7/3/2020 Black River Falls to Irving

7.3.2020 Black River Falls to Irving

A gorgeous HOT day for a COVID 9 kayak trip, but you gotta go when you can.  Today’s temperature reached 91° with an equally oppressive humidity.  We did enjoy a refreshing 78° water so we were able to cool down as needed.  Our crew for the day included another rookie—it is rookie season.  We don’t care if they fall in anymore because the water temperature is comfortable and the water level is a safe 4.5 feet, so they can stand up if they make a mistake.  Perfect learning conditions.  Victor was out victim for the day.  We started him with a minute of instruction—more than enough for a man with a Master’s Degree.  He was a little shaky at first, but by the end of the day we had full confidence in his abilities.  The rest of the team included:  Mikayla (special friend of the newbie), Bill, Teresa, Steve, Ben (on his maiden voyage for 2020), Art (becoming a regular very quickly), and Me.  We pushed along at a slow pace for the day, only 3.5 mph for our 12.7 mile tour, far below last week’s record pace of 5.1 mph.  The water was mirror smooth and perfect.  Until the last 1.5 miles.  We encountered some wild change in our weather for the day at that point.  It went from sunny and hot to dark, thunder, and heavy rain, with winds that were blowing us down the river and a much greater pace—luckily they were behind us.  In all our years, this is the first time that the Peters family has ever seen rain or foul weather on the river.  That in itself is some kind of a record.  In spite of the weather, we finished with a smile and soaking wet, because even a bad day on the river is better than staying home.

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