Very nice writing, Dave. Often the best wilderness experience is to be found on the outskirts of cities. Forgotten waterways abound. In the grand scheme, life itself is what one makes of it. We only have to open our eyes and minds. And get out. I have seen more wildlife on a side channel of the Willamette River than almost anywhere else I have paddled. I have yet to run into another human here. Timing is important, too. Just as the best skiing is to be found early or late in the day or during a storm, the same is true of paddling. I paddled out between the jetties at Newport, Oregon last Sunday. Mild storm paddling by Doug's standards, but what fun! We only spotted two lone small boats with a pair of salmon poles showing from each and a commercial trawler with stabilizing poles extended. The rough-bar light accompanied the small craft warning flag on the Coast Guard's pier. The three of us were tense in the midst of the large refractory waves. Breaking swells were hitting us from three directions. This was breaking new ground for us. I was ahead of the others when it dawned on me that I might have ventured out alone. I was willing to go on, but not alone. I stopped, taking it all in. I was being pulled by equally strong desires. On into the unknown or back to safety. The others pulled even. The more hardcore of the two said he had gone far enough. He had a new boat and is, like me, recovering from recent knee surgery. For the other, the call of the sea sirens was too much. We turned back with the quiet one softly whining. Wonderful surf awaited us far inside. Smooth, nicely spaced waves like salve for a wound. The sirens sing even more loudly now. Bill *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Oct 23 2003 - 13:15:46 PDT
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