So we head upstream towards the Stevenson Dam. They estimated it's around 2 miles, which took us quite a while since we had a newbie with us. At the start I had to point out that she was holding the paddle backwards, but once we got going she held her own. As we cruised along I knelt down periodically to take pictures, including a picture of "The Beach With No Name" (unfortunately the sign is illegible in the picture, stupid zoom) and Indian Head Rock. Every bend we came around my cousin was convinced would bring us within site of the dam, and eventually her friend began to question whether she would be able to make it all the way there AND back.
Very soon we did come around the final bend and saw the Stevenson Dam in the distance. At this point we were paddling in only about 12 inches of water with smooth, rounded rocks dotting the bottom below us. Rather than continuing up and actually trying to touch the dam, we decided to turn around. You could see rocks sticking out of the water on the way up to the dam, so we were worried we would hit our fins on the rocks. I snapped a picture then spun around, paddling to catch up to the girls.
Just as I caught up to them, BAM! I hit something, which almost threw me off the front of my board head first! I was paddling up the middle of the lake/river, but hadn't noticed the water getting shallower and shallower above the rocks. When my fin hit it was a good thing I had my knees bent and my paddle in the water, otherwise I would have gone in the drink.
As we paddled back I snapped a few more pictures and chatted with my cousin's friend as my cousin sped off for the house to check on the baby. After a while paddling, we finally reached the dock where the woman's husband was waiting with her kids. I decided to continue down the lake, so I set up my wireless speaker to play music from my phone then headed off on a faster paddle.
Without the girls I could push much harder, and the dock was quickly just a dot in the distance. As I paddled towards a bend in the river, I could see two police boats sitting right in the middle. As I passed them I waved, and looking back I could see two jet skis speeding up behind me. One of the jet skis calmly passed the police, but the other darted in and out of the skiing buoys, attracting their attention. They quickly pulled him over as I paddled off into the distance. Once I was a good way away from the cops I sparked a jibber and continued paddling along, listening to the music and enjoying the calm water.
I was almost to the park when I decided to turn around. I sat on my board for a few minutes on the side of the river, having a cigarette and the last of my water. As I paddled back I could see the jet skier still sitting on the police boat! As I neared them they finally let him take off, which had to be 45 minutes or so in total. I kept paddling along the Shelton-side of the lake, the seagrass sweeping the bottom of my board as I cruised just outside the boat docks. I kept imaging my fin getting stuck in a loop of grass, throwing me forward, but really the grass isn't that strong and my fin is pretty sharp, so if there were any closed loops I just cut right through them.
When I got back to the house my cousin was shocked at how long I had been gone. They were waiting for me to get back so they could go over to the neighbor's house for coffee, so we quickly said our goodbyes as I packed up my gear and headed for the car. Overall a great day, and a nice change from my usual route on the Housatonic River. It was also very nice paddling with someone else for a change, so hopefully eventually I can either find a girlfriend who's into SUP, or at least some friends who are!
No comments:
Post a Comment