WEATHERMAN

Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure. – Bob Bitchin

"No epic adventure started with "On a bright sunny day." It's one of my favorite tweets attributed to adventurer Sean Conway and my usual answer when someone asked: "Are you going to kayak in the rain?"

I kept thinking that as a hard pounding rain bounced off my bow and cascaded into Lake Natoma as if a dam had burst in the sky. A misty haze hung over the lake as each drop created millions of momentary craters exploding in the water creating a giant whooshing sound over its surface. In the middle of the lake, stranded and getting soaked  I paddled as quickly as I could under to the safety of nearby bridge to wait out the deluge.

Adverse weather makes my trips more memorable. Paddling through a mist of rain adds a certain magic to my outing on the lake. It's a man vs nature type endeavor. Do I like bright sunny days? Of course, I do. Nothing is better than kayaking along while being kissed by the sun. In California, a state known for its sunshine, I have experienced lots of sun dazzling days on the water. But heartily coexisting in snow, rain, sleet and fog make for trips that are far from ordinary.

I'm grateful for the rain. The 2017-18 winter is off to a very slow start in Northern California. What a difference a year makes after last winter's record drought-busting snow totals in the Sierra Nevada. The recent snow survey results showed the basin at 30 percent of normal, compared to 67 percent on the same date last year.
“We are behind where we were last year at this time,” Jeff Anderson, a hydrologist from the Nevada Natural Resources Conservation Service, a federal agency that tracks snow in the west, told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Last week's series of storms did bring much-needed rain to Northern California but did little to help the snowpack. The southern storms were swollen with tropical moisture, too warm to make it a snowmaker as the snow levels hovered only around 9,000 feet, or higher than the ski summit of Squaw Valley-Alpine Meadows. Ski resorts hoping for snow only got rain. The snow-forecasting website Open Snow says another stormy period is expected next week, with the possibility of several colder storms by midweek, so cross your fingers, skiers and snowboarders.

The ancient weather rhymes say, "A ring around the sun or moon, rain or snow coming soon” or “Red sky at night, sailors’ delight; red sky in the morning, sailors take warning." But don’t cancel your trip just because it’s raining or cloudy and cold. Be sensible. Pack your raincoat and go anyway. Because if you wait for that perfect day. You will never go. "Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating," said English writer John Ruskin, "There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."

I just hope I can remember that the next time when raindrops are hammering down on my bow.

Foul Weather Fan

  No epic adventure started with "On a bright sunny day. . ." tweeted adventurer Sean Conway.

We were grateful for the rain. It has been very dry since Christmas. Raindrops bounced off the windshield in big thuds before the wipers could push them away. We were driving down a winding road to the lake after leaving the highway. Gray clouds were everywhere as the lake came into view.  As we parked and began unloading the sky unloaded on us.

What is about adverse weather that makes my boat trips more memorable? A man vs nature type endeavor.  I'm not saying, I don't like bright sunny days. I really do. Nothing is better than kayaking along while being kissed by the sun. In a state known for its sunshine, I have experienced lots of dazzling days this past year. However, across most of the country, unfavorable climates and kayaking coexist. Snow, rain. sleet and fog are paddled through heartily.

Both Canoe & Kayak and Adventure Kayak magazines always publish photos of boatmen and women manning up against the harsh environment. Sarah Outen and Justine Cugenven pounding through heavy wind, rain and waves while making their way through the Aleutian Islands, while kayak adventurer Daniel Fox's expedition from Victoria B.C. to San Francisco experienced a full blast of nature making his trip come to an end.
"The wave literally fell on me, and within a second the kayak was broken in two below my  knees," Fox told, Canoe & Kayak, "It was quite a swim."

The heavy rain didn't last long. Just long enough to send two fishermen running for cover and get our gear and kayak seats a little wet. This was the first time my kayak partner Erik Allen had brought me to Rollins Lake. The lake at 2,100 elevation, is on the western side of the Sierra near Colfax, California. It is a 900-acre reservoir with 26 miles of shoreline, perfect for paddling year round. Erik was on a mission to scout out some trails near the mouth of the Bear River. Our plan was to kayak up the lake and river as far as we could before the current pushed us back.
 The water looked like green emerald under the gray skies. We kayaked along the rust color shore, breaking up the quiet water. Around the bend loomed a bank of mist hanging over the lake. Erik, who grew up close by has paddled the lake many times before, but for him, there is always something new.
"Rollins Lake is always changing," whispered Erik, "It never looks the same."

Lakes are like that. I thought back to my paddling days in Minnesota, remembering the way the snow looked along the shore of Red River Lake and the way the rain came down in the early spring on Beers Lake in Maplewood State Park. The day's conditions have framed many of my paddling memories. My sons will always start their tale of camping with, "Remember how cold it was or how it rained when we went to..." The day's weather has added to our experiences whether it was fair or foul.

A layer of fog engulfed us as we paddled farther along.  It was like floating on a cloud. I let Erik paddle up farther ahead so I could get a photo. Before long he disappeared in the white haze dropping into the unknown.

Our paddle through the mist added to the magic of our trip to the lake. The rainy and foggy weather is now etched into another paddling memory.
If you wait for the perfect day. You will never go. "Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating," said English writer John Ruskin, "There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."

This article was originally published in Outside Adventure to the Max February 20, 2015