I rolled at 9:15 for a 10:00am meetup with Dawn and Kristen, but encountered Kristen as I turned out of my neighborhood onto the main drag. We played caravan until she stopped for gas, which gave occasion for a hug. Lots of e-mail had gone back and forth, but I hadn't seen her since the NC Challenge. Too long.
Kayaks packed for at least one overnight, we shoved off a little after 10:00. On the water, Dawn and Kristen formulated a plan while I tried to figure out how my new Pentax Optio W80 works. "Follow" was my watchword for the weekend.
With 20 to 25 miles in their minds, we set off for Farrington Point under mostly sunny skies, not a breath of wind and temperatures warming into the 40s F. A fine day for a paddle and, as it turns out, to motor around and fish. We had lots of company on the lake as we headed north. As usual, most of the powerboaters seem more puzzled by the kayakers than anything.
Kristen dubbed Farrington Point Check Point 1, and we headed the other way—back through the rod-and-reel gauntlet. We aimed for the Haw River, looking to see how far up we could go with the relatively high water levels.
But water, at least in its liquid state, didn’t turn out to be the problem. Soon after turning up the Haw, we encountered ice—at first loose but soon growing thicker and more resistant. Paddles bounced off. Hulls made eerily crunchy noises. Kristen commented that the shark mouth on my boat appeared to be chewing on the ice. (Thanks for the photograph, Kristen!)
My expert companions judged the conditions to be on the dodgy side, and I was happy to comply. So we retreated to camp and prepared to meet our forecast. Most conveniently, the rain held off until just after we turned in, but pour it did. I left my coffee cup out overnight, and it accumulated about 3 cm. by morning.
I haven’t camped much since I was a Boy Scout, and I frankly don’t remember waking so many times during the night. The only time I was seriously asleep was from about 4:00 until 6:00. Hard to explain, as I wasn’t uncomfortable sleeping on the excellent Exped mat Kristen had pointed me toward. Still, I woke feeling fairly well rested if a might stiff in the shoulders.
Dawn and I made coffee outside while Kristen boiled up a cuppa inside her 2-man tent. As the rain tapered off, we jammed wet gear through hatches and launched into the morning fog. It was an absolutely magical morning that I mostly failed to capture with my new toy. Fortunately, Kristen did much better, as you can see here.
As if on cue, rain returned a few minutes from our noontime destination. Weather has seldom been better orchestrated, and I am grateful for a 30-mile weekend with great friends.
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