KaaaaYAAKER!!!!!!!

.....the familiar greeting from Kent came across my cell phone...."Did I want to go for a trip down the Dupe?" Of course the answer is always "yes", its just a matter of previous plans and if all the "honeydos" have been completed. With a recent rain the river was up and we put in at old reliable...Community Park. Pat had borrowed my solo 'yak for a little family trip so it was back to the good'ole times....Dan and Kent cuddled up in the tandem. You know the phrase, "It's better on top"? Well I have always prescribed to the "It's better in the back" when it comes to tandem kayaking but Kent begged to be the captain and we reversed roles. At least we didn't have to experience the loneliness of a masturyak. Check out my entry in the Urban Dictionary. Maybe it will make it to Webster's sometime.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/confirm.php?code=0ae8728ecf

The rapids were good and as always we had a good time. We did explore back into the Seven Bridges lakes prior to our takeout at the condos.

The previous week Lisa and I did this same route and she seemed to really enjoy it. Will she become an outdoors women after all? Probably not but I love her just the same. We need to get the ladies out again for a couple's trip.

Months 31 and 32 in the books

The first weekend in June Dan participated in a river sweep in Community Park. Quite a good crowd showed up and we took a lot of crap out of the river. Not only did it get month 31 completed it was a nice community service project.

In Mid June we made our annual trip to Door County. Jim M., Pat, Tom and Dan took an extended trip around Green Bay. At one point we saw numerous large carp swimming in the shallows. Jim's shorts tightened as he gazed into the glistening water and whispered slowly of his desire to plunge an arrow deep into the side of one of God's creatures.

Double click on the 2nd picture of a native tepee built by the ancient tribe of Nicolet warriors. I am not sure why Pat is on his knees in front of Jim but Jim sure seems interested in what (or who) is going down!! Maybe he was still thinking of the Pirate fantasy / lovegame he had just told us about.

On July 5th (month 32) we had our largest group of kayaks venturing down the Duper as well as the 1st ever 4 brothers trip. Larry, Ben, Pat, Jim M. and Dan were in solo yaks and Tom and Joe were in the tandem. That's 6 kayaks and 7 people. Speaking of tightening shorts, everyone speculated I was in heaven with such a large group. The water level was very low but we only got stuck a few times. Some wildlife highlights for the newbies were a beaver/gopher swimming on the side of the river, multiple fish sitings and a large deer walking in the river about 75 yards ahead of us.

A closer inspection of picture 3 and you may notice that Ben is in the Duper not on the Duper. A little miscalculation under a fallen tree and over he went. Once back in the boat Ben declared: "That's the first time I have ever been dumped out of anything". Not missing a beat, Uncle Tom questioned his nephew: "How'd that work out for you?". This gave us all a good chuckle. The last 2 pictures are of the group (less the author/ photographer). It was a good trip boys.

Memorial Day 2008 -

Memorial Day 2008 (could a consecutive streak be started?) and Kent, Pat and Dan headed out for a familiar trip with a twist. We put in at the familiar Hidden Lake location but this time to the north of the bridge (see 3rd picture). The recent storms from the night before gave us a nice little moving water start under the bridge. What a way to honor our soldiers with a trip on the Duper.

Thru the Arboretum we had a couple nice spots of moving water which always elevates the enjoyment. This enjoyment was temporarily capsized as we had a major portage around work at I-88. We were soon back on the river telling stories of great culinary masterpieces, bar tending wizardry and dreams of a Deliverance-like trip that seems to never come to fruition.

All of this culminated with the 7 Bridges whitewater (see pictures 1 and 2...trying some new techniques). We also had a new take out spot, paddling up stream at Hobson back into the apartments / townhouse areas new the golf course. I am pretty sure this is trespassing but it never seems too bother the others. Next week June is here and month 31 should be accomplished soon.

As always, double click on pictures for a larger view.

You're going yaking and you'll like it!!!

A father and son outing for Kent and Cole as the 3 of us headed down to Shorewood for some "whitewater" action. This is the 3rd time I have done this section. The 1st time I felt like I was going down class IV rapids...pure exhilaration. The 2nd time the water was low and it was not much more than the "action" in downtown Naperville. This trip was somewhere in the middle. As a reference point, the Shorewood guage was at 3.25 feet. Anything less than that and it is not worth the trip, anything above it would be worth the trip.


This also marked the Duper boys' 30th consecutive month of kayaking. Are you impressed? The 3 pictures are a posed pre-trip picture taken by a 4 toothed woman, Kent and Cole working hard (or hardly working) and some members of the kayak club working the river. Note: Double click on the pictures for a larger view. The 2nd one you will be able to see Cole's amazed look as he gazes upon my pasty white shoulders. Keep your eyes in your head, boy, this meat is spoken for!

My three sons....or is it my three Duper boys?

Last summer it was a trip with my oldest brother Larry (see blog entry"Larry does the limbo"). This past Saturday it was initiation day for brother number 2, Tom (pictured above in the blue yak). Brother number 3, Pat, of course is one of the original Duper boys and is part of the current 29 month streak. EDITORS NOTE: Pat claims an unvalidated "masteryak" that took place on May 1 to extend his streak to 30 months.

Although a little cool and windy, the sun was out and we had a good time paddling upstream to just past the Great Western trail (picture above is just north of the trail). Tom seemed to enjoy himself (especially the Duper Virgin rite of passage initiation ritual administered flawlessly by Pat). In order to protect the sanctity of the club's secret ritual, I again refused to document this procedure photographically. I think any of our future presidential aspirations will be thankful that pictures do not exist.

Duper boys, Jim...not the Polar Bear club!

April 2008. Kent got month 29 completed in Captiva Fl and Dan took advantage of the 60 degree weather last weekend. Pat, however, had not kept his streak up so out we went into a dreary, dank, drizzly 40 degree day. This would also give Pat the opportunity to christen his newly received yak. Jim, a one time Duper veteran from years ago, scurried out to Dick's and bought a matching kayak.....how cute! Did you get the "lover's discount"?

The 1st photo shows Pat daintily entering his kayak while Jim (notice the light blue jeans) awaits his turn. Jim, so anxious to join in the fun with Kent and Pat in the river, attempted to enter his kayak much like one would plop down into their favorite recliner or a bean bag chair. You guessed it..... DOH!!! Holy SH&T!!! Like a bull in a china shop, Jim plunged headlong into the icy cold Duper. I know the effects of the ice cold Duper on my frozen digits. I can only imagine the frightened turtle-like experience that must have been taking place within Jim's soaked jeans (notice the dark blue jeans in photo 2). I am pretty sure Pat's hysterical laughter didn't make Jim feel any better as sat on his ass in the middle to the river.

To Jim's credit, he went home, changed and joined us for the majority of the trip. The cocky, confident attitude was a little subdued but he stuck it out nonetheless. Other than the exciting beginning and our 1st ever 4 solo yak voyage, nothing too exciting to report. A couple hawks, some deer and our friend the owl (yes an owl in the daylight) were the wildlife highlights. Oh, yes, the last photo? A rare picture of the author and photographer with a smirk that seems to say: "Damn, rookie!"

Masturyaking...is it wrong?

Masturyak: Noun The act of giving oneself pleasure via a solo kayak trip.

Kent did it with himself a couple of weeks ago (and called me while doing it!) and he said he has never experienced anything like it. So with the weather giving us the year's first glimpse of spring I decided to give masturyaking a try. Down to Churchill Woods Forest preserve and the up stream paddle on the east branch. Not only did I extend my consecutive kayak streak to 29 months, I was able to do something I have not done for a long time.....paddle wearing only a t-shirt and no gloves. Now I am pretty sure while Kent was masturyaking he was not man enough to only wear a t-shirt (no one can see your legs anyway).

The freedom the sunny 60 degree weather gave me inspired me to go further than I have gone before....into virgin territory as it were. Now here was my dilemma. I know the initiation ritual for Duper virgins (I helped come up with the routine, for crying out loud!) but how do you handle virgin territory on the river? Well I took it upon myself and since I was masturyaking anyway, I administered the initiation ritual to myself. I know, you are probably mumbling to yourself right now: "how could you possibly pull that off?" Let's just say I may not be able to sit down for a while and I heard some noises coming out of me that I never would have believed were possible.

Let's hope spring has sprung and the Duper boys can be reunited for some more exciting trips on the river we affectionately call "the Duper."