The Summer Wind

Horsetooth Reservoir is just west of Fort Collins, CO. It covers 1900 acres and is 6.5 miles long.

31 August 2010 - Horsetooth Reservoir, Fort Collins, CO

I loaded the kayak onto the Jeep around noon and headed off to the lake (reservoir). It was the last day of August. I had been kayaking all summer long and this was to be a sort of farewell to summer paddle. No agenda really, just fun in the sun. When I put in at the dock at the south end of the lake at South Bay, it was 12:40 pm.

There was a nice breeze blowing from the south and the lake was virtually empty of motor boat traffic. I decided to paddle into the middle of the lake and let the wind carry me where it may. Where it may is a bad combination with an I want to go on an adventure today attitude.

I was sailing away down the lake checking out the shoreline as I went. There were now exposed sandy beach areas that had been covered by water months before. I saw sandstone boulder formations and dams with roads on top of them.

Since it was a relatively cool day for the last day of August, I had not brought any water with me...note to self...not a good idea in Colorado on any day of the year. The sun was bright and warm and I was enjoying the day. Normally, I would paddle just enough to realize that I had to paddle just as far back. Today was different. Today I just felt like seeing how far to the north I could go.

After about 2 hours, I began to recognize the surroundings of the north end of the reservoir. Wow, that south wind must have really been pushing me. I began to get excited. I was going to paddle all the way from the south end to the north end of the lake, cool.

Since I was tiring, my mind began to start to rationalize a minor detail, that of how I was going to get back to the south end of the lake. There was a pay station at the north end and maybe I could get the ranger to give me a lift back to my vehicle at the south end, 6.5 miles away. Or maybe a friend of mine could come and give me a lift. Either way, I was close to the north end and I was going to make it.

I docked my kayak at 3:03 pm. The whole place was empty. The sign said nobody works here on Mondays and Tuesdays, doo! Plan B. Nobody answers my phone call, double doo! What am I gonna do now? My wife was working a 12 hour shift and my step daughter was at a movie with her dad. Son, you are either going to ask a stranger for a ride or paddle back 6.5 miles against the wind and with shoulders and arms that are feeling it already...I did not like this option one bit.

Time waits for no one and the afternoon was moving right along. My mind was like...hey buddy, you just paddled the entire length of the lake with a stiff breeze at you back and it took you 2 hours and 23 minutes. How long do you think this is gonna take going against the wind and waves with tired body in tact and 6.5 miles in front of you?

3:53 pm. I push away from the dock and tell myself that I need to pick small incremental goals and just not think about the task at hand. My shoulders are telling me that this is not my idea of a good time.

I select targets on the horizon to aim for like: buoys, rock outcroppings, trees, and fishing boats. The sun is bothering me as I failed to bring a hat as well. I am grateful for the shadows on the lake as the afternoon wears on. I realize that no one is going to offer me a tow, after all I am out for a bit of exercise, aren't I? I paddle on.

I begin to think about having hot dogs and a beer when I am finished. By this time, I have begun to count my stokes to keep my mind off my pain. Counting to 100 seems to work and I press on. People on the lake fishing say hello as I pass by. I am making progress.

The south end's familiar surroundings come into view and I am close to being done. I continue to count as I dock at the south end. At 6:02 pm it is over. Surprisingly, I make it back in 2 hours and 9 minutes.

I throw the kayak up on the Jeep and tie it down and am home by 6:45 pm.
Because of errands and other duties, I would not get those hot dogs and a beer I had been hallucinating about until well after 9:00 pm. It is then that it begins to sink in that I had paddled the equivalent of a half marathon on this last day of August both with and against the summer wind.