The Kayaking in Harmon Lake Experience

It was an interesting afternoon. 

Because the weather was so beautiful today ( Sunday), I figured it would be fun to go to Harmon to swim for a while. As I was approaching the lake, I soon realized that it would be too cold to get in the lake.  I had my road mountain bike with me and remembered the last time I did a mountain bike trail with it ( got lost and was barefoot in the woods ), so there was that dilemma.

As I approached the lake, I saw people Kayaking and was like YES! I CAN KAYAK TODAY!!

As I went to rent a kayak, I remembered the guy telling me how windy it was and how to use caution. Then I realized — I've never kayaked before.  It took about 5 minutes for me to capsize and apparently the water wasn't cold after all — it was freezing!  Luckily, the guy who rented me the kayak knew what he was talking about and fitted me with a bigger and lighter kayak which allowed me to paddle around for 20 minutes or so into the wind.

Looking back on it, I probably should have done some research first.

In case you are like me with no experience, here are some tips I got off Google to use moving forward:

• SIT TIGHT, SIT STRAIGHT. While sitting with your back supported in the kayak, place the balls of your feet in the foot guides. ...
• PACE YOURSELF. Don't be a rabbit right out of the dock. ...
• STAY ALERT. ...
• STAY IN CONTACT WITH OTHERS. ...
• MOVE WITH YOUR KAYAK, NOT AGAINST IT. ...
• BRING BINOCULARS.

Yeah, I pretty much did the opposite of that which is why I was staring at the inside of my kayak under water.

Then I remembered....

There is a pretty cool Scheels Kayak demo coming to Harmon this Friday so If you ever wanted to try this sport out with a number of different types of vessels, here's your chance!