On April 2 Janet and I had not paddled for a couple weeks so we were anxious to get on the water. The weather was a beautifully blue sky and deceptively warm in the sun. But in the shade or in the wind it was noticeably cool. We mistakenly did not take a sweater or jacket. We decided to go to Archie Blue Park, just a couple of miles from our house in suburban Wilmington.
I was a little anxious about the logistics, since we did not leave home until about 5:15 p.m. I had never started a trip in my life after 5 p.m. But the sun did not set until about 7:30 p.m., so we felt it would be okay to paddle for a couple of hours.
Our route took us from the put-in at Archie Blue Park on Burnt Creek to the junction with Smith Creek. Then the river trail continued down stream on Smith Creek to the SE Fork of the Cape Fear River at about 6.1 miles. We went a mile from the juncture further down Smith Creek. The sun was getting low in the sky, the wind had picked up and the sky was getting cloudy. We decided to turn around about 2 miles short of the SE Cape Fear River. Because I was pushing the pace, our paddle back to the take-out at the Park was a bit quicker than the trip from the put-in downriver. And this fast pace was despite paddling against the current and a stiff wind. We got a good muscular and cardiovascular workout.
Despite being within the city limits, the paddle trail was surprisingly remote. We passed under a couple bridges for cars and trains; otherwise there were no signs of civilization. We were watching for wildlife, but only saw some large fish swirling just under the water surface.
The adventure was at the takeout. I got there first and remembered that about 80% of my boat exits resulted in me losing my balance and falling in the water. Sometimes when I fell, I seemed to be too anxious, and I was moving too fast. This time I moved slowly and carefully. After I was standing fully erect with one foot balanced on the creek bank and the other foot balanced in the canoe, the situation seemed good. As I briefly stood there the canoe slowly drifted away from the shore. My legs stretched further apart. As I tried to pull my legs together, I severely strained my left thigh hamstring muscle. I immediately cried out in pain and fell in the water. When I squirmed around to get up, I found that I could not stand or walk. I yelled to Janet that I was in serious trouble. I had to sit there in cold water up to my waist in a shortie wet suit until Janet could come ashore and get us oriented.
Janet quickly took charge and fashioned a paddle for my use as a crutch. She strained her muscles enough to be sore the next day hauling both our boats up the bank and onto the grass. Then she drove the Jeep, with a manual transmission from the parking lot to the grass, which was itself a small tribulation for her. Luckily, a young couple with a baby walked past and Janet recruited the man to help me load the boats on the Jeep roof racks. Finally I carefully drove home and we got further organized and recuperated from there.
Despite the trouble, we did have a decently good time and we'll go back there again.
