To balance the emotionally charged Subaru thread, I thought I'd add something light hearted to the forum. I'd be interested in hearing about some sudden surprises you may have gotten while paddling. Here's three that I've had in the last couple of years. They aren't great, but what the heck.... First, I was paddling along in the marshes of a NWR, minding my own business, feeling entirely alone and safe, having a wonderful time watching the ducks and so forth. Suddenly, all hell broke loose with shot guns going off from about 3 different locations, forming a triangle of which I was in the middle. I usually watch out for hunters during duck season, but this area was posted for no hunting, so I assumed (oh boy - trouble right there) that there were no hunters around. These guys were close, too. I almost capsized just from the startle. I thought about fussing at them about hunting in a posted area, but I figured that there were three of them, armed, and obviously didn't care where they hunted, so I just turned around and left. Second, in the same NWR, I entered a creek, and just past the mouth, the creek turned abruptly to the left. I made the turn and as I gently glid (glided?) by not more than about 15 feet from land, I accidentally (HONEST!) interrupted a young (mid 20's maybe) couple that appeared out of nowhere on a 20'x40' patch of beach in the middle of the marsh, ahhh, lets just say "doing the wild thing" on a beach blanket. They were kayakers in a double. As I went past them, the woman freaked out, and the guy just gave a shrug that basically said "so what". To break the ice, I simply smiled and said "Nice double". I spent as much time down that creek as I could, hoping that they'd be gone when I left, and sure enough they were. Unfortunately, a couple hours later, we arrived at the ramp at about the same time. The guy seemed to not give a hoot. The woman went and hid until I left. Can't blame her - I'm sure she was totally embarrassed. And for those who want to ask but won't - yes, I marked the spot on my GPS. :-) Finally, this is about me surprising a few delinquent kids. I had pulled ashore at a Point on the Back River near the mouth of the Bay where I live. There were very few areas to pull out, so you took the opportunity when it presented itself. I pulled the boat up to keep it from floating away, but in doing so, it was somewhat hidden by the tall grasses and scrub. I stretched my legs, did my business, and noticed a worn path leading into a copse of trees. I investigated, and found an area that had basically been "hollowed out" with makeshift benches, a table, rope swings, and various and a sundry other stuff. Clearly, it was a kids hangout. One of the trees had steps hammered into the trunk, and there was somewhat of an observation deck about 15-20 feet up above. So, I retrieved my binoculars and camera, and went up to take a look around, and maybe get some good pics of the water. Now, let me set this up properly. I'm wearing my NPS Volunteer hat, so it looks a little "official" although it's not. I'm wearing a grayish greenish shirt with my Black and Yellow PFD over it. On the PFD is a whistle, a VHS radio, a knife, and so forth. To climb the steps, I used the Velcro loop through a spot on my greenish shorts to hold the small black binocular case. To get to the point, I basically could have looked like a Game Warden or an "on the water" cop, or something like that - at least to a kid who didn't get a chance to get a good look. So, while I was up in the tree, a group of three middle school age kids (two males and one female) came down the path from the inland side. It was a Friday about noon, during the school year, so they were obviously skipping school. They broke thru the brush into the copse of trees, and at this point were almost directly under me, but hadn't seen me, and I hadn't made myself known to them. Almost instantly, one of the guys and the girl both pulled out marijuana paraphernalia, in preparation for lighting up. Not wanting to be "hidden" too long, I then spoke up by saying, "Hey, whatcha got there?" or something to that affect. All three looked up onto the platform, saw what probably appeared to be some sort of water based law enforcement officer, and immediately ran like the wind. And I mean RAN! And RAN, and RAN, and RAN... cussing almost the whole way until they started running out of breath. I climbed down as best I could, what with all the laughter and all. When I got down, I destroyed the few items they dropped when they took off running, and left myself. I could barely paddle the rest of the day. I kept busting out in laughter. So, what about you folks? Any interesting (not that these were particularly interesting) stories about sudden surprises while paddling? Rick *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 05:06 PM 2/3/04 -0500, Rick.Sylvia_at_ferguson.com wrote: >(HONEST!) interrupted a young (mid 20's maybe) couple that appeared out >of nowhere on a 20'x40' patch of beach in the middle of the marsh, ahhh, >lets just say "doing the wild thing" on a beach blanket. They were I never quite had that happen, but up in the far reaches of Georgian Bay one time four of us paddled past a couple that were sunbathing nude on a sunwarmed rock, along a channel to a moderately busy landing. It might have been considered rather em-bare-assing but the couple apparently had no problems with it. Unfortunately, in the wild things sometimes aren't as lonely as we might wish them to be. -- Wes --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wes Boyd's Kayak Place NEW URL! -- http://www.kayakplace.com Kayaks for Big Guys (And Gals) | Trip Reports | Places To Go | Boats & Gear --------------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> At 05:06 PM 2/3/04 -0500, Rick.Sylvia_at_ferguson.com wrote: > > >(HONEST!) interrupted a young (mid 20's maybe) couple that appeared out > >of nowhere on a 20'x40' patch of beach in the middle of the marsh, ahhh, > >lets just say "doing the wild thing" on a beach blanket. They were > > I never quite had that happen, but up in the far reaches of Georgian Bay > one time four of us paddled past a couple that were sunbathing nude on a > sunwarmed rock, This is small boat related and told to me by an English friend. Quite a few years ago, several rowers were out on a local river. They stopped at a grassy clearing along the banks. Being a warm bright day, they decided to strip down nude to enjoy the sun. Just after they had shed all their clothing along came a skif rowed by several ladies. The women saw them and were clearly shocked (I said this was from a bygone era). The men quickly grabbed hats to hide their privates from further embarrassing view. Except one rower who instead just as quickly covered just his face and remained exposed below. After the women had passed, the others asked him why. He replied, "Gentlemen, I am recognized by my face not my genitals!" ralph diaz *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Tuesday, February 03, 2004, at 2:06:06 PM PST, Rick wrote: > First, I was paddling along in the marshes of a NWR, minding my own > business, feeling entirely alone and safe, having a wonderful time > watching the ducks and so forth. Suddenly, all hell broke loose with > shot guns going off from about 3 different locations, forming a > triangle of which I was in the middle. I had a very similar experience. I was paddling down my local Copalis River a couple years ago, admiring a grebe that was sitting on the glassy water. The grebes get spooked pretty easily, and will dive when alarmed, so I was trying to be as quiet as possible. The bird was just at a sharp bend in the river, and I was about 15 meters up river of it. The tide was ebbing, so the water level was quite low, this being very close to where the river meets the sea. Because of the low water, I couldn't see over the banks...and I couldn't see around the bend. Just then, a shotgun blast rang out, and I nearly capsized from the shock. The grebe was dead, with feathers flying everywhere. I was very sad. The shooter couldn't see me, so I shouted to let him know I was just around the bend. I'm always careful to avoid paddling in areas where hunters may be during hunting season, but this wasn't duck hunting season. Also, the grebe is a protected bird, and even during hunting season, it's supposed to be off limits. As I came around the corner, I encountered the shooters. Two adult males in their forties, and a young teenage boy in a small fishing boat with an outboard motor. I expressed my dismay at their act of murder (as politely as I could), and they responded by telling me that the birds were eating "their" fish. I didn't want to get into an extended and most likely futile argument with them, but while we were talking, I memorized the license number on their boat. I then paddled down river. As I continued paddling, they passed me. Around the next bend, I heard three more shots on my way back to the put-in, and I came upon two more dead grebes and one dead Bufflehead duck...with shotgun shells floating on the water near them. As soon as I got home, I called Fish and Wildlife, and reported the incident, complete with the boat license number. They told me that they would get back to me and let me know the result of their investigations. I never heard from them. Regarding the herbal incident: > I climbed down as best I could, what with all the laughter and all. > When I got down, I destroyed the few items they dropped when they > took off running, and left myself. I could barely paddle the rest of > the day. I kept busting out in laughter. Hmmm. To each our own. I probably would have disposed of the abandoned bounty in a different way, considering the waterproof matches I always carry "just in case". ;-) -- Melissa *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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