As temps start to drop with the fall season upon us, we tossed a few questions to Charles Wygal, a seasoned whitewater kayaker and non-seasonal paddler from the cool and crispy waters of upstate New York to share a few tips on how to stay warm and semi-safe during your cold water paddling adventures. 

​In early 2022, I got a seemingly random text from adventure pal, Samuel Martin (of “Available for Pickup Only” fame amongst others) It simply said “Packrafting trip in Alaska?”. Wesley Maxwell (the photographer behind most of Human Powered Movement’s shenanigans) was also on the text and immediately responded the same obvious way I did. “Love it … I’m in!”. These semi-serious and semi-wishful thinking responses ended up turning into something that only the very best dreams are made of.

You’ve likely found yourself staring out the office window and wishing you were outside instead of staring at a computer screen a time or two huh? Us too. That’s the inspiration behind our latest short film (3min) entitled “Lunch Break”. The goal is to motivate you to change up your daily routine and sprinkle in some creative activity during your midday break.

We sat down for a Q&A with “The Lunch Bunch” from the film to get their insight leading up to, during, and after our shared meal and experience.

I was slumped over in a chair at O’Hare Airport in August of 2022 after a red eye flight from Anchorage, AK when I got a text from a familiar number. I was flanked by a couple of, also slumped, adventure buddies as we were partially home from a mind blowing 100+ mile packrafting trip from Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve to Kobuk Valley National Park (another journal for another time).
The text, from a former co-worker, previous HPM Guest Contributor (See: “The Joys of Being A Beginner”), and flat out incredible human being, was from Megan Somloi, the Ecomm & Marketing Manager of Bend, OR based Aquaglide. They were planning the release of a brand new ultra-light inflatable kayak and wanted to showcase the versatility of the boat for its spring 2023 launch. I was still stoked from the Alaskan expedition, was familiar with the Aquaglide brand, and knew that this aligned perfectly with what we are doing with Human Powered Movement. I sat straight up and felt another wave of adventure energy guiding me downriver.