What did you do on New Year's Eve? Go kayaking, of course!

Today it's just five who bundle up and brave the cold to head upriver from Beaver. From left are Flip Puthoff, Pat Costner, Judy Combs, David Dempsey and Warren Cunningham. Kathryn Lucariello / CCN [Order this photo]

BEAVER -- On the shore of Table Rock Lake in the Beaver RV Park, David Dempsey pulls up a dry suit with a waterproof zipper that goes diagonally across the chest and over the shoulder so the wearer can get in and out of it.

It has a rubber ring around his neck so he can pull up his latex collar and keep water from getting inside his suit in the event he is about to capsize out of his 17-foot Prijon Kodiak kayak. He wears neoprene booties. If he capsizes, he will stay dry -- and warm.

That's important in December.

The weather this morning is cloudy, with a temperature of 35 degrees. A cold wind chills fingers and faces.

But that doesn't stop an intrepid group of mostly baby-boomer kayakers from around northwest Arkansas, who take a trip every week in their kayaks.

They just dress for the weather. Neoprene, polypropelene and fleece are the order of the day.

They show up with boats atop racks on pickups or pulling trailer behind SUVs.

The group has no official name; it's just a couple of people who started getting together to kayak, and others saw them and asked about going along.

The group goes every week, even in the winter. If it's warm enough, they stop for a picnic, and everyone brings food such as bread and cheese, fruit and other snacks.

A GPS unit strapped to David Dempsey's kayak helps him stay oriented, especially on large lakes like Beaver, where, one time he and a fellow paddler went past a turnoff. The combination GPS and cellphone Web access got them turned around. [Click to enlarge]

The boats are sea or recreational kayaks, long, slender and stable. They're not made for whitewater paddling. That dictates to some extent where the group takes these boats, but there is no shortage of places to take them.

The group has had as many as 13 people on its weekly excursions. As a group, or in various smaller combinations, they have done trips around Beaver Lake, the White River, Table Rock Lake, Hogscald, Lake Leatherwood, other local areas and the Buffalo River. Some have gone out of state, such as to Caddo Lake in north Texas, and out of the country.

David Dempsey with his 17-foot Prijon Kodiak kayak. Kathryn Lucariello / CCN [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Dempsey bought his kayak four and a half years ago and began kayaking by himself for four or five months. Then his friend, Pat Costner of Eureka Springs, bought a boat, and they kayaked together for two years. Doug Powell of Eureka Springs saw them kayaking one day and asked about it, and he joined in. A well-known local woodworker, he built his own boat.

Warren Cunningham and David Dempsey carry Warren's handmade kayak down to the shoreline. Kathryn Lucariello / CCN [Order this photo]

Warren Cunningham of Springdale also built his own boat, started in his garage in Massachusetts and finished when he moved to Arkansas after retirement.

His boat is made of marine-grade plywood and took him about 80 hours to complete.

"I put this boat in the water in 2008," Cunnhingham said. "When I first took it out, I immediately dumped," he said, "and I told my wife, 'I think I made a big mistake!' But I got better at it, and the boat really is very stable."

Flip Puthoff, outdoor editor for NorthwestArkansas Newspapers, is also part of the group. In fact, today's trip five miles up the White River from Beavertown will provide material and photographs for a story he is working on.

An experienced kayaker, Eric Esche, helped the group with kayaking. "He has been so helpful in teaching us about kayaking," Dempsey said. "He really knows his skills."

Dempsey, a former reporter, editor and photojournalist in Carroll County, is the staff photographer for NorthwestArkansas Newspapers.

Kayaking opens up a whole new way to explore new locations, whether here or abroad. A kayak can take you into places people on foot, in vehicles or even in larger boats can't go.

Judy Combs of Fayetteville with her baby blue Necky kayak. Kathryn Lucariello / CCN [Order this photo]

Judy Combs is originally from California, where she kayaked extensively.

"I miss the ocean," she said, "and when I moved here I thought it would be boring." She gestures to the calm, flat water at Beaver RV Park.

"Not so. There are so many things to see. We're seeing a lot of eagles, up close."

"Three years ago, I wanted to go to the Florida Keys and go paddling, but being in a hut on an island with mosquitos didn't appeal to me, so I heard about an island in Greece -- Milos -- where a man and his wife run eight-day kayaking tours," Dempsey said. "They have a bed-and-breakfast and people go kayaking and have campouts on various islands. They show up with food at various stops. There are numerous sea caves you can paddle into."

When Dempsey went back for another trip to Milos, Costner went with him.

Dempsey has kayaked more than 600 miles this year; Costner, more than 300.

According to the Outdoor Industry Association, paddling is one of the fastest growing recreational sports in the nation. And the state is prime territory for it.

Heading upriver for about five miles on a blustery day. Kathryn Lucariello / CCN [Order this photo]

"Arkansas has more than 90,000 miles of rivers, streams and bayous," said Kirsten Bartlow, director of the new Arkansas Water Trails program and Watchable Wildlife Coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

To learn more about Arkansas Water Trails, visit http://www.agfc.com/education-class/prog....