Merry Christmas!

What a year we had on and off the water. No kayaking Christmas week but lots of hiking. Shifting gears a bit between celebrating and cross country skiing.

Naked Mole-Rats Reveal Mechanism of Pain Resistance | Pain Research Forum

Some important new pain research.



Naked Mole-Rats Reveal Mechanism of Pain Resistance | Pain Research Forum

Exercise - the simplest thing

This is a great video that reinforces what we have been saying for some time - keep on the move.
If you can't paddle, run, cross country ski, hike or walk.
Enjoy and pass on.

Grand Slam Judo

Grand Slam in Tokyo Day 3 matches completed last night NL time. Next event Dec 16th live from China see: ippontv

Map of the Brain

We spend a lot of time talking about central/brain function when discussing pain. Here is a great talk from the TED Talk series.

A Pittance of Time

Terry Kelly says it all.
Take 2 minutes on Friday.

How many basketball passes can you count

View this tape and see how many passes you can count between players in the white shirts. Apparently few viewers can see more than ten.


In a recent course related to Chronic Pain management we spent some time talking about the work of C Chabris and D Simons who wrote a facinating book on the subject.
See: http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/

Inattentional blindness can be a problem for all of us at different times. It seems extreme focus can limit what you see of other things in plain sight.

Port Rexton

I don't know if it is just me but the clouds and skies seem quite unique at this time of year.
Great scenery and if you are this way: around Trinity, Trinity East and Port Rexton drop by the Two Whales Coffee Shop.

Hiking on the Skerwink Trail

This weekend was a bit tricky for a hiking excursion. Rain, wind and snow were predicted at varying times. We found ourselves in Port Rexton having a coffee at the Two Whales Coffee Shop. It was sunny and clear - a great oppotunity to hike the Skerwink Trail. The trail itself is a short loop 5.3 km but you can't avoid detours off the trail and to open fields that look out over the water. On this day that gave the weather plenty of time to change, several rain showers, wind and at the end fog.
Great hike and fantastic coast line.

East Coast Trail - from Ocean Science Centre

What a day for a hike - I think today was warmer than many July days. We chose a three hour hike leaving from the Ocean Sciences Centre.

East Coast Trail, Fall Colours and Fog

When we can't go paddling we head to the East Coast trail - incredible location, just moments from the house. Apparently word is getting out, some folks from one section or another of the National Geographic were in town to check out the ECT. We were hoping to keep this a bit of a secret....

Kayaker in mouth of whale

This fantastic photo has been making the rounds of cyberspace. Apparently it is the masterful work of photographer Tim Shobe of Shobe Studios. He combined two beautiful but unrelated photographs taken 3 months apart. A full analysis is found on Hoax Slayer. He caught a lot of negative email for the composite photo, even though he didn't release the work himself. If he can do this kind of work, I would attend any workshop he gave on how to effectively to use Photoshop. It is creative and fun but also doesn't take away from the incredible shot of the whale feeding in or around Sitka, Alaska. For kayakers - it is the sort of shot that one might either dream or have nightmares about, depending on how lucky you are in extreme moments.
Photo: used with permission.

Petermann Ice Island

I had hoped we might be able to catch up with the Petermann Ice Island at some time this summer. Our best opportunity seemed to be out of Twillingate with the Iceberg Quest but that was not possible on the day we were there, due to sea conditions. It is quite likely they may not even have travelled near the ice islands. The size of the island makes it appear no doubt much closer than it is. As luck would have it we met Jim Hanson - originally from Grand Falls, living in Pensylvania but back to NL every summer. He told a great story of how he had met a fisherman in White Bay who had agreed to take a German couple out to view the Petermann Island and that he could get a ride out with them. Apparently, the German couple had flown to Newfoundland expressly to see the Petermann Ice Island but had failed up to that point to get on the water or reasonably close from shore. So Jim, the couple from Germany and the White Bay fisherman all made it out to the Ice Island. Jim's photos are spectacular, but when you listen to the descriptions you realize what an amazing site is floating past our shores. You would need an extraordinary panoramic feature to capture the length and breadth of this ice island. Jim kindly agreed to send us a couple of photos and gave me permission to post a couple - thanks Jim and thanks to the fisherman from White Bay. Not only did this fisherman take them all out there - they all came back to his house for a cup of tea.
Photo credit: Jim Hanson
Used with permission.

Fogo Island

Last weekend we found ourselves heading to Fogo Island - which was actually the first time I have made the trip. The kayaks were thrown on the Jeep but there were a few times when the winds and sea state left over from Katia, were too high to get out on the water, so we spent time hiking around all the trails. We missed art exhibits, but found some great looking studios. These were various locations where artists could walk in and do their work inspired by the environment; in a relatively undisturbed location. We stayed in Seldom and spent time in Deep Bay, Fogo, Barr'd Islands, Joe Batts Arm and Tilting - then made a dash over to Twillingate. In Twillingate, we had the good luck to find the Auk Island Winery open, so ended up buying a case of wine supposedly for Christmas season - but it may be not last till then. On our day in Twillingate the wind and weather kept the Iceberg Quest off the water - so we drove to Crow Head and found icebergs very close to shore. In fact they were everywhere - on the horizon we could see one of the Petermann Islands.

SUP video

Recent video shot in California from a tour boat that featured a SUP paddleboarder trying to get an underwater view of an 80foot Blue whale.

KNL Safety Day

Tuesday evening KNL held its annual Safety Day in partnership with Tumblehome Canoe club. The town of Paradise provided assistance with access to the pond, tables, tents, and audio equipment. Working to: Make every trip a return trip.

Conception Hr

This was a great day - sunny and the water was quite flat. My battery conked out after the second hour, otherwise I would have shots of the copper mine shaft, long abandoned - but still an impressive one man operation on the shore of Gasters Bay. The decision was made to head towards the lighthouse - this turned out to be a lucky choice. A bit cooler, bit of wind but the caplin were on the run and 3-4 minke whales were having quite a time scooping them up. They rose and dove among the kayaks - never completely surfacing but still putting on quite a show.

Meares Island

Bald eagle - one of several who were giving quite a show.






Stepping into a whole different world.





Cedar and hemlock in rainforest


After paddling through the oyster farm and meandering up the inlet we found a section of Meares Island where Ray knew of a separate trail. As we approached we were all struck by the number of eagles that were coming and going in the beach area we were headed. There was plenty of time for those in the group with cameras with batteries still working, to pull them out of dry bags. One of our group had such a large camera I thought she was on assignment. It was an uncommon experience for me to see so many eagles at the same time and for them to tolerate the company of kayakers for so long. We landed on the beach to one side of a small salmon river; after a gourmet packed lunch we followed Ray through a small break in the shore brush into a rainforest with damp pathways, huge ferns and giant cedars. It was an extraordinary place and one that would have been clear cut in the 1980s if it not for the efforts of the tribal band and local supporters.