it on the sandbar for a bit and turned on the SPOT unit.

After hanging out on the sandbar for some time, I started to get anxious to move.

50 minutes later, I was back at the car. I had paddled about 12 miles and I came to the conclusion that A: paddling downstream is the way to go, and B:I am really glad I am paddling down the Missouri/Miss.

When I got back up to Charlottesville, I was greeted with more exciting news. Jason Kennedy of Standard Horizon, a subsidary of Vertex Standard, had emailed me to let me know that Standard Horizon had agreed to provide me a VHF radio for the trip. Super exciting, I will have more information on this new arrival when it comes in!

Well, back to studying for the USMLE Step 2 Boards. WWWAAAHHHOOOO!

Look for the most up to date information about my trip at http://www.paddlingforparkinsons.com/

Super Bowl Sunday Paddling!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I took advantage of the beautiful weather today in Charlottesville (60F and sunny) to get out and go paddling, "suns out-guns out style". My knuckles were a bit sore from ice climbing yesterday, so some cool water was going to feel great. I drove out to Rivanna Reservoir first. Unfortunately, the lake was still frozen over so I drove back to Darden Towe park. I decided for a change of pace that I was going to do some intervals. I paddled 1/5th of a mile upstream at a casual pace, and then booked it down stream at 100% power. After about an hour, I decided that my shoulders had been sufficiently beaten, and paddled around leisurely for awhile. Another great day out on the boat. Make sure to check out my website at http://www.paddlingforparkinsons.com/ to see my location and the most up to date information about my trip.

Hope everyone enjoys the game!

A chilly morning

Hello again from a very cold Charlottesville. My alarm woke me up this morning at 6:30 blasting Fat Bottom Girls by Queen. I knew it was going to be a great day. I was inspired from the night before, watching my med school classmates sing and dance at the med school talent show! Laura and Jason you were awesome.

When I turned on my computer to get a quick look at the weather I was a little apprehensive. It was 12 degrees F outside. A little chilly for a dip in the river. Nevertheless, I brewed up a hot pot of coffee, loaded the boat onto the Tacoma, and turned on a little Eminem to get the mood right. Not too much different than a morning of ice climbing really.

My goal for the morning was to do a little trip down the Rivanna River. The Rivanna runs through Charlottesville and used to be a major water thoroufare before many of the roads in the area were built. I drove down to Darden Towe Park and got out of the car. My hands became cold nearly instantly. Oh well, part of the game. I was able to get into the water without difficulty and off I went.

The Rivanna is not a large river, and gently meanders through most of its course. I passed under Highway 250 and then Highway 81. There were a couple grade II rapids, but nothing major. However, when I am alone in a boat and the ambient air temperature is just above 12 F, getting wet isn't an enticing option.

After an hour of paddling, I had covered 5.84 miles. Not too bad for a lazy sunday paddle. I stopped for awhile and observed a family of 5 river otters. They playfully dodged in and out of a little riffle hunting for some minnows. It was amazing how happy they looked in the frigid water. Anyhow, after awhile I turned around and started paddling back upstream.

Well, to make a long story short, I had to portage three of the little rapids that I had paddled down. Needless to say, my feet got soaked. My uncle Dave once said to me, "Joe, even though you are wet, you don't have to be cold." What he was talking about is that if one is smart, and layers appropriately, the body will produce enough heat to warm up even really cold extremeties. Such was the case today. After the initial shock of the cold water, my core kicked into overdrive, shunting blood into my feet and they warmed up nicely.

Overall it was a great morning of paddling, the Storm GT worked like a charm, even in the little bit fast moving water that I went down, and my gear kept me warm. A great sunday morning! Make sure to check out my primary website at www.paddlingforparkinsons.com

Getting out paddling

Hello everyone from Cold, cold Charlottesville. This past weekend I had the opportunity to take my gear out for a maiden voyage. I finally had all of my gear compiled in one location, and a bit of free time, so I decided to take all the gear out for a trial paddle. Saturday(1/10) was a cold, rainy day. When Jim Heckman (my roommate) and I drove up to Walnut Creek Park(http://www.paddlingforparkinsons.com/pfp/News.aspx), a local park close to Charlottesville, the rain drops started falling. Looking at my thermometer, the temperature was 38 degrees. What better weather for an inaugural voyage? After getting my gear on, and slowly sliding away from the bank I had time to think about how awesome this moment in time was.

So many people had gone to great lengths to help me get to this point. Mike Cichanowski and Jake Greseth of Current Designs had believed in my cause early on and had helped me get the Storm GT to Charlottesville. Casey Worzella and Blake Longworth from NRS had provided me the gear keeping me warm and safe. Jim Miller from Werner Paddles had provided me the paddle allowing me to move effortlessly through the water. And now with Rick White from Egeeks.com, I would be able to share my experience with anyone who was interested Most important was the support I had received from my family and friends, telling me that my dream was possible. The Storm GT paddled beautifully. I was warm and dry, my NRS Full Zip Sea Tour kept me super dry and toasty warm. My Werner Camano was light, responsive to my hand, and even with the low volume paddle blade I was able to really kick my speed up very quickly. The day was great, even with the bad weather. Hopefully I can get out this weekend, even if the high is only 24 degrees.

I am also in the process of adding a ton of new information to my website www.paddlingforparkinsons.com Keep checking it out for the latest info!

New Website

Hello all and Happy New Year!

I am happy to announce that I have a new, comprehensive site where you can find all the information about my paddling trip.

www.paddlingforparkinsons.com

There are a ton of cool features such as a googlemaps tracking device where you can follow my daily progress, info about parkinsons, info about my sponsors, as well as info and maps of my trip.

Be sure to check out www.paddlingforparkinsons.com !!!!!

Gear and other updates

Exciting news! All of my gear donated by NRS and Werner Paddles has shown up. Thank you very much to Jim Miller of Werner Paddles and Casey Worzella and Blake Longworth from NRS for all your work getting me the gear I need.

I also had the opportunity on Monday to go and talk with a local Parkinson Support group here in Charlottesville about my trip. After discussing the trip, the motivation behind the trip, and fielding some questions I had the chance to sit down and talk with some of the members. As I sat and talked, I was once again made aware as to how incredible people are and how Parkinson's is such a frustrating disease. All of the members had such incredible life stories, from being a Burn surgeon, to traveling the world for oil, to just being genuinely passionate about life, and they all had been brought together through the disease that they are facing daily. I was really honored to have been asked to talk and spend time with such wonderful folks.