**I'm working through some posts I wrote awhile back, but never published. This was originally written May 2016**
Several weeks ago, The Bachelor and I went kayaking on Pile Driver Slough -- one of my favorite paddles in Fairbanks.
It started off great with a sunny sky. One of the joys of Pile Driver Slough is being able to not paddle your boat if you don't want to -- the current will carry you along. When it's warm out, it's delightful to float underneath the sun. The Bachelor had even brought snacks to share, which was good because I was starving.
How quickly it all fell apart.
Shortly after getting out on the water, the temperature dropped, and I was freezing. Dressed in a tank top and shorts, I was soon shivering. Luckily I always bring extra clothes, and in particular warm clothes. A general rule of kayaking is: dress for the water temperature, not the air temperature. Putting on my long john's meant I'd have to get out of my boat and stand in cold water.
I felt a lot better except for my feet! So cold. Frozen blocks of ice. I had neglected to bring neoprene booties to wear with my sandals.
For five hours, my feet were frozen. I was shivering a lot, but there was nowhere to go but forward.
The water level varies quite a bit on the slough throughout summer. Snowmelt and recent rain make a radical difference in water level. In places, the slough can be shallow to the point of your boat getting stuck on a gravel bar.
On this trip, the water level was somewhere in between. We did have to get out and pull our boats across sand bars half a dozen times. At one juncture, two trees had fallen across the slough and were starting to create a dam. We had to get out and pull our boats around the tree. Getting out of my boat meant continually exposing my already cold feet to more cold.
Shortly after getting out on the water, the temperature dropped, and I was freezing. Dressed in a tank top and shorts, I was soon shivering. Luckily I always bring extra clothes, and in particular warm clothes. A general rule of kayaking is: dress for the water temperature, not the air temperature. Putting on my long john's meant I'd have to get out of my boat and stand in cold water.
I did it though and managed to pull on fleece pants, long underwear top, lightweight sweater, and paddling jacket.
I felt a lot better except for my feet! So cold. Frozen blocks of ice. I had neglected to bring neoprene booties to wear with my sandals.
For five hours, my feet were frozen. I was shivering a lot, but there was nowhere to go but forward.
The water level varies quite a bit on the slough throughout summer. Snowmelt and recent rain make a radical difference in water level. In places, the slough can be shallow to the point of your boat getting stuck on a gravel bar.
On this trip, the water level was somewhere in between. We did have to get out and pull our boats across sand bars half a dozen times. At one juncture, two trees had fallen across the slough and were starting to create a dam. We had to get out and pull our boats around the tree. Getting out of my boat meant continually exposing my already cold feet to more cold.
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And of course, there were mosquitos. They weren't too bad as long as we were moving. Lingering in one spot for any amount of time meant I was enveloped by a thick cloud of bugs, all wanting to snack on me.
It was a relief to get to our pullout spot and see The Bachelor's truck. Loading boats on the truck when you're cold, bug-bitten and tired, is not fun. When everything is cold and wet, straps are that much harder to manipulate and tie-down.
It's interesting being with someone new in a trying situation. I tend to get quiet, put my head down, and just push on. Stiff upper lip, if you will. The Bachelor, however, tends to narrate. And I had been hearing this narration for the past five hours. Every sand bar portage, every strap that slipped during tie-down, I heard it all.
I can generally laugh during these times. A bungee cord that was being used to hold my boat on the truck came loose and went BOING across the parking lot. I thought it was funny and laughed. Seriously, it could've caused a head injury had one of us been in the way. The Bachelor, though, got mad and acted like the universe was out to get him. And there were many comments of "no more kayaking during the week."
Suit yourself, buddy. I'm on summer vacay!
I refrained from reminding The Bachelor that a) I had told him 3-4 times that kayaking Pile Driver Slough takes 5 hours and b) I had asked if he'd be able to stay up late that night because it is a lengthy paddle, and he had to go to work the next morning.
Don't get me wrong. I was miserable: cold, wet, mosquito in my eye, allergies, etc. I had been ready to be done with kayaking an hour into our paddle. But for him to say, "no kayaking during the week" as if I had cajoled him into doing this? To hell with that noise!
Once the boats were loaded we retreated to the warmth of the truck. We drove back down the gravel road, heads jerking from side to side with every pothole. The windshield was covered in thick, yellow pollen from the budding Birch trees. The Bachelor laid his hand palm up on the seat between us. I put my hand in his, and he squeezed my fingers. "Next time we'll plan better," he said.
By the time I got home, there was a text for me: "Dead tired, but time spent with you was worth it."
I guess that noise is all right.
