Our annual Spring paddle on Owasco Inlet took an unexpected turn as we returned to shore. Lori stepped out of her canoe into a few inches of water over thick mud, couldn’t move her feet and promptly fell over into the muddy water.
Lori expressed her dismay with a long string of loud obscenities. I was looking at the reaction of a group of young Mennonites on the shore and carelessly ended up in the same fate (and the same mud). Unfortunately for me, I had a devil of a time getting up and balanced as my feet sank into a foot of mud; I toppled over a few times before finally floundering to shore. Lori was torn between laughter and concern.
When my canoe capsized during my struggles, it dumped my camera into the muddied water. It took a little more sloshing about to find it and fish it out of the muck.
I’m always well-prepared for the possibilities like this–I have a waterproof padded case for the camera. Only I neglected to latch the lid so the case and camera went their separate ways during the melee.
We were both muddy wet messes and so was all our gear. We squished through the process of loading everything up on the car and prepared for the long wet drive home.
It took a couple hours to clean everything up when we got home, the car was a mess, and my camera is officially toast.
Other than that, it was a lovely Spring day on Owasco Inlet.
Paul Duncan 