Add It To The List

We’ve established already that ice is part of the experience these days. Greeted by a sheet along the bank, I’ve been sliding into the water and pretty much any chance of clearing it with my paddle is gone. I’ve rigged up a rope to pull myself up onto the sheet at take out and as long as there isn’t a thaw/freeze event the rope should be good. A thaw isn’t happening anytime soon. 

Today’s paddle was less than a half-mile round trip and from the first contact with the terminal sheet, the ice extends all the way down to the Rocky Springs bend. That doesn’t mean much to anybody, so let’s just say that it's a good distance and from how things freeze up, there probably isn’t a break for the mile it takes to get to Eagan’s Rocks - a slight drop in the river dotted with debris from the mill dam or something like that. Nothing treacherous, just bumpy.

The sheet that is at our put-in/take-out is present all along the bank and unlike its condition a few days ago, it’s solid all the way to the water. It’s usually thin and breakable at the water, but with the temperatures like they’ve been, the crust of last week is solid ice now. 

The edge down where one can’t go any further is solid enough to attract the birds and some wrens or finches or something small and brown was hanging out there yesterday, feeding on small bugs that have, for some reason, decided to hatch. 

Haven’t seen that before. Add it to the list.

Crusty

Put It On Ice!

I’m hitting ice just about every time I go out these days. I’ve come to love it.

There’s always something cool happening on the river, but the ice adds a new element. There’s tissue paper ice, slush ice, ice that looks like it’s forming before my eyes and there’s ice ice. Like the hard stuff. Pretty difficult to paddle through, but it often provides a good platform on which to take a break. Just have to work up some steam to get up on it. Sometimes it breaks, sometimes I’m up above the river. 

Yesterday, I paddle-slid onto a sheet of ice that was covered by 6-8 inches of water. There was a sheet of ice down there and the river flowed above. Little chunks of ice floated by. There must have been some chunks of ice moving under the ice sheet and I just rose up as the ice sheet became more buoyant. It wasn’t like it was scary, it’s just that I haven't been moved by the river like that before. Slow power.

In the three winters that we have lived here, it’s only iced up once before (two years ago). This year, there’s ice all of the time. I think that there have only been two times in the past 10 days or so where I’ve been able to get through. Otherwise, I have to turn around and paddle against the current to get home. Not my favorite, but what are you going to do?

Not go? 

Nah…

Crust ice, chunk ice and ice ice.

This Moon Was This Moon

The river shows something different every time. Last night I went out with the nearly-full moon and it was the first time that the moon was so high in the sky. Seemed really far away as well. Even last month when I went out with the moon it seemed much lower in the sky. And in the summer, it’s usually down. It gets up there but it still seems lower.

Now, I could be absolutely wrong and the moon I saw last night was the same moon that I saw in the summer with regards to its general location in the sky. But I don’t think so. 

So.. the river showed me something last night that I don’t think I have seen before. Think. And it wasn’t even the same moon that I have seen. It was a unique night amongst the times I have been out to meet the moon. It’s the same when it rains, or when it’s windy, or hot as hell; there’s variety within each one of those conditions as there is variety every single day. Season’s change and there are so many different factors out there that come together to color the overall experience.

I do love going out with the moon though. So cool.