I had an excellent paddle along the cliffs on Saturday afternoon. I tried to explore all the areas where the cliffs were highest and were the brash ice was loose. Paddling amongst the flows and pancake ice is a serene experience. It is otherworldly, and sometimes violent as ice cracks, breaks off and falls into Lake Michigan. Other times it is more subtle where you hear a grating, or sliding noise as a giant piece of ice tumbles over. The loose crumbly bits of ice that float loose next to larger icebergs rub against one another. This makes a sound like a cocktail shaker with a martini in it. Am I the olive?
Temperatures were in the high thirties, rain sprinkled and spat a few times, but then the sun broke out among the clouds.
My gore-tex drysuit is in for repairs with Kokatat, so I wore my Brooks tuiliq and IR neoprene pants, I was plenty warm except my feet. I had a warmer pair, but I lost one in my ICE in the surf. I have a lonely single fleece lined bootie in the garage to remind me of the nasty swim I took on the rocks.
The full gallery of sea kayaking in the ice pictures can be found here:
Excellent vanilla icing photos. It looks much more like cake than last year.
Oh, if you ever have an album cover, use the tuiliq photo, staring down at the camera. It's not commando — it's badass.