Epic Fail June 7 2008

June 7 2008 was my first decent canoe trip. I left the house at 4:30 AM, paddled the canoe a few hundred yards parallel to 3' wakes and a overcast sky towards the mouth of the river. Once I floated under the bridge, I beached the canoe on the sandy eroded shore next to the large concrete base of the bridge.

The mosquitoes were terrible. I ran up the highway embankment, over the railing and ran down the highway home. I went back inside to get some bug repellent and a bottle of water, then into the garage where I rode my bike back to the river. I set the bike on the canoe, put a 30lb rock in the bow and began paddling down the cold river still swelling from the spring run off.

Paddling efficiently was difficult while being swarmed. The insects weren't completely affected by the bug spray. The sun was rising, ducks were flying across the meadows and the river was glassy with a light breeze.

I intended to paddle a few kilometers down the river to an old mining road where I would stash the canoe nearby, and bike home from that point. I was nearing the road, and had put on headphones, playing Mike Oldfield's Incantations Part 4. I was sitting on the edge of the canoe and it was beautiful. A mosquito landed on my temple and delivered a particularly startling bite. I freaked and hit myself in the side of the head, causing my $400 prescription glasses to be knocked into the river.

My vision without glasses is worthless, I can discern little more than giant blobs of homogenous color of what is around me. I managed to get the canoe to the road, hid it in a noneffective manner and was able to bike home without sight. Scary experience.


Setting off around 5 AM