macboy - 26-1-2010 at 09:50 PM
I was at Canadian Tire the other day and saw these high sided gear sleds (designed for ice fishing or back country hiking/skiing) and it got me
thinking......wouldn't it be great to go on a kite journey? I don't even know where I'd start looking.
We've got the West Coast trail, the skyline trail, boundary trails but no expanses you could cross (that I know of). Anyone know of north American
traverses? Not like the greenland ica cap...can't take that much time off but how about a week long trip? Is there a known trek kiters can take? Maybe
in the Yukpn / Alaska?
WolfWolfee - 27-1-2010 at 12:02 AM
How about Alberta's travelling Desert, up in Athabasca. Always wanted to do it.
indigo_wolf - 27-1-2010 at 12:28 AM
MB:
You might find the Pulk eBook of interest.
ATB,
Sam
Maven454 - 27-1-2010 at 04:26 AM
Yeah, Ozone has stuff about snow kiting expeditions on their site. I've always thought it looked like a blast.
rudeboysaude - 27-1-2010 at 06:52 AM
We've built kite pulks out of our old creek boats for winter kite trips. Ed from skipulk.com is a local and we all use his poles. Great system, best
you can get. The kayaks are nice because they have rounded bottoms and are less likely to tip while traveling at high speeds. They weigh more, but
under kite power it's not a big deal. We put a snowmobile hyfax runner down the center to keep them tracking well. Picture here:
You don't need a huge area. We have Lake of the Woods, Boundary Waters prohibits kites and most places that observe the Wilderness protection act
will also prohibit kites. So make sure you check with those places before you go or you could be hoofin it the entire time. My first experience
pulling a pulk with a kite was last year, and really, it worked pretty well. If you're traveling upwind, it's much easier just to walk, but if the
wind is in the right direction, you can really cover some ground.
shaggs2riches - 27-1-2010 at 07:15 PM
Yeah!
When I got my access a buddy and I were talking about how cool it would be (in a few years when I'm more experienced) to plan an expedition either
through part of Alberta or through Saskatchewan. Because my Access is pink, we got on the topic of how it would be cool to have the expedition
centered around some sort of fund raising for Cancer or other cause. One could use it to spread the word of kiting by doing interviews at various
radio stations. Plus you get the added bonus of helping out a charity of some sorts. Would probably require like a years worth of planning, but would
be a great way to see the province.
macboy - 27-1-2010 at 07:19 PM
Count me in on that one Shaggs! We should totally try to do something. I bet we'd be surprised at how many would come along. I can imagine you'd be
able to kite clear across SK with the exception of a few barb wire fences and the like.....same with much of Alberta. Nice thing is there'd be no
avalanches or crevasses to worry about ; )
shaggs2riches - 27-1-2010 at 07:26 PM
I bet a pair of skis would be the best for a long ride like that. I gotta get my skills up to par so that such an adventure can come to reality
krumly - 27-1-2010 at 09:22 PM
Aaron, aka rudeboysaude, turned me on to this site:
http://auralist.com/icebird/
cool rig - steerable kite barge!
krumly
PrairieWind - 27-1-2010 at 10:02 PM
You've got to look to the boys in North Dakota for some inspiration.
www.2xtm.com
read the web stuff for the history of these guys. Their first expedition had a few problems... like fences - and wind direction. They are going from
north to south this time.
PrairieWind - 28-1-2010 at 10:54 AM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGXxiCDTQo0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku6CsAzqMu0
here are a couple of tv news shows about the guys crossing north dakota. there are a few other vids if you search you tube for "to cross the moon"