We took our first kayak trip, with our own kayaks, on Sunday with a couple friends from out of town. It was a lot of fun! However, our friends did not have actual kayaks they only had a blow up one. Lets just say that Tony and I felt very sorry for our great friends.

The Route

We paddled the first leg of the Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail. We entered the river at the Waterworks Park and ended at the Fenton Strom Park. According to the map it's 7 miles, however my GPS has it listed at 5.83 miles. Either way it's a lot shorter then our first actual time kayaking.

In the Boat

This was our first trip so we just took a few things.

• Sun Block
  Kodak Playsport
  GPS
  Chapstick
  2 snack bags of Doritos
  a small container of raisins
  4 water bottles
  Air Pump (in case our friends needed it)

Wildlife on This Trip (We didn’t pay attention this trip)

Some of what we heard or saw (marked with a H:heard or S: saw)

Red-tailed Hawk (H&S)
Mallard (S)
Northern Water Snake (S)

Time & Conditions

The map says this trip can take 2 to 4 hours. We finished it in 5. HA! We did take our time and had a few issues with the blow up kayak. The river was pretty good. Quiet and slow. It did have a lot of sharp turns. We have some bad weather around here and it showed on the river. Quite a few trees were knocked over. The volunteers did tie them to the shore and cut them so you can get through. However, some places were tight.

Type of River & How we paddled it

This is a very slow moving river. It’s located with in the city, but gives you the feel you are away from it all. Most parts of the river are not wide enough for two kayaks. We paddled this river pretty slow. Stopping a few times and getting stuck. HA!

Photos & Videos

Taken with the Kodak Playsport (Sorry about the quality)

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GPS it is a series about getting out and tracking our steps. We go on quite a few trips throughout the summer and we love to GPS it. However, we never look at it again. This is our way to remember it.