After having a great day hiking with Charlie last Saturday, I didn't want to jinx it by pushing my luck on Sunday. I was planning on going on a long-ish kayak paddle down the Wisconsin River and didn't want to get stuck on the trip with a panicked dog and no where to get out. So I made the decision to leave her home where she was happy to rest for the day and recover from her hiking excursion and go on an adventure without dog again.
It was the right decision. After taking the trip, it would have been too long for Charlie to sit still in the kayak and there were a number if noise "triggers" along the way that would have likely scared her. Additionally, there was a very small rapids along part of the river that would have made it difficult to paddle while holding her in the boat so she wouldn't jump out. It's probably best to "scout" these types of trips before taking your dog along if you're not sure how they'll handle certain situations.
Anyway, I had a great time! The paddle trip took 3 hours and we ended up going a total distance of about 6 miles. Most of that time was spent just floating along with the current, doing a little fishing and pretty much enjoying the scenery.
A couple days later now, and I'm still feeling the physical effects of the longest kayak trip I've taken to date... sore muscles in my shoulders and wrists. But otherwise I feel great! There weren't a lot of spots to stop and take breaks along the route, so my legs were pretty wobbly when we got out of the boats. It took a few minutes of standing and stretching before I felt sure that I wasn't going to stumble and fall.
This was a really fun adventure because I hadn't been on a long river trip like this in a while and it was all new terrain to explore. Plus I had a pretty great companion join me along the way. Life is good.
