Tonight was the first time I tried to load the Ikkuma with all of the gear I plan to carry.  The first few times loading a boat are always interesting as everything has yet to find its place.  Today was no exception and I had to pack, shuffle, and re-pack a few times to get everything in.  The computer and cold weather gear take up quite a bit of space but I made it happen.  Tomorrow I'll get to do another couple runs at it as I demonstrate the process to the kids at Portage middle school. 
I don't expect to get much planning or packing done around the presentations at the schools but it's worth it, I need a break from sorting gear anyway.  Saturday will be a full day of triple thinking every item I'm carrying and getting final pre trip items taken care of. 

Launch day is drawing near.  This coming Sunday December 6th at high noon I'll finally be getting on the water.  It sounds like a pretty good size group of folks are going to be seeing me off.  A bunch of family are driving over and a few kids from the local middle school want to see me launch.

 Friday I'm driving down to do a presentation for a bunch of 7th and 8th grade kids from Victoria Rydberg and Jenny Karpelenia's classes from the Portage middle school.  I'm planning on taking the boat and all the gear to show them first hand what I'll be using and how it all fits in the boat.  I understand that the kids already think I'm crazy and seeing how cold the temperatures are going to be this weekend I can't say I disagree. 

Today I did a quick paddle on Lake Wausau to test out a new pair of boots and a seat pad.  I tried launching in the same lagoon I used two weeks ago but the ice was a half inch thick.  It wasn't enough to stop the boat completely, instead the boat would ride up on the ice until the weight of the bow would break the ice.  The problem was that it broke in large sheets on either side of the boat that I couldn't get my paddle through in order to get purpulsion enough to push the bow further through the ice.  After back paddling/pushing my way back to shore I carried over and put in on the river side where it wasn't frozen.             

On this outing I was trying out the fit of the new Kokatat paddling boots that Jen from Aqua Adventures sent in last week.  I had ordered a pair of size 11 (to accomodate my stockinged feet in the dry suit) but the boot was too big to fit in the boat.  So I ordered a pair of size tens thinking I'd just have to squeeze into the boots when I was wearing the drysuit and socks.  It turned out that the boots themselves fit perfectly and the knee high "gators" that are part of the shoe did a great job to keep my feet dry.  Even the size 10s were a bit snug so I spent the evening shaving the deep tread off the toe and heal to make a little more room.  It will be tight but they should now work. 

Along with working on the boots I also devised a kayak cart that I'll be able to squeeze in the boat with the rest of my gear.  It consists of two 6" wheels, an aluminum axle, and a 18"x5" chunk of plastic (cut from a saucer sled) and bent over the axle as a cradle for the boat.  When taken apart the plastic lays flat on the bottom of the kayak behind the seat, the axle stoes next to the seat along the inside of the boat, and the wheels are small enough to fit in any hatch.