A week into spring and we had our first paddle. It was warm, 10 C, but the vestiges of winter clung on along the shore. I joined Brian, Cathy, Gary and Sue for a ease back paddle to Topsail Beach.
Brian said he had not paddled since last November. None of us have paddled much this winter as the appeal of winter paddling seems to have worn off. I've only had two winter paddles this year whereas several years ago Dean and myself paddle pretty much every weekend.
Cathy paddling around the Rock of Ages.
We were off to Topsail Beach and the return would net us 13 kms. That was a comfortable paddle to get us going for the rest of the year.
The water was still cold but the air was spring like. Usually this time of year I'm still wearing my neoprene mitts as protection from the cold. On this day they weren't needed as the sun kept my black paddle shaft nice and warm.
The closer we got to Topsail Beach the breeze increased slightly as we picked our way around and through the rocks and ...
... checked icefalls along the way.
Hoards of people were at Topsail Beach also taking advantage of the weather. We landed but on the other side of the stream running out of the pond behind the beach so we had that part to ourselves. Nestled behind a cobble bank shielding us from the slight breeze some of us snacked before making the return journey and completing our first spring paddle.
No comments:
Post a Comment