Thoughts on Cold Weather SUPing and Making Excuses
Cold weather SUPing...sounds like a crazy idea. However, I find that most of the time in my life, the experiences that are most valuable are labeled as slightly “crazy” or “odd.” I know that even for myself living in Colorado, I find time to blow things off or stay in when I would have rather gone and partaken in an adventure. I probably never would have gone for a winter paddle board adventure if the idea wasn’t presented to me by somebody else - but then again, it’s not like the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. Circling back to the “craziness” of this adventure...how many thoughts do you have on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis that seem like they're just dreams that are not applicable to you. Well, I bet more than half the time, those "dreams" are something you can make happen.
Now going for a paddle board adventure mid winter doesn’t compare to hopping on a plane and traveling to your dream adventure spot…or does it? The principle of both matters is to simply take action and…do it.
Here's one way to simply take action...
COLD WEATHER PADDLE BOARDING
I’m here to report on my “out of the ordinary experience.” What you need to know:
- Rule No. 1, bring all the necessary “stay afloat items” such as your life jacket and a properly inflated board.
- If you have a cold weather wet suit, you should probably wear that. In the instance you don’t, the key is to not fall in. If you're not already an experienced paddle boarder, I'd maybe wait for warmer weather to practice a bit before going out in the winter.
- Wool keeps you especially warm! We rock the Kinco Gloves as well, waterproofed of course. Dress for the temperatures - if you know it’s going to be extra bitter outside, maybe wear your ski mask. Use your best judgement.
- Tall waterproof boots. Kelsey wore her Bogs and they worked like a charm, keeping her feet warm and dry. Happy feet, happy SUPing.
- Smiles - everybody needs to bring a smile when cold water SUPing.
- Other things to consider: don’t go on a windy day and let somebody know if you’re going by yourself.
Like I said, go do something out of the ordinary. Don’t make another excuse for yourself. Go outside…instead of just reading this post and wishing you were.
“Because people become fascinated with pictures and words, they wind up forgetting the language of the world.” - The Alchemist
All boards courtesy of ISLE. If you're wondering, they're awesome boards. I'd give 'em a 10/10.
More adventures and all the photos can be found here.
