Recently though, a buddy of mine had been bugging me to come with him and some of his pals who owned kayaks to paddle down a creek. Strangely enough, he and another buddy of mine, each from a totally different friend circles and no knowledge of one another, both have been badgering me to get a kayak, for pretty much the same reasons. You'll have fun. You should go with me paddling. You can get to some cool camping spots with one. I gave em both the old, "Yeah, yeah. Have fun in your little plastic dinghy" speech and kinda shrugged it off. I wasn't against the idea totally, it just didn't really ring my bell. Well, I finally caved into one buddy, and decided to go paddle the creek with him. Wow. I have finally, after all these years, found a form of honest to God exercise that I actually enjoy. It is true fun. Oh, it can be a hell of a work out, make no mistake. My arms were pretty weak and stiff later that night. I have never had so much fun getting so stiff and sore, or at least I can't remember the last time.
I made sure to bring my GoPro camera along for the trip, with my chest harness for it. This made for some great shots when I didn't have the paddle in the way, or wasn't leaning too far forward and filming inside the boat. This particular trip was a working float, as some of the fellas brought chainsaws along to clear some of the fallen trees and limbs out to open the creek up more. There were spots that they had to get out and walk the kayak around and put back in on the trip they made the weekend before I tagged along. There were several spots, though, where we were free of debris for a good stretch, and had a nice slow current to just coast and relax. It was peaceful, relaxing, and gave us a few breaks between cutting or paddling.
 |
| Coasting with the current. Ahhh. |
I had done some "research" on the intarwebs the night before the trip, and thought I had learned a little ahead of time to give me a little leg up, so I wouldn't look like a complete dork. Yeah. I learned more in the first ten minutes on the water than I did from hours of video on YouTube. I'll admit, some of the info and videos were actually useful, but the trip was very educational. Now I understood why my buddy was bugging me to get one of these fun little boats. He even plans to duck hunt out of his, which is a pretty good idea for getting into hard to reach spots. I learned pretty quickly why the cheap little starter boats I looked at online were not for everyone, and found why folks are willing to shell out what a "good" kayak costs. Little things like paddle holder bungees, better seats, knee and thigh padding, adjustable foot rests, dry wells, drag handles, etc. all came into clear focus on this ride. I also learned that the 12 foot model I was borrowing was maybe a little longer than I cared for, personally. I think a 10 foot would be easier to steer, and we did a bunch of steering. It took a bit for my newbie ass to try and swing that big monster back and forth as often as we had to, especially with a paddle that was too short for me. I also learned a bit about hull shapes and which were faster and which were more stable.
By the time we got back with the trailer full of boats and it was time to pack up and go home, I realized how exhausted I was. I felt like I could lay down and go to sleep right then and there, never mind the drive home. I'm glad we stopped and loaded up on the trailer when we did, because I was honestly having so much fun that I didn't notice how hard I had pushed myself. I have not had this much of a workout of any kind for about a year now, so I am in lousy shape. I hope to change that though, now that I have found exercise I really like. I think I am really going to get into this hobby, sport, whatever you want to call it. It's tons of fun, and I might get healthier while doing it, and having an excuse to be outside.
If you've never thought about trying this, but know somebody you can go with, or have a rental place near you, give it a try. You might be surprised.
-Owen
No comments:
Post a Comment