Winter Paddling, Y'all

We’ve hit that time of the year where if you don’t go out after sunset, you pretty much don’t go. Well… that is if you work regular hours and try to hit the river more than just the weekend. Even with the weekend, it can be tough sometimes to leave the water by sunset at 4:47 pm. Not that I wanted to know this, but it looks like we have a nine-day run of 4:39 pm sunsets in early December. 

Summer anyone?

Clearly, complaining about sunset times isn’t where anyone wants to be, so how about looking at the awesomeness that is winter paddling. (Wait! Didn’t a previous post say paddling’s winter season didn’t start until I started to really bundle up? Sort of seems like we’re there, but, anyway.) 

At the risk of sounding like I’m all over the place, one awesome thing about winter is the darkness. So many things to mention about nighttime paddling, but I’ll leave the waxing for another day. It’ll be here.

A leaf mention happened in an earlier post, but winter is awesome for the lack of tree coverage. Sure, this means that a few house lights make it out on the water, but for seeing what lies beyond the banks, the absence of leaves is a must. 

It isn’t all cold around here in the winter; we get some warmer days, too. And when we do, the bugs come out. I love me mayfly burst and drift when the sun comes out. Blue-winged olives?

I think you get the point, even without mention of the ice, clear(er) water, snowfall, snow blowing off trees in the sun, and on and on.

No doubt you will see them here again.

Winter has ice

Geesepeople

A Report From A Night Paddle...

I’m out by Lake Lancaster, a huge hangout for geese. I swear at one point last winter I popped by head over the spillway and there were thousands of ‘em just doing their thing. A lot of them were trying to be heard over the other lot who were doing the same. 

On this particular evening there were two geese out there chatting it up. They would both go at it for a while then everybody would chime in. All would go quiet for a bit and then one of the first pair would honk away. Then the other would join and the whole thing would repeat itself. 

Something like this - 

G1:You ingrate!

G2: You’re the ingrate!

G1: I know you are, but what am I?

G2: You’re the worst!

All Geese: Noise. Noise. Noise. Noise. Noise.

Silence

G1: Hey, garbagehead! You still there?

And so on, and so on, and so on.

Geesepeople.

Lake Lancaster: Where the geese hang out

Seasoning

The leaves are heavy on the river. They scrape along the side of the kayak and get stuck on the bow where they push the water as we move through it. Occasionally, a curled-up leaf will catch the wind and plot its own course while its water-soaked companions have no choice but to follow the current. 

Ever observant, Jeff will spot a nearby clump of chopped up leaves and grass from someone who lives upstream. To him, they are little monsters or at least something mysterious to keep an eye on. 

Every season has a oh-I-guess-its-whatever-season-now moment. Fall’s is when I first notice the leaves on the river. There are always leaves out there, but when you start to notice them, even if it’s sunny and warm, it’s Fall. 

It makes sense that the beginning of Winter has to do with the temperature and the day that I need to wear ALL of the clothes on the water, and gloves, and a scarf and my long johns is Winter’s arrival. We're not there… yet.  

Back to the leaves for Spring. Winter scours everything off of the trees, but over the course of the season, the trees and bushes produce millions and millions of leaf-buds, waiting for that day when they open ever so slightly. And, bam! The trees all have volume. It’s one of my favorite moments on the river. One day the branches are thin and empty, the next they have weight. Spring is here. 

The first day of river-Summer is an easy one. Shorts and t-shirts. The paddleboard. And Leigh and the crew out getting their chill on Adirondack style in the shallows on the far side of the Conestoga. 

Jeff and Ms. Cha Cha get their chill on too.  

Jeff and Ms. Cha Cha getting their chill on.