No Spring Chicken

Sometimes, I think that I'm younger than I am.

And of course, I still feel young at heart but there are times when I do more than I think my 58-year-old body can handle.

DW and I saw that this weekend was going to be a great one so we wanted to make sure that we got out and enjoyed it. On Friday evening, DW looked up possible kayaking venues and came upon one that we had talked about last year but didn't find the time to try. She also reached out to our friends who were supposed to join us in Algonquin Provincial Park, two weeks ago, but never made it.

They were in, this time.

Early on Saturday morning, DW and I strapped our kayaks onto our car and headed to Snake River, near Cobden, about an hour and 20 minutes from home, up the Ottawa Valley. Originally, we were thinking that we would put our kayaks into Muskrat Lake and paddle to the mouth of the Snake River, but our ultimate destination was the Snake River Marches Conservation Area, and we calculated that we'd have to paddle about eight kilometres from the Muskrat Lake put-in just to reach the northern edges of the conservation area.

Too far.

I forgot to start my watch
 right away. Hence the 
different start/stop points.

After further searching, we found a small put-in just off Egan Line, not far from Burwell Road. There was a small parking area that could fit maybe four cars (there's a dry hydrant where you can't park and the river is just down a slightly steep bank.

This was the most challenging put-in that we've encountered: the bank is both full of reeds and slippery mud, and the river is about waist-deep. We had to hold one person and help them into their kayak, and then that person positioned themselves as a brace for the next kayaker, and so on.

It was so challenging to get in that we weren't sure how we'd get out. About 20 metres downstream, though, we saw another spot that was not as sloped but was even more grassy, and we thought we might attempt it when we returned.

There's a gentle but steady current and we found that we didn't have to paddle very much to keep moving. We steered more than anything.

There are so many varieties of birds: flycatchers, kingfishers, red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, grackles, and even a rare sora. There were also more great blue herons than we've ever seen in one paddle. I'll share photos on Wednesday.

Our trip took almost three hours and we did have to put some effort into the upstream paddle back to the cars. We covered more than 10 kilometres and with the sun beating down on us, I was tired after the paddle.

And hungry.

We loaded up our gear and drove the short distance to Whitewater Brewing Company, where we sat on their shaded, back patio and had some great food and drink. Their burger is one of the best that I've had in a very long time.

By the time we returned home, washed our kayaks (they were covered in mud), hung them up, put all of our gear away, and cleaned ourselves off, we were exhausted. DW went to bed and stayed there for the rest of the evening. I forced myself to stay up but it was tough.

On Sunday morning, I was stiff from the paddle and a bit tired, but we had chores to do, and I wanted to get a bike ride in: I had joined a Garmin challenge for the weekend, to ride 40K, and I really wanted to push myself to do it because I haven't been on my bike since the CN Cycle for CHEO, at the beginning of the month.

DW and I did our weekly shopping at Costco and Farm Boy, and then headed home. I then changed into my cycle gear and headed out at 11. Already, it was hot outside.

I cycled what I refer to as my basic route: Barrhaven to Manotick, head south on the east side of the Rideau River to Roger Stevens Drive, cross the bridge and head north on the west side of the Rideau, back through Manotick along Long Island, cross the river at the Long Island Locks, north to the Vimy Bridge, and back to Barrhaven.

On this ride, I had the extra chore of carrying my bike over one of the locks, as the bridge was closed because boats were passing through.

The round trip takes me less than two hours and covers 42.5 kilometres.

My bike challenge was complete but the heat of the day sapped my strength. After my shower, I didn't feel like doing anything else.

As I wrote this post, I found my eyes drooping a few times.

Was it the heat or am I starting to feel my age?

I'm not about to give up kayaking or cycling. I enjoy both and they keep me active, even though when I'm done, I think to myself, what are you doing?

If I feel this way, at 58, how am I going to feel at 65? Only time will tell.