Salmon River Reservoir kayaking excursion in Redfield brought together 24 paddlers: Aneta, Anne, Bob, Christine, Cindy, David F., David G., David L., Debbie, Ellen, Hugh, Jerry, Kim, Lynn, Patti, Peter, Phil, Rich, Rick, Robert, Roger, Sandy, Vic, and Walt. The majority of paddlers caravanned from Pulaski’s C&M Diner, while the rest arrived directly at the launch site. We occupied every single parking space available as well as double-parked.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. It was hardly different from a mid-summer day except for the rich and colorful fall foliage surrounding the reservoir. The water level was low thus exposing large portions of a rocky shoreline by the parking area. We took a group vote and decided to paddle the reservoir as opposed to the Salmon River. A few people mentioned this was an excellent opportunity, since the reservoir had been too rough to paddle in the past.

The paddle was wonderfully leisurely. We basked in the sun, chatted, watched planes flying overhead, smiled for pictures, and shared the space with a myriad of tiny spiders, which spun barely visible shiny silver cobwebs from one kayaker to the next carried by the hardly noticeable wind. Some spiders made themselves at home on the kayak decks and perhaps even in Dave’s cockpit. In addition to the eight-legged paddle buddies, some paddlers also spotted a blue heron. Having paddled 3.8 miles we picked out an island with a nice sandy beach for a break. After refueling and resting, we kayaked back taking a different route on the other side of the islands, which allowed us to admire the other shoreline. We completed 7.9 miles.

After the paddle 16 participants drove up to a local establishment for dinner. The afternoon was spent on planning the upcoming trips, chatting, eating, and drinking.