Water logged

"Man the water is cold!" That was my first reaction after I hauled myself out of the Trout Creek. A bit embarassed, very wet, cold, but smiling. I had just rolled my kayak while on a morning paddle down through Town and was loving every minute of it. I admit I had never before this been in a white water kayak, I had only ever done flat water kayaking. I was very nervous about even making this trip since I am still in therapy for a recently healed broken wrist but I could not pass up the chance to try something new.

The best part of this trip was that I was doing it through work and therefore getting paid to kayak down the Creek. Now in the summer time you would have a hard time kayaking down due to low water and you would likely portage more than paddle, but in the spring wow, it flows fast and furious. These spring conditions can make it a bit of a challenge, especially for an inexperienced paddler like me (insert snicker here.) We started just below a set of rapids and getting in the kayak was a challenge, but with no incident the trip got under way.

For the first hour we floated and paddled down stream with a relaxed rhythm. The sun getting higher in the sky and the air around us getting warmer. I took note of all the little things about the Creek as I was searching for a project site for work and evaluating past projects as well. Mallards continually moved off ahead of us and I would stop in an eddy from time to time to take pictures. As we moved into Town people would watch with a bit of awe and bewilderment as we passed by and we would give a friendly wave and say "Great day isn't it?"

Finally we reached a set of rapids that I was anticipating. These are newly formed rapids and there are quite a few trees layed into the Creek, making them even more difficult to navigate. I made it through the chute to a eddy where I pulled out. From there I had to go across the Creek to get around a downed tree and here is where I made my "rookie" mistake. I left the eddy paddling hard with my nose upstream a bit to get across, but in this instance you can't paddle on both sides you must paddle on the downstream side only. This keeps your nose pointed upstream and also moves you across the current....oops...I forgot and over I went.

I clambered out of the Creek, pumped out my kayak, portaged around the tree, and happily carried on my way for another hour and a half until we reached our destination. Oh and I guess I should say after another portage for trees, I fell in again trying to get into my kayak. Go ahead and laugh, I did.

Unfortunately my digital camera got waterlogged despite being double bagged in ziplock and I don't have any pics to show but I still will post a pic of the week. This pic is titled "I'm Gonna Get Wet" so I thought it appropriate. I took it along the Fundy Footpath at the mouth of Wolfe Brook, where the brook meets the Bay of Fundy. It was a great trip, and I did get a bit wet.

Stay tuned and I will see you in the woods or on the water