What About Canoes and Kayaks

Today as I was out hiking I came across other interesting things to do at a park. I was memorized by the motion of the kayak or canoe I was watching. It was far so I couldn't tell which one it was. So now I am curious about these two boats. As I watched the slow movement of the oars I saw how amazingly simple and peaceful these boats traveled. One day it would be something new and fun to try!

Kayaks date back the earliest. Their origins were in Siberia along the Bering Strait. The Siberians migrated to Alaska. On this journey they traveled over open water in meager wooden boats, the first kayaks called "umiaks". The Siberians now known as the Inuit settled in North America and spread to Greenland they adapted their boat and after thousands of years it is now the kayak we know today. The best version of the kayak was the one enclosed. This serves useful to prevent you being swamped from waves. Inuit found this most helpful when fishing along the freezing arctic coasts of Greenland and Canada.

Canoes started in the Americas. The people in the Caribbean used hollowed out logs. The people of Eastern Canada ( now the United States) formed canoes out of birch bark attached to a wooden frame. The nice thing about these canoes were they are lightweight and resourceful for maneuvering the lakes of North America. Europeans used these type of canoes to colonize North America. And continued making them to this day today.

Canoes usually have a bench to sit in an open deck which is uncovered. The paddlers are single-bladed. Canoes also have even or square bottom with a rudder. Canoes are used for more leisurely activities, because they can carry supplies and people. Kayaks are enclosed. Kayaks use a double-bladed paddle. Kayaks are used more for racing and whitewater rapids where water doesn't flood the boat. Kayaks have flat or rounded bottom.

These boats have a lot of things in common as well. They are both powered by humans. Both lightweight used on lakes or rivers. They are used for recreational activity such as fishing. Plus they can float on shallow water. The best part is you can find them at a lot of parks. So along with hiking you could be rowing. Both are peaceful activities aligning you with nature, still getting healthy exercise and vitamin D from the sunrise.

So next time you go hiking you might consider going canoeing or kayaking for a change of pace. To find neat, quality camping gear go to www.backpackingtentsetc.com.