Yep, that's snow.

I asked an outfitter in Canada to send me a picture of the kayak Allen and I will be paddling in the Yukon River Quest so we can figure out how to outfit it for the race. Specifically, I wanted to know what the seats were like since we'll be in the saddle for about 460 miles. "Good gawd," I thought when opening the images (seat pictured at right). "There's snow in the boat!"

Thankfully, Marie at Up North Adventures assured me the snow is gone now. Allen and I really are looking forward to the trip up north to see how the gold rush adventurers traveled.

This slideshow prepared by the race organizers and this video on You Tube offer a glimpse of what the race will be like.

Allen and I will be paddling like fools from now until we leave for the Yukon in late June. And we'll be shopping for such necessities as a hood ornament for our kayak (perhaps this one if we can figure out to get the lights to work) and some waterproof speakers for my iPod so we can crank up some Skynyrd (at Allen's request) as we paddle through the Canadian wilderness.

Join us at the Hooch sometime during the next month!

- Paul C.