Another first for the year… finally hit a weekend with (what we thought would be) good weather, warm temps, and the time to make the drive up to Bumping Lake. Forecast for the day was to start out overcast, but switch to partly sunny and mid to high 70’s, so we loaded up and planned to head out late in the morning.
Our son chose to go to a movie, instead of joining the rest of the family. For me, the glimpses of creeks on the drive up, the breeze, the warmth of the sun, and the spray kicked up by paddling is far more entertaining than anything Hollywood puts out, but that’s my opinion.
On the drive up, we saw more and more cloudiness, and even a few small sprinkles on the windshield, but large patches of sunshine greeted us upon arrival at the lake. Not a lot of other families out, either. Given that it is Father’s Day weekend, I was a bit surprised. We made ready, lashed down a picnic lunch, and shoved off from the boat launch and into the panoramic beauty of the lake.
I get to be the cargo vessel on these outings, but choose to view that as adding to the workout. At least I know the one carrying chips and water doesn’t get left behind for long!
As we made for the island where we enjoy taking our picnics, it unfortunately got more windy, more overcast, and even a few drops of rain were felt. That said, with our destination in sight, we pressed on and made the most of it. After briefly scouting the area, we found a clearing that had some (minimal) break in the breeze, used our PFDs as seating, and enjoyed a picnic on the island. Great views all around us, and removed enough from everyone else to feel a bit of privacy.
As we neared the end of the meal, however, darker clouds could be seen moving in, so we made the decision to head back. Good timing, it turned out. As we beached our kayaks back at the boat launch, sprinkles could be felt and within a few minutes of starting back in the truck, the rain and wind kicked in, in earnest. Nice drive back (I have always enjoyed driving in rain…and fog…but can’t explain why) and a relaxing outing.
Last piece of business, upon return, was to complete repairs on the kayak rack, that I had started in the morning. Sure, I could go with all five on the rack…but why? Not really interested in being obligated to lift the fifth to head level, every time, if I don’t need to… could be laziness, or it could be years of teaching safety classes that focused on safe lifting.
Can’t wait for the next good day…especially if it stays good enough to remain on the water for a larger part of the day.
Tight lines!
You just need to build one where you load into the bottom slot, then it ratchets up to load the next.
Indeed. If I were to do that, I would also install pressure switches on the underside of the arms that support each one, so the next kayak to be ratcheted up maximizes space by stopping as close as possible to the one above it. Might actually get all 5 on the rack, that way, as I would not need to leave space to slide them in/out… Hmmm….
See? I’m an Ideas Man.
I think we have always known that…there’s just a question about some of the actual ideas… 🙂