Float Out

7-29-2018

Another summer River treat is the Governor’s Race float out. Every year, the Governor’s Challenge gets a lot of important people out of their offices for a couple of days and into the fun tourist activities that up-state NY has to offer. One of those activities is white water rafting. All the rafting companies contribute 3 boats with gear (helmets, life jackets, and paddles) and guides to take the Race participants down the Indian River to the confluence with the Hudson. It’s a big deal, covered by several media outlets and news stations. The Race participants end their rafting trip at the confluence and take a bus to town for a big dinner and award ceremony, many of the guides who raced go too.

That leaves a lot of boats and gear that has to go down the Hudson part of the trip (about 14 miles). Although people can exit the river at the confluence, it would be exceptionally difficult to get rafts up the hill and down the mile of trail to the parking area, so the rafts go downstream. A whole gaggle of us guides think it is great fun to take empty rafts down the river. We all float together and pretty much have a guide party all the way to take out.

It is a completely different experience guiding an empty raft. It is just you making it happen, and you have no one to worry about. The float out usually takes the rest of the day because we float through all the flat water, and with just yourself paddling, all you really are doing is steering. Of course with no weight in the boat, you can explore parts of the rapids you can’t get to (or wouldn’t want to) with guests. With no one else around, we goof off and do silly things that we can’t do when we are working. It is an exceptional amount of fun.

This year was lively escapade as well. We hung out with a couple of other companies, swam, floated, ate tons of good food, laughed, and generally clowned around. We even got off the river before dark (always a plus)! Good summer fun was had by all on the float out.

Exploring Raquette Lake

7-14-2018

Today dawned overcast and windy, the warm summer sun hiding away. Of course, we paddled anyway. Took off to another area of Raquette lake neither of us had ever been too, searching for some other lean-tos marked on the map. We hugged the shoreline somewhat to stay out of the motor boat traffic lanes, and also because the shoreline can be less windy, and is usually more interesting than the middle of the lake. A ways up the lake, we tucked into a large bay where the wind died down completely. Still following the shoreline, we meandered deeper into the bay where it became a small cove and wetland. It is always delightful to paddle new places and go exploring with a good friend. We did find the lean-tos on the map and a new one that wasn’t on my (oldish) map. It seems the trail crew/lean-to volunteers are still working on this new one. It is completely built but the ground immediately around it is still littered with building materials and tree stumps. It is in a wicked awesome location; completely secluded in a deep dark primordial classic Adirondack forest. The landing area is a small shallow white sand beach at the back of a completely protected cove. We could see the whitecaps out on the main lake but where we were the water was serene and calm. Best of all the view is facing east for maximum enjoyment of sunrises over the craggy mountain tops along the eastern horizon! I want to camp here! Soon! We paddled and explored a little more before heading back to camp. Another day well spent.

Raquette Lake

7-13-2018

My friend showed up today! After was got all her camping stuff shuttled over to the island lean-to, we took off across the lake to an area neither of us had paddled before. We explored some rock outcroppings, jumping and swimming. The rocks don’t see much human traffic and were covered with a thick slime or algae below the surface of the water that made them exceptionally difficult to climb back up on once one had jumped off, but we prevailed. We walked around and looked at the ruins of some old wooden structures off in the woods, maybe an abandoned camp cabin. There was a lot of rusty metal and broken glass around as well and neither one of us was wearing protective shoes, I was actually barefoot, so it wasn’t much of an investigation, but it was a nifty find. Then we paddled down the shore some more and found tucked in a small protected bay a narrow strip of white sand beach between the lake and a wetland boggy area. The water was warm and shallow near shore so we floated and lounged and relaxed in the sun. We took turns walking down the beach and back relishing in the solitude of the immense open lake, basking in the grandeur of the endless blue summer sky. We talked and laughed through the afternoon. After depleting all our lunch snacks, hunger motivated us back into our boats to paddle back to camp.

We heard the loons before we saw them, hooting and cooing to each other. Forgetting our hunger, we stopped paddling to look and found two striking black and white adults with red eyes and two fuzzy dark grey babies. The adults were taking turns diving for food. When one surfaced it would call out a warbling sound, the babies would trill, and the other adult would call back. After a while the adults split up each with a baby loon following. The diving and twittering peeping continued as the adults dove and the babies waited impatiently bobbing in the wind and waves. When they surfaced, sometimes the adults would be a fair bit off a ways from their offspring and then would make a louder cooing call to locate each other. We sat a watched this loon family for a long time. Eventually the loons came back together and the babies swam around each other in a playful manner, diving for a few seconds, then popping back up to the surface to squeak at each other. It was fascinating, exhilarating, and captivating to watch and listen to this family. I never loons made so many different noises. Later that night as we were falling asleep, we were serenaded by many loons out on the lake with their exquisite ethereal calls while laying beneath the thinnest silver sliver of a shimmering moon hanging low over the horizon.

Happy 4th

7-4-2018

Here it is again; another Fourth of July. Another Summer is now in full swing, and I am in my happiest of happy places. Hot intensely sunny days, long languid humid evenings, cool soft and easy nights followed by early sunrises full of promise and surprise. My heart and souls are full of summer and sun, I keeps these memories and sensations close at hand for later in the year when I need the vivid heart beat of summer to pull me through the darkest coldest days of winter. For now, though, living is easy and sweet. Hot dogs cooked on the grill, corn on the cob, grilled zucchini, and baked potato fries. It doesn’t get better than this.

All Girl Guides!

7-2-2018

So we had a huge group (so big we shared it with another company) go rafting on the Sacandaga today who needed all female guides. Although rafting is still primarily dominated by male guides, females have made a gigantic leap into the profession in the last 20 years. On any river you want to raft (in this country) most outfitters will have several women guiding for them. All I can say is it is freaking awesome to be a female raft guide! So the big joke leading into this trip was between us and the other company we had every female raft guide in a hundred mile radius booked to work today. All in all, the trip went super smooth too. We all had fun on the River, and nobody missed that take out (easier to do than you think). After we had cleaned up at the end of the day, all us girls were hanging out on the back porch with some beers, talking and laughing. Some of these women I hadn’t seen in forever, and others I had just met today; it was exhilarating, revitalizing, and invigorating to be in the midst of so many strong, independent, vibrant, dynamic women. So with the vivacious zest for life that most raft guides possess, we headed out for triple scoop ice-cream cones and watched a ponderous thunderstorm blow into town. What an amazing day!

Dogs and Boats

7-1-2018

It has been a hot hot humid day up in the Adirondacks. So in the late afternoon when the heat was still and heavy in the air, a bunch of us grabbed some boats, some beer, and some dogs, and headed over to the lake. We paddled just far enough out to get to deep water and all jumped in. Swimming, splashing, floating, gloriously happy in this moment surrounded by mountains, water, and friends. To me this is quintessential Summer. Hot days with good friends. It is the reason we are all here right now in this spot. To be warm and happy and loved. There is nothing quite as special as messing around in boats.

Beach Day

6-17-2018

Although it was a late night, my oldest best friend, her wife, and I all managed to pull ourselves out of bed in the morning and go to the beach! You HAVE to go to the beach at least once when you visit Florida. It’s mandatory and non-negotiable. It was fabulous! We ended up a Jax Beach, where we used to go when we were in high school! WOW has that place changed! The beach still looks the same, but the town development is off the chart. Did not recognize anything. All our childhood landmarks were either gone or so much changed they were unrecognizable. Crazy! Busy too. We eventually found parking and lugged a bunch of accouterments down to the sand: chairs, sand blankets, boogie-boards, beach towels, umbrellas, cover ups, sun hats, sunscreen, drinking water, snacks, and some other stuff. And we had a marvelous time relaxing in the sun and shade, romping in the surf, swimming, boogie-boarding, and walking down the beach searching for shells and shark’s teeth. My heart beats in time with the pounding waves, my souls sings in tune with the roaring surf, my breath sighs with the water as it washes over the sand and shells. The beach is pure energy, I absorb it and make it part of me. When you touch the water of the ocean, you touch the whole world, and the world touches you. A sweet salty caress of sand, salt, and surf that transcends time and space, to hold in your physical memory so you can return to it when winter’s darkness closes in.

High School Reunion

6-16-2018

So I went to my high school 30 year reunion today; the first high school reunion I have attended. My best friend from childhood and her wife are staying with my parents too (they live in Texas); they have another family function to go to and met me there later in the evening. I had no idea what to expect. The three of us with help from my mother all had fun getting ready; what to wear, how to accessorize. I don’t usually spend very much time thinking about these questions on any given day, just throw something comfortable on and go, but I wanted to look confident, outgoing, and fun loving for this shindig. I was kind of a wall-flower weirdo in high school. I even took my old yearbook had people sign it again. I though was a nifty idea, and although everybody did sign it, nobody else had their old yearbook with them. Although. Now that I think about it, most of them have been to several (or all ) reunions and had seen each other relatively recently. Most of the people there still live in Jacksonville or close by and are still friends with each other, and see each other all the time anyway. There were only about 20 classmates there (out of 110 from our graduating class) with their spouses. I remembered a few of them, but I would not have been able to pick them out of a crowd. It seems that the gang I hung out with in high school have all dispersed all over the country (and world). It wasn’t feasible for them to come to this reunion. One (used to be) close friend did show up (from way out of state as well) and I was pleasantly surprised to see her again. We spent the evening catching up, telling stories, laughing, dancing, and eating. Eventually my oldest friend and her plus one meandered in and the four of us had a lively discussion reliving the silliness of high school antics. We closed down the party and then moved to a the nearby Air B&B where our close friend was staying and continued our remembrances late into the night. Old friends can just pick up where they left off no matter how much time has passed. Friends keep us strong, keep us young, and share our memories.

West Virginia Nostalgia

6-12-2018

It was hard to leave my friend’s house this morning. I always feel like time is too short when we get to spend time together. It was a nice visit: my friend, her family, and I hung out for the evening. We all went for a leisurely walk a mile or so upstream looking at the rain swollen creek, then had an awesome cookout.

This morning I drove south through the heart of the West Virginia mountains, a trip I have done many times in the past when headed to the Gauley River. It was definitely a trip down memory lane. So much has changed in that area. The road has grown wider and the towns are bigger now. However, the pure essence of the place is still there. Green rolling mountains topped with mist and Appalachian history; the Summersville dam (releasing its roaring waters through the giant tubes to explode into the river blasting against the rocks as a class IV rapid at the put in still thunders in my memory); and the reservoir with its towering cliffs standing erect over the calm deep lake. I am flooded with nostalgia as I pass through this region, vivid visions deluge my consciousness, the Gauley River, its rapids, the absolute beauty down inside the gorge, the crazy six week long guide party that is Gauley season, the intense revelry of Gauley Fest, friends, food, camping. Twenty year old memories as bright as if they happened yesterday. West Virginia; on my mind and in my soul.

Back To Work Again!

2-3-2018

Yeah!!!! I got to go back to work today! Two weeks since I broke my wrist. It was good to see everybody again, and they all love the fluorescent pink cast. I have to modify my actual job as I can not lift anything or manipulate the tools or skis with my left hand at all. I have the sling tight against my body and have taken many milligrams of ibuprofen. I am relegated to the helper instead of a rental tech. I don’t care, just getting out of the house and interacting with other people is a good place to be in right now. By the end of the day my wrist is throbbing and I am exhausted, but it is almost euphoric to be working again, even if only one day a week.