Swimming in April.

After careful consideration and a significant (maybe even excessive) exertion of energy, I decided to take a swim in the St. Croix River this weekend. First, the careful consideration: Imagine yourself bouncing playfully down a gorge in a familiar, comfortable watercraft. Now, you are in some pretty serious current, but nothing that you haven’t encountered before. As you are nearing the end of the rapids, with flat water in sight, you see a large hole with a lot of reactionary waves crashing in on each side. Do you: a) play it safe and avoid the hole (a natural, limbic response), or b) decide that the only way to really enjoy this would be to seek out this challenge and embrace it.

Now, for the sake of argument, let’s assume you chose “A”. You veer right, and avoid the hole. The folks on the bank watching you navigate the whitewater are impressed, relieved, and let’s face it, a bit envious. And they don’t even know you are an internet-famous blogstar. The sun is shining, birds are singing, pretty girls are climbing the rock faces of the gorge, in short – life is good.

And now let us examine the choice made by me. I chose “B”. Full disclosure: I am not a thrill seeker by nature, I tend to over think most situations if the truth is to be told. I am still not sure why I chose the path I did other than in the pursuit of the ‘rush’. Picture this massive, gaping hole in the river. The water, stained a pale amber, is frothing in the back and sides of the 8 foot wide section of unstable water. A 17′ kayak slices into the hole, is tossed hard to the left and the paddler tries a high brace. No dice, the boat is tossed again by a different wave, the paddler is high centered with the mid section of the boat almost completely out of the water (kind of like what happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald but on a much, much smaller scale), and he tips over sideways into the froth.

This is where the exertion comes into play.

I have taken a two day course on Eskimo rolling my kayak. In the pool I am a stud. On flat water in a warm lake, I can usually roll without a problem. In an icy river, flowing at 5700 CFM, my roll is suspect at best. So, after spending what seemed like 2 hours (more like 5 seconds) under water, I pulled the handle of my spray skirt and entered the water. At first, it wasn’t so bad. I was dressed for the occasion, and my gear kept me somewhat dry.

I have bailed from kayaks a few times before this event. My first was, appropriately, the very first time I tried kayaking. It was also in April. It was also a complete yard-sale. The rudder on my boat snapped off against a tree, I let go of my paddle. Fun. I did the same thing a year later in the Apple River. Yard-sale. Lost my paddle. Scraped my head on a few sharp rocks. The nose of my kayak was smashed and bent. Again, lots of fun. But I digress. Back to the exertion.

I think the cold was the worst part. I was dressed to stay dryish, but without insulation it didn’t matter. The cold sapped the strength right out of me. Damn, that sucked so much. I was completely unable to swim in the gear, while holding a boat and paddle, in that current. I’m just glad Blogstar was with me, or I may have needed help from the above mentioned, hot, rock climbers. Once we reached the “shore”, I had a hell of a time pulling myself onto the rock without slipping off. I was completely spent.

I realize this is a longish post, and I’ll end it soon, but there is a point to be made. Had I not tried to squeeze that last bit of fun out of the rapids, I would have stayed dry. There would have been no struggle to reach the bank of the river. Most importantly, in a few years time I would have completely forgotten that day, lost in a fog of unremarkable memories. Cesare Pavese once said, “We do not remember days, we remember moments”. I guess that’s the whole point, isn’t it? I won’t forget, or regret, the moment I made that decision to attack that hole. And I certainly will never forget the day I went on an extended swim in the frigid St. Croix River.

Mr. Wondra, ready for action.

~ by jormundr on April 17, 2007.