Getting Ready for Level 2

Fun fun fun! I am collecting and inspecting all my "stuffs" tonight, in preparation for the ACA Level 2: Essentials of Kayak Touring class that I'm teaching this weekend. The way I've been looking at it, you could kind of say that Level 1 is the class where you learn to paddle, and Level 2 is the class where you learn to be a paddler - meaning a person who doesn't just know how to move the boat from point A to point B and back, but is starting to pick their own Point A's and B's, and know what they need to have in the boat and what sort of preparations need to happen to make the journey safe, fun, and legal.

Tonight I'm pulling together (or is it pulling apart?) my own kit in preparation for that. It's an interesting exercise in that I'm planning to talk about both hot & cold weather preparation, so I'm pulling out a lot of stuff that would usually be sitting in drawers this time of year. It's actually a good exercise for myself, especially since I somehow managed to miss my Vessel Safety Check this year (first time in several years!) - good chance to figure out what's missing or mislaid (like, I wonder where I left my 2012 Eldridge? and why was that strobe in the winter gear drawer instead of in the lights & radio bag where it's supposed to be?), and what just needs attention (e.g. - somehow my first aid kit got wet and a lot of the stuff in there is either flat-out ruined or looks so terrible that a person would lose all confidence in me when they saw it).

Adding the off season to the current season definitely adds some stuff - but I still think I'm going to be able to fit it all in the big black duffle bag. Lack of wheels does tend to steer a person towards the minimalist end of the kit spectrum!