Ice Canoeing on Payette Lake

by scott

With the weather turning a little bit South the past few days — and just a bit too grim to get all that excited to ride, we decided to pull a Shackleton and head out in the boat (canoe) into the arctic (partially ice-free Payette Lake) to do some serious exploration.  ”Awesome” is the only word I can come up with to describe it.

Well, maybe not. But, it was pretty interesting because the ice was definitely moving around on us.  You can’t really tell from the videos, but we paddled about a 1/4 – 1/2 mile (as far as the ice would let us) and then the ice would shift and we’d have to paddle a bit furiously to try and get back before we got stuck.  My friend, who’s not featured in the videos, and who goes by the moniker Cherub of Justice, suggested that I duct tape a sword on the front of the canoe, but I was fresh out of swords.  We had no choice but to rely on our simple paddles, skills and guts. Watch the drama unfold!