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Canoe trip gone bad
Jun. 22nd, 2010 09:09 amA co-worker took a few days off last week to go kayaking in Arkansas. It reminded me of a long forgotten canoe trip I went on when I was 19. Yes, yes, way back that long ago.
This trip was ill fated from the git-go. My father was "forbidding" me to go because there were boys going even though I was 19 and was only two months away from leaving for Army basic training (delayed enlistment was a great thing), where there were lots of boys. I was going with my boy friend, B, and that was a BAD thing because it was an overnight trip. Yes, he's always been an old fashioned kind of guy, my father.
Anyway, I met B at Farrell's, which was a chain ice-cream parlor/restaurant. It's theme was 1900's and we had an old player piano that would pump out ragtime tunes while we were open. One night I came in for my shift and this guy had the piano unlocked and was playing all those songs and more from memory. He was amazing! In addition to being tall, blond (which I usually don't go for) and very good looking, he could play any instrument he picked up. Anyway, we started dating and in late August the canoe trip happened.
Another omen that this trip should not have happened was our fender bender on theSurekill Schuykill Expressway. Fortunately, no one was hurt we hit the car in front of us when it stopped short and none of the canoes we were towing were damaged. Our driver did the exchange of insurance shuffle with the other driver and off we went.
Now, if I had been paying attention back then I would remember the name of the river in New Jersey where our little weekend of relaxing canoeing took place. I might have even taken the time and looked it up. Its possible I would have discovered that this "river" we were supposed to float our damn boats in wasn't even six inches deep at the starting point and we had to carry the damn canoes for what seemed like miles until we could get them in the water! But, B had been a boy scout, and was Candian and surely that doubly qualified him to get me through the weeked unharmed.
Once we were able to let the boats carry us for a change things started to get tough. The "river" wound its way with sharp S curves which would cause us to ground the canoe if we coudn't steer the thing accurately. There were tree branches that hung out over the water and if we weren't paying attention could skewer us or at the very least result in a face full of leaves and tree stuff. There were rocks. And, my favorite, wee little waterfalls that probably only dropped down a foot or so, but looked like the Niagra Falls from my point of view.
Then it started to get dark. The trip leader swore there was a place to camp just around the next bend. It had soft sand that had been brought in and there were grills where we could have our cook out and BATHROOMS!!! But each next bend came and went and no camp appeared. So we stopped at the next relatively clear spot before it got too dark to see. Just imagine, late August in New Jersey after a day of carrying a canoe then fending off wayward tree brances and boulders. Being sweaty, dirty, tired and just wanting a nice cool shower at the end of the day. Then imagine having to crawl inside a sleeping bag that it was too hot for or risk being eaten alive by bugs and that's how the "night" portion of the overnight canoe trip turned out. Nothing for my father to have worried about. The next day, we paddled for about 15 minuets and passed the camp.
At this point, the "river" was wider, deeper and had fewer sharp curves to navigate around. We were doing more paddling and fewer evasive maneuvers to avoid obstacles. A few hours later we went through a wetlands area with tall pussy willows and other such plants. It was very pretty. I noticed that the plants were really swaying in the breeze, but I hadn't noticed much of one up to that point. Then we empied out into a small lake. There were two docks, one at the midway point, and the other at the far end. And as luck would have it, our pick up was the furthest away. So we started to paddle. Out in the open like that, the breeze was much more noticible. So we paddled a little harder. The breeze became wind and little waves developed on the lake. We started paddling for all we were worth.
As we passed the first dock two of the canoes in front of us dropped out. But B and I had been through alot on this canoe trip and there was no way in hell we were not finishing. The wind was blowing us backwards it seemed and we had to time our paddling to keep that from happening. The canoe in back of us dropped out as well. We paddled so hard that at one point I thought I was having a heart attack but we could see people on the dock now and our ride to get us out of this hell hole. Fighting the headwind every in of the way we finally made it to dry land. I'd never been happier than to get rid of the canoe, believe me. Unfortunately, I think it signaled the end of my relationship with B. But I was leaving home in a few months and he was going back to school and we all know how those relationships end.
Even though there was lots to bitch about that day, I remember it fondly. Its funny how time can have that effect.
This trip was ill fated from the git-go. My father was "forbidding" me to go because there were boys going even though I was 19 and was only two months away from leaving for Army basic training (delayed enlistment was a great thing), where there were lots of boys. I was going with my boy friend, B, and that was a BAD thing because it was an overnight trip. Yes, he's always been an old fashioned kind of guy, my father.
Anyway, I met B at Farrell's, which was a chain ice-cream parlor/restaurant. It's theme was 1900's and we had an old player piano that would pump out ragtime tunes while we were open. One night I came in for my shift and this guy had the piano unlocked and was playing all those songs and more from memory. He was amazing! In addition to being tall, blond (which I usually don't go for) and very good looking, he could play any instrument he picked up. Anyway, we started dating and in late August the canoe trip happened.
Another omen that this trip should not have happened was our fender bender on the
Now, if I had been paying attention back then I would remember the name of the river in New Jersey where our little weekend of relaxing canoeing took place. I might have even taken the time and looked it up. Its possible I would have discovered that this "river" we were supposed to float our damn boats in wasn't even six inches deep at the starting point and we had to carry the damn canoes for what seemed like miles until we could get them in the water! But, B had been a boy scout, and was Candian and surely that doubly qualified him to get me through the weeked unharmed.
Once we were able to let the boats carry us for a change things started to get tough. The "river" wound its way with sharp S curves which would cause us to ground the canoe if we coudn't steer the thing accurately. There were tree branches that hung out over the water and if we weren't paying attention could skewer us or at the very least result in a face full of leaves and tree stuff. There were rocks. And, my favorite, wee little waterfalls that probably only dropped down a foot or so, but looked like the Niagra Falls from my point of view.
Then it started to get dark. The trip leader swore there was a place to camp just around the next bend. It had soft sand that had been brought in and there were grills where we could have our cook out and BATHROOMS!!! But each next bend came and went and no camp appeared. So we stopped at the next relatively clear spot before it got too dark to see. Just imagine, late August in New Jersey after a day of carrying a canoe then fending off wayward tree brances and boulders. Being sweaty, dirty, tired and just wanting a nice cool shower at the end of the day. Then imagine having to crawl inside a sleeping bag that it was too hot for or risk being eaten alive by bugs and that's how the "night" portion of the overnight canoe trip turned out. Nothing for my father to have worried about. The next day, we paddled for about 15 minuets and passed the camp.
At this point, the "river" was wider, deeper and had fewer sharp curves to navigate around. We were doing more paddling and fewer evasive maneuvers to avoid obstacles. A few hours later we went through a wetlands area with tall pussy willows and other such plants. It was very pretty. I noticed that the plants were really swaying in the breeze, but I hadn't noticed much of one up to that point. Then we empied out into a small lake. There were two docks, one at the midway point, and the other at the far end. And as luck would have it, our pick up was the furthest away. So we started to paddle. Out in the open like that, the breeze was much more noticible. So we paddled a little harder. The breeze became wind and little waves developed on the lake. We started paddling for all we were worth.
As we passed the first dock two of the canoes in front of us dropped out. But B and I had been through alot on this canoe trip and there was no way in hell we were not finishing. The wind was blowing us backwards it seemed and we had to time our paddling to keep that from happening. The canoe in back of us dropped out as well. We paddled so hard that at one point I thought I was having a heart attack but we could see people on the dock now and our ride to get us out of this hell hole. Fighting the headwind every in of the way we finally made it to dry land. I'd never been happier than to get rid of the canoe, believe me. Unfortunately, I think it signaled the end of my relationship with B. But I was leaving home in a few months and he was going back to school and we all know how those relationships end.
Even though there was lots to bitch about that day, I remember it fondly. Its funny how time can have that effect.
