Words & Photos from Allegra N.
Day 1
In our last circuit of paddling experientials, we got to go paddle boarding at the Gorge Waterway first. We all met in the morning at Derby, and we were able to leave on the bus earlier because of our adaptation to the paddling preparation routine. Once we arrived, we unloaded the paddleboards onto the dock, making sure not to damage the fins during the process. We set off with our lunches onboard so we could eat on the go instead of returning back to the dock. We faced plenty of wind on our way up the waterway, which gave us ample opportunity to showcase our paddling skills. With wetsuits on, it got pretty hot in the sun, and we took lots of breaks to swim and jump off the public docks. We docked to eat lunch at Craigflower-Kosapson Park, taking advantage of the time to rest our arms after paddling upwind. We took off again shortly, eager to utilize all of our time having fun on the boards and in the water. We didn’t see much wildlife on the waterway, aside from one otter and a few herons. We passed by many people on the water, even encountering the kayaking group twice. We paddled quickly to arrive at the small community dock where we tied up our boards to spend time jumping off of it. After lots of swimming and splashing, we detached our boards and hopped back on our boards in order to make the bus in time. At the dock, we rapidly loaded up the boards and paddles to barely make the bus in time. We returned to Derby after a fairly short bus ride, and helped our guides unpack and clean off our gear.
Day 2
On the second day we went to Brentwood bay, and we combined with the other group (considering its small size) and were able to paddle board again instead of kayaking. The bus ride was a little longer than usual, but afterwards we helped unload all of the equipment upon our arrival, and got off to an early start on the water. It was quite sunny with some clouds and a little bit of wind. We first went across the bay and followed the shoreline past Willis Point for a while, taking plenty of breaks to cool off in the water, either accidentally or intentionally. We turned around to paddle back to the bay after an hour, and continued into Tod Inlet where we saw starfish and plenty of jellyfish of different sizes. We stopped at a beach to eat our lunch and enjoy a nice break. We discovered we were short of time, so we had to paddle upriver very quickly so we could make it in time for the bus. The journey back was long and challenging due to the headwind, but our practice and expertise came to our advantage. Once we arrived, we helped load the equipment back into the truck and then bussed back to Derby to clean off our gear. We were all disappointed for the day to end, and I know everyone in our paddling experiential group will look back on our adventures fondly in the future.