Spring is here... let's kayak!

March 19th, 2007

Three weeks ago snow covered the ground here in north Idaho, but somehow Spring has found its way north—you can feel it in the air. So on Saturday I decided to drag the kayak out of the shop and catch some runoff on nearby Deep Creek. I pulled my wetsuit out of the closet, threw the kayak in the truck, and smiled all the way to the put-in.

I ran this same route last year in March, and it remains an excellent course for my intermediate paddling skills. There are plenty of swift turns and obstacles to avoid, but the water is usually shallow enough to wade, presenting a slightly safer environment in the event of a capsize. The first hazard is a fence wire strung loosely across the water—you have about five seconds from the moment when the wire becomes visible to the point where you must grab it and throw it over your head to pass underneath. Lucky it’s not barbed wire! A short while later you hit the first logjam, a potentially dangerous situation that can be easily avoided by grounding to river right, scaling the largest tree truck, and pulling your boat over to the other side. There is a second portage at the railroad bridge. I sank knee-deep in silt but managed to pull the boat over a grassy bank without too much trouble.

This trip also marked the first time I have fallen out of my little kayak. A birch had dropped across the river but still had about two feet of clearance underneath. I thought I could make it… the next thing I knew I was dunked and pulling my kayak to the shore. The wetsuit worked great—only my feet felt cold afterward.

And so it begins!