Sunday, November 26, 2017

Caution on the Concord

It was with trepidation that I paddled away from the Bedford Boat Launch on the Concord River yesterday morning.  A paddling trip earlier this month resulted in an episode of shoulder and arm issues which, previously, I'd never experienced.  Following a doctor's instructions, which included an injection of cortisone, no paddling, and some anti-inflammatory meds, I was ready to find out if doing what's always come second-nature to me (propelling my boat forward using a paddle) was still possible.

So, equipped with a Thanksgiving appreciation for just how blessed I've been and a pound or two of recently acquired girth, I had a plan: one of those heat-wraps applied to my shoulder, plenty of warm dry gear, a very short and low paddling stroke, and some post-paddle ibuprofen (aka "vitamin I").

Once on the river I soon encountered the TRYAK with its 2-member crew powering upriver against the current and southwest breeze...a good omen I hoped...

My boat and I crawled at record-slow pace along the west shore, taking a brief respite in a slough along the way...
...where skim-ice lingered beyond the heron.

Eventually, I reached my next respite and turnaround spot by this wooden structure at Saw Mill Brook...

The brook conveys the waters of Estabrook Woods and Punkatasset Hill through this small raceway...
...before tumbling into the river.

The trip back downriver was much faster and easier thanks to the aforementioned breeze...

Gathered up some stuff (looking like it didn't belong) along the way...

I thought it best to wait until this morning before pronouncing the trip a success..or not.  So far so good and, while cautiously optimistic, I've no plans for ascending any beaver dams in the immediate future.
    

2 comments:

Erik Eckilson said...

Glad your trip went well. Hoping for a speedy recovery of that shoulder.

Al said...

Many thanks Erik. I sure have a new appreciation for how important shoulder muscles are in paddling.