Yeah, it's cool

Sometimes when you see something really cool, you’re like, “Was that really super cool or am I just silly for thinking that was cool?”

I was at the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch a long time ago and at some point one evening took a break from the hang out to take a walk outside. There was a gang of about 10 elk right in the middle of the ranch. They were huge! Amazingly huge! 

I went in and announced: Woah, everyone, there are some elk outside and they are really flipping cool. Folks were like, oh, yeah, nice. Elk.

I was like: What? Y’all aren’t even gonna check it out? 

Nah. 

Back to the river. I was paddling sime ago and this duck skims out from the bank and wingflap-paddles out in front of me. There was no way I was going to catch it, but it continued like this for some time with me following along. After a bit it looked around, swam to the other side of the river, alighted from the water and did a 180 and flew back to the basic vicinity of its original spot. 

I’d heard about some ducks doing this to lead predators away from a nest, but never experienced it. 

Objectively cool?

Damn straight. So were the elk. 

So much coolness

A Swim and a Thought

If you follow the Instagram page, you know Jeff, my paddling partner. He’s (nearly) always up for a float and as we meander down the river, he loves to hang out on the bow and check things out. He especially likes the occasional deer sighting and there are times when he has spotted them before I have. 

Jeff is an adventure dog. He tends to chew on his PDF if he’s bored and especially enjoys a bit of action. Speed fits the bill - usually provided by steady paddling or the set of rapids near the end of our usual route. 

Though he sometimes tries to ride the rapids from his perch up front, he usually retreats to my lap or I scoop him up and bring him back with me. He’s pretty secure in the cockpit or between my legs if I kneel on a paddleboard.

A recent float provided an exception to this. 

While watching Leigh negotiate the rapids, I smacked a stranded log and he flew off the paddleboard. I sprung off the board, lunged for his tail and reeled him in. The river was too fast to stand so I held him aloft while I rode the rapids in a “seated” position. 

This non-standard trip over the rapids left me a bit bruised and Jeff a bit shaky, but our unplanned experience is one of many reasons why I find time on the river so captivating. 

We never know what we are going to find and we certainly don’t know what is going to happen. We may see an eagle soaring up the corridor; maybe an osprey will shrill at us before going alight with its most recent catch; maybe the mayflies will be on parade; maybe a deer (or a cat) will spy us from the banks; maybe the swallows will be catching food and feeding it to their young as they watch the enterprise from a powerline. Maybe we will go for a “swim.”

There’s always something awesome happening out there. Sometimes that awesome isn’t what one would choose (portage over ice, a cold driving rain, a swim), but the river provides a bit of an edge whose precipice is not too high to deal with. Jeff and I aren’t “send it” sort of folks but we try to take it all in and understand we are provided with a special opportunity to see beauty, watch the changes on the river throughout the year and participate in something primary and unfiltered. 

As I finish this piece up I am taking mini-breaks to prepare for a quick float. Jeff knows we are about to go out and is patiently waiting so he can get out there and see what is out there today.

Shortly before launch.

Yard Yak

A high-water June ended up with heavy rains throughout most of the Conestoga River watershed as the river breached its banks on July 1 and eventually hit 12.5 feet as measured at the Lancaster USGS station at Walnut and Pleasure Road. After an overnight recession, it was back up and it took a couple of days for the river to recede to near-normal levels. 

While gardens and other plantings may get beat up a bit by the river at flood stage, it is good for what my neighbor calls a yard yak - essentially a paddle out above our neighbors’ yards. The perspective one gets from the river is always awesome and being able to paddle in spaces that don’t usually afford the opportunity to do so is totally worth having to occasionally avoid a tree trunk or other items that have been captured by the current upriver. 

Also, the water is exceptionally fast. Sure, it’s also a bit swirly and down by the “rapids,” a bit bumpy, but for someone who looks to experience the river is all of its expressions, it's the bomb. 

It’s always the bomb, but, hey...

Yark Yak

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