Camp Okoboji – The Long Story aka My Kayaking Adventure

I did add a little adventure to my stay in Okoboji. Sunday morning I got up early to take a little kayaking expedition with my dad. By about 6:30AM we were on the water. It was a gorgeous, peaceful morning and a great time to be out. We detoured away from the lake and explored some adjacent canals and marshes, and just talked and meandered our way, looking for signs of wildlife and just generally feeling content. I particularly enjoyed watching some barn swallows and their graceful acrobatics on the open water. It was quite a beautiful morning.

At one point we were exploring a marshy area filled with cattails and a plethora of bossy red-winged blackbirds. It’s nesting season, so they chattered at us quite a bit and hovered a few feet above us, chiding us for getting too close. Just as we were about to turn around and begin the return trip to camp, we heard a weird bird noise from the reeds, and Dad headed back in to explore.

I noticed a different-looking bird flying away, being chased by a red-winged blackbird. I turned my head to watch as it flew above and behind me. I twisted just a little too far, because...

I fell in.

Kayak full of water, Jess in water, and the worst thing – digital camera overboard. The good news was, the water was only about 2 feet deep. Bad news – my feet sank in disgusting muck up to my knees. All I knew was by the time my feet sank down, I was waist deep in water green with algae and who knows what else, and that muck was stinky. It sucked so hard on my feet that I almost lost my shoes, and even with them off I had a hard time getting my foot out when I wanted to take a step.

Dad reacted like a champ. He took my camera (I did find it) and also my shoes. Although he had a camera of his own, he did not feel the need to photo-document this experience (though in hindsight, we both kind of wish he would have). He was calm and helped me the best he could, without getting out of his kayak, because we didn’t want both of us stuck. I had a heck of a time getting back in that boat. Holy cow was that frustrating! With the muck so deep and sticky, I had no leverage to hoist myself back in, and with the boat half full of water, it was heavy and didn’t offer much leeway in terms of weight before taking on more water. We didn’t have anything to bail water with. At one point we pulled the kayak into some reeds, and I was able to get in by hoisting myself up with the help of some cattails, but the front end was up so high that by the time I got in it, the water in the kayak weighed it down so much that the back end sank! So I had to get out again and try something different.

I pulled my kayak up over the back of Dad’s, which was quite a chore because it was so darn heavy. I got it up high enough to tip it and drain some of the water out, which helped. We pulled it into the reeds again to a more level position, and I figured out that the cattails were dense enough that they had a pretty solid root mass that I could stand on. With that I was able to get back in the kayak, although I was still sitting in the water that we weren’t able to drain out. That was kind of gross in itself (though at that point it really didn't make a difference), but it also made the kayak sit very close to the water, and very prone to tipping. I had to paddle very slowly and carefully so as to not have another “spill.” We found a spot along the bank and although muddy and not very wide, we were both able to get out and fully tip my kayak to finally drain it.

I have to say that although the experience was a little frustrating, and I was bummed about the camera (verdict still out on if it will ever work again), we were both laughing the whole time too. The water wasn’t deep so it wasn’t scary, just really disgusting! I remembered yesterday on the ride home that Dad said to me before we left on our trip, “I hope you’re not grossed out by green scummy water.” I assured him that I was not. Little did I know I would be essentially covered in it by the time our trip was over.
A little kayaking adventure, and a story I’m sure we’ll be telling for years. Apparently I also hold a record, which Dad reminded me of shortly after I splashed into swamp monster habitat. This is the first time that he’s gone paddling with someone who has tipped over. He told me earlier that day that he bought his kayak in 2000, so…there you have it.