Today I really started understanding kayaking. Like not just with my mind, but with my body, and maybe even my heart. Like I could really FEEL it when I was out there today. It was fan-fucking-tastic.

The river was high and fast and full of mud from all the rain and thunderstorms lately. I went down in a “Big Critter” by Wilderness Systems. I’m not sure of the size - I think it was smaller than 120. Which is too small of a kayak in my opinion. 120 is good. We had 140’s last week. That was a little too long for me. The longer kayaks though have better - what they call - tracking. Tracking means that it maintains a straight course in the water. That’s a good thing, because if you’re in a smaller kayak, you end up having to do more work. Because each one of your paddle strokes hitting the water can end up pushing your boat off course. So you end up bouncing back and forth side to side the whole ride, expending a lot of extra energy.

Which is how my smaller kayak was today. But that ended up being okay, because it taught me a lot. Hand in hand with the phenomenon described above is the ability to turn really easy and just maneuver the hell out of it. So I learned a lot about turning at different speeds and radii, and how paddle strokes affect all that.

Plus I also “found the groove” today. I started to really understand the mechanics of the stroke: where you should hold your arms out in front of you, the way you need to rotate your shoulders, the angle that is best for your paddle to enter and exit the water, the way you kind of want to feel your paddle “pitch” the water. Basically I learned how to go much faster, and expend a lot less energy. And just all my movements became really fluid, and I understood exactly the effects of what I did in the water. Super fun. Can’t wait to go back next week.

In other news, I was just double-checking on how you spell “maneuver” because I had a brain lapse. And I came across the Heimlich Maneuver site, and they have some really creepy diagrams on it. Some of which seem extremely sexual - like the first on on the right of that girl straddling the choking guy. I also like the one of the old lady and the chair.