When everything comes together

As the faithful readers know, I lead a number of kayak camping trips. You stick your neck out when you do because there are numerous variables that can derail things, especially with wilderness camping (no facilities). Some people don’t deal with adversity well, nor do they want to endure the griping if things go south. To me, it’s just part of the deal with organizing this, or anything you try to accomplish.

Monroe Lake is almost 11,000 acres of surface water located in southern Indiana. Weather is variable one. I can’t do anything about that, so I don’t worry about it, other than prepare the participants for the possibilities.

Since it’s a manmade body of water, it incorporates many fingers, marshes and other backwaters. They provide interesting paddling potential, but also opportunities to get lost in a variety of blind alleys. The best you can do is a lot of advanced homework, including maps and satellite views. It’s still a roll of the dice. Things never look the same at water level, especially when you’re in the labyrinth of a swamp.

The final piece was the campsite. You cannot reserve in this wilderness. I had researched to identify the prime spot. But, the lake is popular and there are no guarantees.

The weather cooperated, clear and hot. I had warned participants to bring plenty of water. There were many places to take a refreshing swim, for those who didn’t have the ability to roll their kayaks as a cooling off method.

There were a couple blind alleys in the navigation of the marshes, but no significant problems. That was a good thing since the heat sapped energy and there wasn’t a lot in reserve for feeling our way around.

That leaves the campsite. As we approached the desired location, it became apparent that others had already staked out some of the prime sites. So, when we encountered a good vacancy about a quarter mile before my target, I was tempted to jump on it before someone else did. But, why settle for less when you’re shooting for the perfect weekend? I paddled on.

As we rounded the final point, my heart sank. The site was nirvana. It was flat, shaded and had an exquisite beach that featured a crop of geodes for collecting. It also had a canoe, tent and two occupants. Drat!

However, I engaged them in conversation and they pointed out how far the site extended, saying there would be more than ample room for our large group. They had no problem with us digging in. It proved to have more than enough space and was one of the best camping sites we’ve ever encountered. The stage was set for a perfect weekend. And, it was.

When you do this kind of thing, you accept that everything seldom turns out as you expected. But, it’s great when everything comes together.