An Urban Boychick Takes on the Outdoors

On Saturday I took my final kayak trip of the year. Once per season my friend Marshall organizes a trip to circumnavigate the island of Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge. It's about a ten mile trip, though if you poke up the creeks it can be longer. The southern end of the island is open to the Chesapeake Bay and so is usually the choppiest part. On this trip, even this part was like glass. Here's Marshall's post morte m of the trip: " We expected rain with 15 to 20 mph yet thirteen paddlers came out to paddle the last of our Eastern Neck Series….and what did we get? Calm waters, sort of sunny, no winds and warm. How do you ever plan a paddle? I guess for us, it just does not matter, we are flexible and able to change our plans and love to paddle. We have all done this paddle a number of times but I truly believe that each paddle is different. Each season brings something different to the paddle, the number of paddlers bring something different to the paddle, the we...

The Pirates of Georgetown is a kayaking group that paddles out of Jack's boathouse in Georgetown every Thursday evening. It's been my kayaking home for years now - in fact, I'm the only member who has been around since the founding season. The group officially shuts down for the winter around Halloween (as does Jack's), but there are a few of us who continue to go out on the cold dark nights of winter. I haven't been very motivated about doing it this year - too many other conflicts, plus I've been a wimp about the cold. This week, though, the paddle was moved to mid-afternoon, as those of the regulars who were in town were available to start earlier (it's Christmas week and a lot of people have off). So, six of us - Tom, Dave, Cyndi, Caroline, Brian and I - headed upriver from Jack's. It was a beautiful afternoon, not too cold, no wind. The river was empty; the water was like glass. We saw kingfishers and we saw deer. Up near Chain Bridge there was som...

All my life I've believed that chiropractic is total nonsense. This impression is based in part on the way the chiropractic profession publicizes itself. My first-hand experience with the art/science has been limited to going to booths at health fairs. At such booths the chiropractor on duty examines you with various Willy Wonka gadgets, then declares you to be terribly "out of alignment." This pronouncement is delivered in a tone that implies, "How are you still alive with such radical problems?" Well, I'm here today to tell you that it's only partial nonsense. I've been having some back problems this year. A good friend, who I really trust as a rational and intelligent person (as well as a serious athlete), repeatedly suggested that I visit her chiropractor. I ignored this advice for a long time, enduring both episodes of pain and a surreal visit to an MD physiatrist. Finally I decided to visit the chiropractor. Well, has chiropractic cured me? Dun...

My primary form of exercise since Teddy was born has been running. I didn't take it up because I loved it. No, it was just the only exercise I could do on a moment's notice. I'm fortunate to have a really nice bike trail a few blocks from home, which provides a place for some pleasant off-street runs. After 14 years, my morning runs have become an enjoyable habit, except in the extremes of temperature. Running has also been good cross-training for kayaking. Kayaking is my real joy, but given the time involved in getting to and from the water, it's not something I can do every day. The problem is, the years of running have started to take their toll. LAtely my back and one knee have been bothering me a little bit, and I've come to realize that I have a lot of imbalances in muscle development. Plus, it's winter and it is a little dreary to run in the cold and dark. I mentioned to my kayaking friend Cyndi that I thought a rowing machine would be a good workout, bu...

I was scheduled to go out kayaking with some friends - a special "Xmas Eve Eve" paddle. Unfortunately, the weather forecast turned bad. Windy (gust of up to 50 MPH!), rainy, possible thunderstorms. I showed up (I had some errands to do near the put-in anyway) to find the group hanging around trying to decide whether to hit the water. In the end, some did and some didn't. The weather turned out not to be as bad as forecast. I didn't mind having bailed out, though - in winter, with cold water conditions, I say better safe than sorry. Plus, I didn't miss out on the social part. After the paddle (or not), everyone went back to the organizers' house for a little party. That was really nice.

Just about a year ago I got the idea that my family might enjoy geocaching. This hobby is basically a GPS-assisted treasure hunt. You use a GPS receiver to find caches hidden in various places. The caches themselves are usually just small containers containing a logbook (to prove you've been there) and sometimes some trinkets. For the most part the fun isn't in the treasure itself; rather, it's in the hunt. Some caches are more complicated, involving multiple stages or puzzles. Some are "virtual", meaning you have to find a particular spot (for example, a historical marker) and answer questions about it. Well, all four of us tried it out last Christmas day. Teddy and I got bitten by the geocaching bug and have each logged about 200 finds in our first year. Valerie isn't so keen on the outdoor activity involved, and David is just too impatient to put in the time required for finding cleverly done hides. There's also a large and friendly community built arou...