Oy was I itching to get out on the water! The winter up here has been extra long and extra cold!
The first promise of a medeochre day had me strapping my Oru Kayak together and shoving off into some chilly waters with my music and my snacks.
The day started off POURING rain as I drove out to Rattlesnake Lake, but as I parked and started putting my kayak together the sun popped out and I was actually sweating from the sun's warmth for the first time in...basically a hundred years.
MMmmmmm I felt extatic and giddy, pushing my wee vessel out onto the glossy green waters.
One.
Two.
Three.
I wiggled my way off the ramp until...
Woosh!
*sigh of exhilarating relief*
Out into the expanse I paddled as fast as my very unconditioned arms would take me!
As I circumnavigated the lake I stopped every so often to rest, check out the underwater stumps of the trees of yore, chat with an old man walking his dog on a trail...
feel the wind ripple the water and move me along with it....
soak up the weak rays from a tentative sun
breathe in the fresh fresh oxygen in this green and growing place
eyeball some aggressive dark clouds over East.
As is natural...I reached the farthest point from where I put in just as the wind ripped across the lake quickly frothing white caps and pushing me into places I did not want to be....like the center of the lake. Unconditioned arms be hanged, I power paddled as fast as I could manage. My first thought was "oh this will just pass over real fast" as Washington spring storms are apt to do. However that hope was dashed when there was a deafening BOOM and the bottom of the sky fell out...all over me. The panic rose in the back of my throat as my spent arms struggled to make progress cutting though the rough waters and the boat ramp disappeared behind a veil, nay, drapes of rain.
I took a moment and rested next to a giant stob sticking out of the water and started chuckling, then full on belly laughing.
This is how it goes for me.
I have a grand plan of an epically photogenic Instagram worthy outdoor experience and feeling fulfilled with my outdoor prowess. Instead I am a soggy, weak, and frightened novice kayaker who dropped her sandwich in the lake.
Keep it real my friends.
I'm never going to be one of those girls who has perfect Insta shots and get's a million followers and and sponsored by top outdoor brands. Kudos to those ladies.
But for us normal humans, I'm going to share a little more reality and hopefully encouragement for you all. We don't have to be amazingly skilled before we go out there to experience the outdoors and we don't have to look cool while we're doing it.
OUT THERE is where we grow the skills!
So here's to all you folk like me, just getting out there, learning, trying, exploring, being refreshed by nature and building confidence in our abilities and sometimes...
getting our butt's handed to us, but having a good story after :)