I love to kayak. I prefer a slow moving river, but even a paddle around the small lake our cabin sits on is a small bit of heaven. There’s just something about the combination of the warm sun and riding the water that makes me immensely happy.

So, my painting today was inspired by my love of kayaking. As I painted it, I could feel the story coming together. Even though I named the character Kaylin, the #shortstory today is really based on my own experience.

Kaylin had paddled the Sturgeon before and felt fairly comfortable joining a new kayaking group on their 4 hour trip down the river. She knew it to be a fast river in spots, and knew, from a previous trip how dangerous it was to get sideways to the current, having been dumped and clawing her way to the surface from the underside of her boat.

But she was a little nervous. The section they would be paddling was new to her and although it started out smooth with very little twists and turns, she worried about the last leg that they planned on tackling after lunch.

She insisted on offloading her kayak herself even though some of the men in the group offered. She could hold her own and she wanted them to know it. She was thankful that this was a no drinking, stay with the others kind of group. Any day on the river could turn dangerous if safety precautions weren’t being followed.

As she listened to the mandatory safety lecture, she decided she liked this new group of paddlers. They took safety seriously, but also weren’t afraid to have fun. Several of them had been in the river already circling back to run an area with an eddy and swift current. It would take them forever to get down the river if they stopped at every eddy and pool to take several runs at them.

Kaylin preferred to go down the river once and not dawdle. It was going to be a long enough trip anyway. She found herself in the water with the second group. The lead group was out of sight and the dawdlers way behind. 

There were no other sit-on-top kayaks like hers and she found it harder to navigate the turns than the others, but she pulled hard with her paddle and stayed parallel with the current. Her closest neighbor was a man in a one-person canoe. They chatted about jobs and pets when they were close enough to each other.

It wasn’t until after the lunch checkpoint that Kaylin took her first spill. The river was narrower with more bends and obstacles. She found her footing and stood up, quickly securing her kayak and paddle. Everything else was clipped in.

The canoer checked on her as he passed. As long as she was ok and hadn’t lost anything, he wouldn’t stop. It was too dangerous to try, and he’d likely flip as well. Kaylin laughed and got herself together. Oh well, it was a hot day, the water felt good, and there hadn’t been too many spectators.

Her second spill was all too public for her liking, though. The river was wide at that point, but there was a fallen tree stretched well into the middle and she had to take a hard right to get around it, but she veered too far to the right and her kayak quickly went sideways to the current.

She had a harder time getting her feet that time and decided to rest a little before sliding back into the current. She was getting tired and decided that maybe her sit-on-top wasn’t best suited to the fast water. It rode higher in the water than any of the others and that made her top-heavy and easier to dump.

When she flipped for the third time, she struggled to drag her kayak and paddle to shore. She sat there for a moment, while assuring the others she was alright. She couldn’t wait too long though. She had to stay with the others in sight.

Kaylin was relieved when she finally reached the landing that was their end point. She gladly accepted all the help that was offered in carrying her kayak to her vehicle and getting loaded on top. She was a little humbled, but laughed at herself for all the spills she had taken. She noticed that she wasn’t the only one who had gotten wet. After all, it was a fun summer day on the river and she had gained some respect for toughing it out and making it to the end.

© 2023 Sharon L Letson. All rights reserved.