This is all just in fun while some of you wait for liquid water.
I am sure we have all had situations on the water where we had to make an important decision quickly.
Yesterday I was paddling up a creek that was 8 foot wide. A four foot long log was across the river with one end of it against the right shore. A log on the left bank was out of the water and its cut end defined the left boundary of the creek. Not bad. A solo canoe is less than four feet wide.
The problem was the log on the left was occupied by a ten foot gator. His teeth were at the end of the log. If I had paddled around to the left of the right side obstruction the following could have happened . a) He could have jumped in my canoe in panic. I don't want to tandem in solo canoe much less with a gator.
b. When my paddle whacked him on the nose by accident.. he could have been annoyed. If my paddle was on the other side I could have kissed the gator or given him a pat with my hand. Probably consequences for either of those too.
Conventional wisdom says you wait for the gator to move. This one was busy basking in the sun to become 82 degrees ( a reptilian goal of ecstasy) and clearly wouldn't move. Other conventional wisdom says you take another route. I would have had to back up 1.8 miles for any turnaround spot with a needed radius of 15 feet. Neither was a good option.
So I went far right and full speed ahead rammed the log that was on the water (the one without the gator). Mercifully it moved(it just looked attached; it wasn't) and the gator continued in a blissful state.
I am sure we have all had situations on the water where we had to make an important decision quickly.
Yesterday I was paddling up a creek that was 8 foot wide. A four foot long log was across the river with one end of it against the right shore. A log on the left bank was out of the water and its cut end defined the left boundary of the creek. Not bad. A solo canoe is less than four feet wide.
The problem was the log on the left was occupied by a ten foot gator. His teeth were at the end of the log. If I had paddled around to the left of the right side obstruction the following could have happened . a) He could have jumped in my canoe in panic. I don't want to tandem in solo canoe much less with a gator.
b. When my paddle whacked him on the nose by accident.. he could have been annoyed. If my paddle was on the other side I could have kissed the gator or given him a pat with my hand. Probably consequences for either of those too.
Conventional wisdom says you wait for the gator to move. This one was busy basking in the sun to become 82 degrees ( a reptilian goal of ecstasy) and clearly wouldn't move. Other conventional wisdom says you take another route. I would have had to back up 1.8 miles for any turnaround spot with a needed radius of 15 feet. Neither was a good option.
So I went far right and full speed ahead rammed the log that was on the water (the one without the gator). Mercifully it moved(it just looked attached; it wasn't) and the gator continued in a blissful state.