Wind & Waves
As I tucked myself into bed, I felt as though my inner organs were bruised, that they had been pummelled by the up and down rollercoaster of waves. Everything hurt. But I was happy, nevertheless. In truth, it was good practice. DW and I could be facing similar conditions in a few weeks and we needed to be prepared. Two Sundays ago, we took our kayaks to Morris Island. It’s a conservation area along the Ottawa River between Arnprior and Fitzroy Harbour, upstream from the massive Barrage des Chats, a hydroelectric dam. We planned to meet with our Paddlefolk, Nina and Brian, but Nina’s shoulders were giving her grief so she bowed out. We were still glad to have Brian come along. As we headed to the parking area—it costs $7 for four hours—we noticed that the wind was a bit blustery. Our initial plan was to paddle across the river where a rail-bridge-turned-multi-use-path spanned it and explore the islands toward the village of Pontiac Station. DW and I had paddled this area a couple o...
