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| Snohomish River 4/12/01 Lowell park 4 mi Had to get a quick fix after 2 weeks of no paddling. Spitting rain while loading the boat after work thursday evening, I've got about 1-1/2 hours to go play and just have to get out. By the time I had everything loaded it was raining pretty hard. Decided to launch from the park instead of the boat launch because of the screwy parking situation. You have to drop the boat off and drive back out to the highway and down to the parking lot 100 yds away and out of site of the launch. Just not comfortable leaving the boat there unattended. The problem with launching from the park at low tide is that there is a long muddy steep bank to the waters edge. I went ahead and tried to walk the boat down the incline but was sinking in past my shoes in the mud and slipping too much. Ended up setting the boat down in the mud, climbing in and attaching the skirt while bracing with the paddle stuck in the mud. Pull the paddle out and slide right into the river sinking the bow and almost rolling right at the waters edge. Glad noone was watching that one :) Managed to hit right at lowest tide and paddled upstream against a fairly strong current. A lot of stumps etc showing that are well underwater at normal water levels. Its raining really hard now but the wind is at my back and its not that bad. Its my first real time out with the greenland style paddle and its supprising how well it works. I guess I was expecting a drop in performance because of the narrow blade. By spreading my hands out onto the blades and increasing the cadence I think I can accelerate every bit as fast as with the standard paddle. Seems like fewer corrective strokes also when I get in the groove and am pulling the blade out at my hip line instead of letting it trail back. After about an hour Its time to head back and meet the incomming tide, paddling against the current again. Great timing! Can't do the mud exit so I have to carry/drag the boat back to the parking area. Really need to work on a stowable cart for days like this. |
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