Boat Shopping

This weekend Guy and I loaded up the Leopard and headed to Cotopaxi Colorado, just East of Salida on the Arkansas River. Buy was teaching a kayak clinic for the weekend and managed to slide me in to the beginner group. Bear in mind, I’m one of the biggest chickens that ever walked on land. Last I remember, chickens don’t swim, ducks do. But, I am learning to swim so perhaps I’m some part TurDucEn (http://www.chefpaul.com/turducken.html).

Saturday morning the “A” group headed to the pool. I had borrowed a nice Dagger GT from one of the experienced kayakers who was hoping to sell it. The price was good and I enjoyed the boat. However, after 4 hours in a HOT pool (fed by hot springs) learning the basics and trying in vain to get one successful roll, my hips were screaming and I was exhausted.

I made it through lunch only dozing off once and not planting my face in my hummus and pita. We suited up for the afternoon on the river to run from the KOA campground down to Lone Pine. This part of the river is very flat with only a few riffles. Still, there’s a reasonable current and plenty of chances to play across the eddy lines. We learned to “Ferry” in and out of the eddies and to “peel out.”

By dinner, I was nearly too tired to eat. Too bad the word “nearly” appears in that. Dinner was unrecognizable… pretty much predigested… perhaps that was ok since I was too tired to digest. I also had a screaming headache from dehydration and carrying a kayak on my shoulder. I bummed some advil and laid down about 8:30 for a short nap. That short nap turned into almost 12 hours of sleep punctuated by strange dreams. Something about taking codeine cough syrup, it creates strange dreams for nights on end.

In the morning, I was barely able to walk across the campground with my hips so tight. I’m not used to sitting in a frog positon for hours at a stretch. I opted for another day on the river and borrowed another boat that was for sale. This one turned out to be infinitely more comfy for my hips and though slightly less maneuverable for a novice was fine. This boat was also less than 1/3 the cost… so I bought it.

The section of the river was the same for the first mile. The next two miles offered more opportunities to play. Several in our group tried surfing but I knew my arms were too tired to paddle fast enough to get it. I will try it when I’m fresher. We went through one rapid which was hard for us being beginners but is called “warm up” because it is pretty wimpy for the experienced paddlers.

I managed to find virtually every pour-over and pour myself over it. Then I managed to find a big rock convention and hit it head on. I ended up perched on top of a rock in the midst of the pile. I saw a small eddy to one side and behind a rock so I dove for it, knocking my boat off the rock into the water. It was smooth to get back into the flow from there.

All in all it was a terrific weekend. I’m sure it’ll take a few days before my muscles recover which will be my reminder that I’ve picked up a new sport.