Just exercise, pure and simple

With an expedition of indeterminate length in sight we felt we should at least try to get a bit of paddling in to get in shape or assess our conditioning.  Access to the slipway was limited so we carried the kayaks down over a bank and nestled them alongside of the river in St. Philips.

The plan was a 19 km paddle to and from Brocks Pond Falls.  As we left St Philips we spotted a juvenile Bald Eagle.  The Eagle didn't move until we were directly underneath it.  The heads of Bald Eagles do not turn white until they're 3-4 years old.  This one was obviously a juvenile but was still a sizeable bird.

The paddle was primarily exercise, a work-out, but we did take advantage of paddling around rocks and channels.

Nine and one half kilometers after setting out we were at Brocks Pond Falls.  This was our first paddle there this year but our third overall.  This past winter we viewed the falls from up on high having ridden there on our fatbikes.

Returning to St. Philips we completed our work-out of 19 kms pleased with our conditioning though we hadn't done much paddling of late.  One or two more paddles and we'll feel confident we'll be ready.  We'll try to fit one of those into wind and waves.