Day 3
I woke up this morning and had a moment of being scared. All night last night, my hands and my elbows were sore. I kept trying to straighten them against my body to rest as I slept, but it just hurt so much. No better this morning, I thought I might not be able to go on today. However, with a cut foot from yesterday and some very sore joints, I thought I'd rather be closer to civilization, not as far as I was. I took some ibuprofen. As it was, I had some clothes trying to dry out in the sun. So I let that happen. Then it looked like rain, and I let the clouds pass by. So, by 11:37, I decided, to heck with it, I think it'll be okay.
And I was right. As soon as I was on the water, I didn't hurt as much. I think what happened with my elbow was that yesterday, with all that pulling and yanking my boat over rocks and sandbars and logs and dams, I was using my joints instead of my muscles. I think I must have stretched my ligaments a bit. Ouch. Darn EDS. With my hands, I decided to be a lot more conscientious about my form. Thumbs on the shaft of my paddle always. Wrists as stable as possible. Open palmed as I press the paddle forward, gripping the paddle lightly as I pull it back. That helped a LOT.
The day was full of slightly wider channels, redwing blackbirds teasing me, singing to me, cheeping at me, flitting toward me and away from me all day long. I saw a couple bald eagles, several more deer, and only had to get out of my boat once to pull myself across some shallows. I paddled 15 miles today (5 the first day, 10 the second) and was at peak lactic acid ready-to-finish at 4pm, but I didn't reach my campsite until 6:45. Intense! Bear Den Landing was just a landing, no outhouse, so I had to bury my business that night. It was the first time I had any cell coverage--just 3 days, but I was SO GLAD to talk to my sister and Nick and to be able to send a couple texts.
And I was right. As soon as I was on the water, I didn't hurt as much. I think what happened with my elbow was that yesterday, with all that pulling and yanking my boat over rocks and sandbars and logs and dams, I was using my joints instead of my muscles. I think I must have stretched my ligaments a bit. Ouch. Darn EDS. With my hands, I decided to be a lot more conscientious about my form. Thumbs on the shaft of my paddle always. Wrists as stable as possible. Open palmed as I press the paddle forward, gripping the paddle lightly as I pull it back. That helped a LOT.
The day was full of slightly wider channels, redwing blackbirds teasing me, singing to me, cheeping at me, flitting toward me and away from me all day long. I saw a couple bald eagles, several more deer, and only had to get out of my boat once to pull myself across some shallows. I paddled 15 miles today (5 the first day, 10 the second) and was at peak lactic acid ready-to-finish at 4pm, but I didn't reach my campsite until 6:45. Intense! Bear Den Landing was just a landing, no outhouse, so I had to bury my business that night. It was the first time I had any cell coverage--just 3 days, but I was SO GLAD to talk to my sister and Nick and to be able to send a couple texts.
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