Windy Day on the James River

On Saturday we paddled a few miles on the James River. We put in at Crighton Access, east of Springfield, and took out downstream at Lake Springfield - that's about 4 miles of paddling.

Distance was not the focus of today's practice - it was learning. Winter and early spring is a good time to learn off the water (from blogs, workshops and experienced paddlers), but it's time to put that information to practice on the water.  Some things we need to learn just by doing! We learned a lot this weekend because of all the headwind. We had to paddle the entire 4 miles against the wind; at one point the wind pushed us sideways and attempted to push us over. We were able to work on our turning skills - which can take time with a 17.5 foot boat!

With each trip (even short ones like this weekend) comes an opportunity to learn and practice all the skills we'll need during the MR340, like:  how our boat handles on the water, working as a team, paddling technique, using our gear, identifying gear we need, etc.

Here are a few pics of our trip!

Paddling!

What do you eat when paddling? PBJ - it's got everthing you need.

Danielle

A snag in our plans!  We had to portage around some fallen trees.

Strainer Danger!

Re-routing - and navigating with a rope.

Carefully pulling Honeybee to navigable water.

After the sun disappeared, things got windy and the water got choppy.

Waiting in the cold with Honeybee while Danielle swaps our cars after paddling.