The Shortest Paddle i've only been kayaking since sept., so i don't have the wealth of war stories you all do. (those stories inspire and console me, and even teach me, i assure you. ) however i am accumulating belt notches, and today's (mis)adventure certainly qualifies. i have vaccinated the hubster with the kayaking bug. he's at least as rabid about it as i am. in fact i am more temperate than he, since when i can see my breath in the air, or the wind is over 15k, or it's raining, my committment begins to waver. he, on the other hand, being the World's Warmest Human, remains undaunted. fortunately our northern california climes allow us puh-LENTY of non-frosty days to move from absolute neophyte to, i hope, low intermediate. so today, his 2nd day off, he was rubbing his hands together rarin' to go at 39 degrees, oops, i mean 8am. well, not so, me. no, a few more minutes in the custody of my quilts, cats, and blankets seemed necessary. at 9:15am it was 44 degrees. ok, now i <have> to go. throw on every possible piece of gear (i don't have that much, being a beginner) and step, pillsbury-doughboy-style, into the car. drive to The Training Area, which is part creek, part slough, in an open space area. the last time i went there (solo) i had a major mishap in that i took out at a different place from where i put in, which proved to be EVEN MUDDIER (didn't think that was possible), became mud-coated up to my calves, and spent an hour stair-mastering my way up a 90-degree bank which, though full of shrubs, turned out to be made out of SAND. thus, i became a dirt-and-foliage-ball, too. i got the boat up and out (the bank was about 12 feet up) but when i went to climb, couldn't get a purchase w/my water shoes. [note to self: only use the gnarly-soled water shoes at The Training Area.] this area, btw, is a nice 30-minute roundtrip paddle in a little plain with 2 blue herons, lots of migrating geese, some avocets now and then, and OWLS (how cool are owls?) at twilight. ANYWAY. the hubster is confident, he says, he can get me put in without even getting my feet wet. (as things turned out, he might have said, "without ONLY getting your feet wet." but i digress.) i'm so bundled up i can't <see > my feet; we are talking Michelin Woman, or the kid in the snowsuit from "A Christmas Story." so, we take down the boats, trundle the kayaks maybe 100 feet and down the steep bank, put in where he says, and without telling me he gives a heave-ho push that would have flipped our camry on end, i am sure. i mean, the guy was a highschool wrestling champion, has a serious weightlifting avocation, etc. it is totally Bullwinkle---"don't know ma own strength!". i go flying out into the slough, the boat planes, the bow dips in the water, and then it's Hula Time, i'm dinking, i'm wobbling, I"M CAPSIZING! before i can even get the paddle up, no brace, no hip snap, ker-SPLOOSH. 45-degree air temp, 55-or so water temp, wetsuit on order (doesn't do much good, therefore). i'm only maybe 6 feet from shore. i de-boat myself, grab paddle and boat, and stalk to shore. toss paddle to hubster, say, "Geez!!! Why did you push so hard?!?!?!???", and RUN, not walk, up the bank and back to the car with the niiiiice heater. you may want to visualize a cartoon picture of the tasmanian devil wheeling around a corner in the mud to get some idea of the speed (and aesthetic tenor) of my land wake. as soon as i hit the drink, i realised in those temps that if i didn't head for Camry Heater Heaven i would be miserable ere long. that's about it. he was very demoralized and wouldn't paddle, himself (i don't have enough kayaking gear for a change of cold-weather clothes, yet). i told him i could get warmed u pand change and come get him, but he wouldn't . after we talked it thru we developed some new salutations: he says to me, "don't push too hard!" and i reply, "ok, don't fall in the water." i hope next time if i have to capsize i can do it after at least paddling for a while. but then i guess you usually don't get to choose, do you? best to all (grateful for this list and list-owner, jacki, thanks to all) kcd kathleen comalli dillon~friend, mom, wife, musician, violinist, writer, ailurophile extraordinaire ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "We can do no great things; we can only do small things with great love."-Mother Teresa~~"I find a lot of people like chubby 67-year-old girls."-Beverly Sills~~"I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it."-Abraham Lincoln~~"Prepare to be assimila-----OOOOOoooooo, jelly donuts!"-Homer of Borg~~"I am Boris of Borg. Moose and Squirrel are irrelevant."~~ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:20 PDT