On Sunday June 5, 2022 Dot and I set out on day 2 of my river adventure. After a chilly night I fired up my small camp stove. I cooked eggs and sausage and served Dot breakfast in “bed.” We then packed up our wet tents and headed out for Second Connecticut Lake.

This 1102 acre lake with a depth of about 63 feet is the second largest of the four CT lakes. There are no houses around it and I again encountered moose and loons. The north end of this lake, around what is known as East Inlet, contains one of the last standing virgin spruce-fir forests in the eastern United States.

It was another lake we would paddle “twice”, heading south from the put in until we reached the dam and outlet. Then we headed all the way to the north end and as far up the inlet as we could paddle before returning to the put in spot three quarters or so south down the lake.

We began by paddling south into a slight headwind. We were counting on enjoying a tailwind for the long paddle up the lake. By the time we reached the dam the winds were squirrley, sometimes hitting us head on and other times broadside. Dot was in a heavyish kayak and less impacted by this, but my light canoe was being blown around and in danger of taking on water.

We made it to the end of the lake, past the human made dam and explored the more interesting beaver dam. After floating in the calmer waters at the end of the lake, watching loons dive and resurface very near our boats, we turned for the long paddle up the lake.

By now the wind had changed direction again and was mostly hitting us at a slightly oblique, sometimes head on angle. The waves were full on white caps. I felt some trepidation while looking up that three mile long lake. I could feel the wind pushing me around despite putting everything I had into my paddle stroke. After a few moments of wondering if I should even attempt the lake in these conditions, I calmed my rising panic and really focused on the wind. By paying attention to how it was blowing me, I was able to change my course slightly and work with it rather than fighting it the whole way. I thought of the saying long distance hikers have, which is “Embrace the suck.” I decided to do just that.

Eventually we made it to the north end of the lake where we explored east inlet, even though this was technically not part of the CT River. We also wandered as far as we could up the CT River inlet toward Second Lake. It was such a relief to be out of the wind in these protected coves, but eventually hunger drove us to head back to our cars. By now the wind had changed yet again and we were denied the tailwind we had been so hoping for.

I kept reminding my self not to panic when I felt my boat being blown around. I was aware I could capsize if I got caught crosswise in this wind. Keeping the panic down allowed me to assess the situation with some clarity. I angled slightly into the wind to avoid taking on water as the boat rose up on the crest of the incoming wave only to crash back down again. The concern in doing this was that it took me further out from shore, but I felt the safer paddling angle was worth the trade off. I tried to get into a zone in which I was really connected with the wind and so could adjust my stroke accordingly. Sometimes I focused on how good it felt to use my single blade canoe paddle, tweaking my stroke in tiny ways each time the wind shifted. Sometimes it was less work to change which side I paddled on. Sometimes I used my kayak paddle. And always I kept my weight low in the canoe by kneeling rather than sitting.

I used my large sponge to periodically mop water from the boat, though I had to do it quickly in order to avoid being blown by the wind. I first did a stroke which would normally have put me at a larger angle to the wind than I wanted. Then I mopped while the wind threw me back the other way. And just before I was blown fully sideways to the wind I threw down the sponge and started paddling again.

By focusing on what I did have control over I managed to relax rather than panic. I enjoyed hearing the different sounds the waves made as they smacked against my canoe. I enjoyed feeling the competence in my canoe stroke. I enjoyed how strong I felt as I pushed against the wind. I even enjoyed the feeling of the canoe as it rose on the crests and smacked down into the troughs of the waves.

I was greatly relieved to finally reach the take out place. I was more than ready for lunch and was glad to be able to get out of the wind a bit. I also felt a sense of deep satisfaction that I had conquered some of my fears around this trip and had found a way to enjoy what could have been a very unpleasant experience.