My mom and I were going to go paddling with a friend of mine today. My mom uses a wheelchair. It’s difficult for her to step in and out of a canoe. She’s the person who got me started as a paddler – so I take it seriously to get on the water with her when she visits. It’s some of the only times any more that she gets to paddle.

Last year we used a stool in my house that’s a similar height as a canoe seat to test different strategies for getting in and out, and for sitting down and standing up from the seat. We figured out a strategy. It worked well for getting into a canoe. When we landed, Mom was in some pain and wanted to get out of the canoe as quickly as possible.  I suggested a strategy that is often the easiest strategy for people to get out of a boat onto a dock. I didn’t take into account the fact that she has very different strengths and limitations than most paddlers. It resulted in a very public embarrassing and frustrating situation for her.

This year I wanted to launch from the disabled launch. And I wanted a friend to come along to help hold the boat; and to help with whatever else might need extra attention.

But there was construction fencing blocking every route to the disabled launch, and the paths people have worn around the end of the fence and down to the river were too steep and uneven for Mom.

We went to lunch instead.

So I started my long paddle of the week yesterday with a short intervals workout. And so began a comedy of errors. Which could have turned tragic without some basic preparation and a little bit of luck.

I don’t know if it’s smart to add intervals into a mileage day. But I was on the River because of those predicted gales, and I headed north so I wouldn’t have to fight them for 9 miles coming home. (That 35 knot gale never did hit on the river yesterday.)

Not far north of my house, the River gets dead straight for a very long time. I don’t get bored paddling. I never have. But intervals yesterday, on that long flat straight section, were one of the precious few things keeping boredom at bay.

Until the snow falling on the screen of my phone made the touch screen stop working and I couldn’t pull up the timer any more.

So I did half an intervals workout.

I switched from my baseball cap to my knit cap for the slower pace. Until I realized I needed the warmth of the knit cap -and I needed the brim of the baseball cap because the snow was falling on my glasses. So for the rest of the paddle I rocked the double-hat look… (It’s a good look. I’m trying to make it trend.)

Anyway – it was straight and flat and felt really long. I’m always a little bit worried of the River when it rains – the levels go up and down quick, and don’t necessarily follow standard River expectations. If they (the proverbial “They”) expect lots of precipitation, they open the locks downriver of Chicago, and you end up with a suddenly much faster flow and falling water levels. Flow speed and water levels are weirdly separated and mostly not determined by nature… And there are things submerged in the River that you can’t see. So I was watching the water fairly carefully and with a little bit of concern on this straight, flat, boring river…

Anyway – long, flat, straight. But I reached the top of the River, where it comes to a sluice gate with Lake Michigan (well, a small harbor) on the other side.

There’s no real landing spot – people expect you to look at the River from the Ba’Hai Temple – not get ON the water.

I landed and pulled my boat up the bank. It was pretty steep, but the boat seemed pretty stable. Still, I figured I’d tie it to a tree so I didn’t come back from a quick walk to the Lake to find it drifting in the middle of the River!

I took my tow belt off to tie the boat – and bumped the boat.

The boat went sliding, picked up speed along the way, and ended up drifting in the middle of the River.

If you don’t know Chicago – you don’t want to get in the River. There are regular signs along the banks warning about human contact with the water. So you really don’t want to go for a swim.

This spot is right by Lake Michigan. I think the water mixes with Lake water. Which means it’s colder. This time of year, you really don’t want to go for a swim.

And that wall that stops the River. It’s a sluice gate. I don’t actually know exactly what that is. But there are heavy machinery type sounds coming from it. What I think is that near it, you really don’t want to go for a swim.

So I went for a swim.

This time I tied my boat up at the water’s edge, not on the bank.

I laughed about the absurdity on the way home. But here’s the thing. My comedy of errors could have turned tragic. I was wearing a drysuit with warm clothes underneath. I had a hot beverage and plenty of food and the understanding that both are tools to build heat. I didn’t sit down for lunch after being submerged in cold water – I kept moving. I paddled hard when I got back on the water. I paused fairly frequently for more hot tea and more food.

I never stopped for long, because even after 9 miles back to my put in, I was cold as soon as I stopped paddling. I was glad I’d done what I do when I paddle in really cold weather (-15, compared to yesterday’s mid 30’s). I stuffed an old down parka in a dry bag in my back hatch. I put it on over my drysuit as soon as I got off the water. Because I get cold immediately, even when I’ve been more than comfortable on the water.

Here’s the kicker. The River isn’t Coast Guard monitored waters. Not up here. Your rescue call is 911. But I let the touch screen on the waterproof case for my phone get wet. That rendered it useless in the case of emergency. People die on the River.

So my comedy of errors on flat, boring – safe – water could have turned tragic at a lot of points. Not just the tragedy of sporting a baseball cap over the top of a warm knit hat. Real, unexpected tragedy.

One of the things about paddling solo is that when that little thing goes wrong – that unexpected little thing that can snowball into the next and the next – you better be able to take care of it before it snowballs. You better be able to take care of it yourself. And you better be able to handle the results. Because there will be results even once you’ve fixed it. And you’re still going to be solo.

April 27, 2019: Gale Warning

Well – the forecast changed, not surprisingly. It starts with northeast winds at 10-15 knots, instead of east at 10-15. And it’s forecast to build to 35 knot gales instead of 30.

If you don’t know Chicago, or don’t understand marine forecasts, here’s my thinking today:
Northeast winds build the biggest waves in Chicago because they can travel across the full distance of the Lake. This distance that wind travels across water is called the fetch. A longer fetch allows bigger waves.