An Urban Boychick Takes on the Outdoors

This morning the office called softly to me while the river screamed my name. I simply could not spend another beautiful, precious Spring day indoors and so I took today off and hit the water. The Potomac is on its way back down to normal from last week's wacky 14 foot flood stage level, and so I wasn't sure what I'd find when I put in. I figured at worst I'd be able to paddle the narrow, protected Boundary Channel, and indeed I started out in that direction after completing the comical contortion act required to zip my rear zipper dry suit without assistance (I consider it part of my warm-up). There were signs of Spring life all the way up the channel - wood ducks and geese on the water, herons on shore. Some turtles, still sluggish from the cold water, let me paddle right up to them. The river itself indeed had some noticeably high current, but nothing unmanageable or dangerous. I headed up the Virginia shoreline to just below Three Sisters Islands, then crossed ove...