Picking my fights

The lake front is still showing the effects of the recent cold spell. The breakwater on the north end of the outer harbor is caked in ice (It was 40F when I snapped these images yesterday...but I digress). The weather has definitely begun to turn in our (paddler's) favor. I have never been off the lake for such a long period and am looking for places to launch. (Michael tells us that our friends to the north have had their fill of snow. He is headed to Florida. For now, I am stuck here.)

This is the small semi protected basin just north of the break wall and a common place for us to launch. It doesn't look too bad and, just a year ago, I probably would have put in for a paddle. But, something has changed, and I suspect that something is time. Much as I hate to admit it, I sometimes feel my age. That, and one partially paralyzed leg, has made me...well, I don't know whether to call it soft or cautious. Either way, I would rather not launch from such a place, at least not alone.

The waves bother me not at all, it is just the idea of returning tired and having to lift out onto a slippery, iced-over shore. Oh well. It is early in the day, and the temp is already just above freezing. I have a full schedule what with the scholarship fund and the mentoring program, so paddling isn't an option. But tomorrow....

Paddle safe...

DS