This past weekend, I raced my final race with Hamilton's Marathon Canoe Racing Team - I know, another post about canoeing...don't worry, last one! This race was on Long Lake. 10 miles and 1 hour and 40 minutes later, we had survived. Despite the fact that the rain held off for us, the winds were some of the strongest I had ever paddled in. In the first leg of the race, we had a tailwind - steering was quite an issue, but at least it felt like we were moving. It was quite a different story on the return home. At some points, I could have sworn we were practically stopped. As our boat made sweeping seesaw motions over the waves and as the wind whipped us from the front, I attempted to yell "hut" as loud as I could. The conditions were so ridiculous it was almost comical. In fact, I don't think I've ever laughed more while paddling. At this point, the 'race' turned into more of a 'lets just get back to the shore.' It allowed me to look around and observe my surroundings.
Unlike my feelings toward land in the 90, the land around Long Lake did not seem to be 'virgin forest' or 'untouched land.' We passed several houses along the shore - one house even had an open garage for a small plane! The body of water itself seemed to be disturbed as well, as two jet skis ripped past us. On the way home in the jitney, a truck full of logs zipped past us - going a little too fast if I might add. I immediately thought back to our long discussion of logging. I wonder what kind of trees they were? I even remember seeing a sign for Herreshoff road. "Hey," I thought, "I know who that is!" With each trip I take into the Adirondacks, the connections I am able to make to the discussions we have in class multiply. Its one thing to learn about things in your book, but seeing them first hand gives them a sort of credibility and really brings them to life. I am constantly thinking about how all I am observing in the Adirondacks came to be in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment