Canoe Trip and Unification
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Early the second morning of our second honeymoon week, Katrina and I loaded up the canoe we'd rented, at the cabin's dock. We'd already locked up the cabin and looked around for anything we might have forgotten. Katrina got in the front of the canoe. Then, I got in the back. We pushed off the dock and were off on our first portage. We planned to be gone three days and two nights.
We'd practiced, yesterday, canoeing around. We stayed near the dock until we became more confident in our skills. We took the time to each learn how to make the canoe go where we wanted it to. With my previous experience, it was easy to describe to Katrina how to make the canoe do what she wanted. When she was in the rear, where most steering is done in one of these boats, her quick muscle memory made it easy for her to learn what I taught her.
We even dumped the canoe over to see how it felt. And to figure out how to handle that if it happened on open water.
The canoe we'd gotten, though light and made out of Kevlar, was stable with us and our gear aboard. It was only slightly less stable when just Katrina and I were aboard, without the extra ballast. But it was easier to paddle it then, too.
As we paddled across the large lake, I said, "T-Kat, we're only going to go across one portage on this trip. We don't know how hard these portage paths may be. And we'll have to figure out how we'll carry everything. We've got food for four days and the weather radio works. So, we should be fine if we follow our plans. How's the paddling going? Are you feeling all right?"
She turned and said, "I feel just fine, Don. This is as good as our usual calisthenic workouts. Even my hips and legs get involved when I paddle like you showed me."
She looked back, smiled and said, "I'm really enjoying this. I'm glad the wind isn't very strong. It was a little gusty, yesterday, when we practiced. My stomach tightened up a couple of times when we turned around, and were rolling and crosswind to it for a little.
I think I prefer it to be calm."
I said, "A little wind helps keep down the bugs, T-Kat. And I think when the sun gets up just a little higher, we'll appreciate a breeze. If it starts to get rough, we'll just hug the shores like we planned. But the forecast was for only ten mile-per-hour winds today and tomorrow and no wind at night."
We'd gotten the local forecast that only covered the next two days, which is why we brought the weather radio.
We saw several loons as we paddled. We'd grown accustomed to them over the past week. There were many around, either singly, or in pairs.
The area also seemed to be home to a large number of bald eagles. We saw them, frequently very high up, just soaring and circling, seldom flapping their wings.
Once, a large bird dove out of the sky right into the water near us, making a large splash. I told Katrina I thought it was a bird called an 'Osprey'. It was not quite the size of an eagle, though still quite impressive. It took off again slowly, dragging a large fish with the claws of its feet as it flew off.
She looked back at me and I just winked at her. She smiled and raised her eyebrows at me.
We switched sides frequently, her changes determining which side I paddled on. We became quite adept at paddling together, pulling together, almost like having sex. We changed sides quickly, trying to keep a slow, though steady pace. Even changing sides felt like an interruption.
Katrina said, "I can feel how good at this we're getting, can you, Don?"
I said, "I was just thinking exactly the same thing, Katrina. This boat slides over the water more smoothly than that old, painted wood canoe my friend had did. It weighed a ton, too. And it plowed through the water. This thing just glides across the surface. It's almost effortless once it's moving. And we seem to be moving pretty fast. We're more than halfway across this open area."
She said, "Let's stop at that point up ahead, Don. And change ends for a while. My end needs a rest, too. These cross-weave, reed-type seats didn't feel so hard when were practicing yesterday. I'm going to have a tartan brand on my butt before we're done." She giggled and looked back quickly.
I kiddingly said, "Maybe, I should register that brand. Anyway, you're always worrying about your behind, aren't you, T-Kat?"
She laughed and said, "Yep! Gotta keep it in shape, Don, so somebody I know won't get bored with it."
I said softly, "Never gonna happen, T-Kat. Never in as long as time exists. Or like you say - Ever!"
She looked back and said, "Good thing that point's close ahead, Don. I might capsize the canoe crawling back there to kiss you."
We carefully landed the canoe. Plowing ahead into the shore, like I'd done back home in the mud, wasn't recommended up here. The shorelines were all rocks. I could see why the geologist, Ben Fuller, loved it up here. There were big rocks, little rocks, and all shapes and sizes of in-between-sized rocks, but not much sand or finer stuff, and no mud.
We later found a couple of small beaches of sandy and gravelly stuff. But those appeared to be very uncommon.
After she'd been kissed properly, giving both our backsides a break, we switched ends. And we started off again.
I said, "Katrina, it's a little hard to see where we're supposed to be headed right now. The whole shoreline ahead looks like a short, green wall with a short, whitish-gray base."
Katrina looked down at a map in front of her, on the bottom of the boat. She said, "Don, the map indicates we should be going almost due east to get to the portage trail. Why not check out the compass, on that GPS thing you bought, to see where we ought to head. Might as well see if it works anyway."
I got out the GPS unit and let it warm up and align itself. I said, "It looks like we're heading too far south, T-Kat. We should turn left a little and head for that white-looking rock right over there."
I pointed and continued, "This little device is really nice! It not only shows the compass heading, it even shows where we are on the lake. And . . . yes . . . we need to head around that point ahead of us, just off to our left right now. Then, go around it to the right. The portage trail is shown to be in the very back of the bay there."
I reached back and handed her the little device. She set it on the bottom of the boat in front of her. Then resumed her paddling while studying its display.
She kept paddling while glancing down at the GPS unit. "Yes, sir, Commander Don, sir! Your crew willingly complies!" She said in a bantering tone.
