As the COVID pandemic halted the solitude I once found in backcountry skiing or mountain biking. Ironically the call to shelter in place had driven hordes of new users and seasoned pros alike into the outdoors more than ever. Quiet refuge I once found in the mountains or out on the single track was disturbed. On the river however, just past the roads and the put-in, a stillness was preserved. Miles from suburbia we quickly found our flow state. The river with its pulsing energy replaces the endorphins you release pedaling uphill or skiing down. Put simply by an early kayaking mentor; ‘The river is always alive’. In the sun or the rain, with high flows or low, even in the harshest headwind, the river always meandered on. Eagles scooped fish in front of my eyes, fawn lapped up water from the grassy bank. The river gave me a renewed sense of life, but in every ecosystem it was an oasis for fish, birds, mammals and towns too.
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| "Lovers come and go, the river roll, roll, roll." |
Now in the middle of winter I long for the river more than ever. I hope for my friends and strangers to find that euphoria as well. We all can learn so much from the deep connection water has in our lives and I am forever indebted to protect this treasure. Just my silly argument to go paddle more flatwater.