Gunshots in the Wind

I headed out to Chain -O- Lakes State Park Sunday for a little paddle across Grass Lake into Lake Marie. Like many trips in paddling, the plan changed. I arrived at the park to find that it was closed and only open for hunters. I was turned away by the ranger, but was reminded that there was a launch just a few miles north on the river.

I arrived at the 'new plan' and unloaded. I knew that wind was going to be a huge factor, so I was just going to play with it and see what direction made the most sense. Once I got out onto the river, I found that the wind was headed UP stream. It had some pretty good gusts so I decided to paddle into the wind rather than hope that I could fight it on the way back.

I only got a few hundred feet before I got spun around. I figured I would take my chances and head up stream with the wind and figure it out on the way back. I paddled about a mile before the wind changed again. Now I was paddling into it. Again, I spun around and paddled back to the channel where I parked.

Once I got to the channel, I was about ready to leave. But I talked myself into staying. I had traveled about 45 minutes, setup my GoPro on the bow, had food and water and was warm..... I was going to PADDLE! I buckled down and took some strong slow strokes into the wind.

I was gaining ground, so it looked like I was going to venture on. The wind wasn't the only factor as I headed south. I was now venturing into the closed park that I stopped at earlier. While you could hear gunshots in the park, none were close enough to me concerned about. It was eerie to hear the 'pop pop' in the blowing wind. Those were the only sounds that were out there that day. It was a little tense.

The beauty of the rivers is, even when it is windy as heck out, you can find calm spots as you round the bends. Most of the river in this section was nice and calm. I was moving pretty effortlessly most of the trip. About a mile into my southbound trip, I hit the wind again. I surrendered and let the wind take me back to the calm water. The gunshots were getting closer and there were a few that scared me into ducking. Not that they were fired in my direction, but they seemed very close.

I put on about 4 miles on a trip that almost didn't happen. It is always a nice reward when you get off the water and are happy that you went, rather than feeling you wasted your morning. I also went straight to Wal-Mart to get an orange hat.